Fritz Egli has been known for a long time as a builder of interesting motorcycles and looking through some old motorcycle magazines I came across this turbo Egli Kawasaki built by Fast Company International, a Swiss company that seems not to be on the Internet if it still exists. The company was owned by Erich Korman, a transplanted Californian, who moved to Switzerland to build and sell fast vehicles, hence the name.
This bike was built in cooperation with Fritz Egli, based on a Kawasaki GPz1100 engine. The engine was built with a lot of new components, a Hoeckle chrome moly crankshaft, Mahle pistons set up for 7.05:1 compression and a Mr Turbo RayJay turbocharger. A single 38mm Mikuni feeds the 106 octane race gas. A 50/50 mix of distilled water and isopropyl alcohol is injected for cooling. There’s nitrous, too.
Gearing is pretty tall to take advantage of the engine, first gear is good for 90mph, second gets you 129mph and there’s three more left after that in the stock GPz gearbox. When Ken Vreeke of Cycle magazine tested this for their August 1988 issue, the bike had a few problems with the clutch and a malfunctioning wastegate that limited the turbo to “only” 12 pounds instead of the designed 15 plus a high altitude track and 100 degree heat. Still, it pulled 10.33 seconds at 151mph in the quarter.
The bike was purchased by someone in the U.S. but I’ve seen nothing more on this beast since that article. Is it still around? Is someone riding it regularly or is it locked away in some garage? If you have any info, let us know. File this under unusable curiosity.
Matt says
I believe this bike was tested by one of the big car mags as well, Road & Track I believe. I loved the bike then, and I think it’s still a pretty nice bike now. If I remember correctly the R&T author claimed that when the bike was going over 100mph he tripped the WOT switch to actuate (sp?) the NOS and he claimed the bike actually got airborne. Had to be an exagerration, but it sounded so cool when I read about it then, particularly compared to the beat up ’74 CB550 four I was riding at the time…
Vladimir says
Fritz Egli has done more incredible bikes. I think he really knows whats doeing bike a proper bike. I don’t like design-only custom build motorcycles. Performance matters!
Michael says
I don’t know what happened to the bike, but I was about 15 or 16 when I first read about this beast! It was what set my imagination wild back then, and I always wondered more about it. It was a big influence on me back then however, I couldn’t remember what the bike was until I saw this post, so thanks. Please let me know what happened to the bike, and if there are any ultimate performance numbers that have been obtained with it.
Mark says
Wow! I can’t believe someone else remembers this thing. I clearly remember the article and have often wondered about the bike and the builder ever since. That thing really sparked my imagination, so much so that I logged on tonight 19 years later trying to hunt it down. I’d love to find out what happened to that monster.
Frank says
The bike is a MRD-1. A journalist wrote this in a 1983 bike magazine after visiting the factory in switzerland.
When the devil’s in him, Egli searches for the limits of his MRD-1 Replica. This astonishing machine utilises a 1200cc Kawasaki four boosted by turbocharging and nitrous oxide injection. For your money – around £9000 – you get a 180bhp projectile capable of between 180 and 190mph and that accelerates to 124mph in just 7.2 seconds. He cheerfully admits that neither he nor 99.9 percent of his customers are remotely capable of fully exploiting the machine, safely or not, along German autobahn and explains that he builds MRD-1s because people ask for them.
‘I know of only one rider who is capable of properly handling the model, and that is Hubert Mullier, the Can-Am car racing ace. He bought one last year. And there’s a gang of crazy millionaires in Hamburg who spent the practice week of the last Nurburgring motorcycle F1 event blowing off the works Kawasakis. Then they go autobahn hunting for Porsche Turbos to ‘Kill’. They wear their tyres out in 1000 kilometres’.
thc says
I love the Egli frame formula of limiting all unnecessary members, running the others straight as an arrow and then introducing a powerful engine. He seems to have the sensibilities of a bicycle manufacturer with the head of a drag racer.
Rob says
I was stationed in England when the article was released. I think on the cover of the magazine it went something like this: Question: What do you do with over 230hp pumped through 210moh gearing?” Answer: Anything you want. I have been looking for this bike or 1 that may have stayed in England, Germany, Switzerland for a long time. I have yet to read or even hear of a bike that has scared the test riders the way this bike did back in 1988. Street Bike that is. Some of the comments in the article were amazing and down right hilarious. Some went something like this: It is as easy to smoke the rear tire at triple digit numbers as it is in double digit numbers. This thing is not a motorcycle at all, but agroung to groung missle in disguise. Never wack the throttle unless you first, make sure you have found secure seating somewhere on top of the gas tank, second, the road ahead of you is long and straight, ecttt…..
Wolf says
Hi,
I am a collector of racing motorcycles and I am riding Eglis since 1984
I knew Erich Korman and of course I know Fritz W. Egli. Erich went back to the US and I lost contact. If anybody knows how to find him again, please email me classicracer@gmx.net. Anybody who wants to know more about Eglis or this bike in particular is also welcome and of course any other collector or racer.
Greetings from Germany
Wolf