Red racer's builder is Royal Enfield expert

His name is David Parapilly. His eBay ad for a brilliant red Royal Enfield café racer has attracted attention on web sites around the Internet in part because the ad detailed the many hours of demanding labor that went into producing the machine.

The motorcycle is unusual for many reasons, not least of them its 535cc motor and five-speed transmission converted to right shift.

Parapilly told me that he considers the attention to this bike "a pat on the back for the two years of bloody knuckles and sprained ankles."

This was far from his first experience with a Royal Enfield.

"I consider myself as an authority on Royal Enfield four-stroke singles here in the West Coast and my friends like to say I own 90 per cent of all Enfields in Las Vegas," he wrote me.

"This bike was a collective effort between my dad, me and my brother-in-law (who spent most of the money in trying to build something that I did not have!). I finished it in January. Selling it to make space for my newest project: a 1965 Interceptor that has not seen the light of the day since 1972.

"I used to host an RE enthusiast web site from 2002, something that I wanted to grow into the biggest RE resources site on the web. But lost interest after my wedding and pulled it down a couple of years back. I had over 425 photos of bikes, a small blog and other resources at the time.

"I buy and sell Enfields. Recently I sold my '69, which was built into a mild cruiser. I had a 2003 Hitchcocks café racer that was sold to Connecticut in '06. Before that I had a Yamaha café racer. I still have the 1974 Bullet 350 that has been in the family since new (I am born and raised in India). I also have an ultra-rare 1959 Fury big head racer that has been a West Coast bike all its life. In India I still have around four or five bikes.

"My other interest is in Yamaha two stroke twins; will keep that discussion for another rainy day!"

Parapilly's Buy It Now Price is $5,500, which does not seem excessive when you consider the labor and features listed in his ad. He is also offering free shipping inside the U.S., a real rarity.