The magic word ‘Vincent’ makes any British bike enthusiast sit up and take notice. Classic Driver dealer Michael Olu Brinkert has one of these legendary café racers for sale.

The products of the Vincent H.R.D. Company Ltd. were regarded as the fastest, most expensive and most exclusive of their kind. The 1948 Black Shadow and Black Lightning, with their 1,000cc V-twin engines, were the fastest production motorcycles in the world even up to the late sixties and a Black Lightning set a world speed record of 252km/h in 1948. The motorcycle brand, founded in 1928, had ceased production in 1955 due to financial losses. But they were back in production when Fritz Egli, a specialist manufacturer based in Switzerland, produced the Egli-Vincent between 1967 and 1972. Later it was the Frenchman Patrick Godet who revived this original mother of all café racers, and the ‘Egli’ name lives on. An example of the legendary Vincent Egli Black Shadow is now on offer by Michael Olu Brinkert. Price: 45,000 euros.

For a direct link to the advert, click here. Or you can see the dealer’s full inventory in the Classic Driver Marketplace.

Text: Classic Driver
Photos: M. O. Brinkert