Royal Enfield record setter up for sale

This Royal Enfield set records at Bonneville.

 The record breaking Royal Enfield semi-streamliner Dan Holmes and his DRS Cycle team ran at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2013 is for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Warsaw, Ind. 

Built around a 2003 Royal Enfield Bullet, the speedster set a record despite wind, rain and a blown motor. The team ran out of time to compete fully in both gas and nitrous oxide classes. 

"So, Heart Break Hotel. We lost Wednesday due to wind; we lost Thursday due to rain... We left the salt with a record but it is sort of shallow: our two-way record is 105 mph and this was with a 120 mph pass and a return run of 91 mph coasting. We are confident we can run 130 plus; just did not get a chance to prove it!" Holmes said at the time. 

It was the Streamliner's second try at Bonneville. Holmes first took it to the Salt Flats in 2008 but it was sidelined by jetting problems that year. The team still set three records that year, with a different Royal Enfield. 

One of the dealers who brought Royal Enfield back to the United States after the brand was reintroduced here in 1995, Holmes' DRS shop in Goshen, Ind., was known for supplying parts to customers in those early days.

Holmes not only sold the the Indian made Bullet motorcycles, he became a chief authority on them. He offered practical advice and marketed a "shift kit" that cured some of the ills of the notorious left-side shift bodge on motorcycles sold in the United States.

Quoted in a 2014 New York Times story about the success of Royal Enfield in the U.S., Holmes told about those days. In 2003, his best year, Holmes sold 35 Royal Enfields, the article states.

Dan Holmes on streamliner at Bonneville.

No longer a dealer, Holmes took his love for the Bullet to the Bonneville Salt Flats to attempt to pursue speed records instead of sales records.

He continued his efforts through heart troubles and a serious fall from a motorized bicycle he built. He never expressed a moment of discouragement in his communications with me.

The Facebook advertisement offers the streamliner and related speed shop equipment for $16,500.

"Bike starts and runs great and was ready to go to Bonneville this year until the rain (there) flooded it out," the ad states.

According to the ad: "The frame has been modified. It has a five-speed transmission instead of a four-speed that was standard.

"Current records it holds is at 106.266 in the 500 APS VF and 109.622 in the 500 M VG classes.

"I tore down the engine this past summer and installed a racing crank from Hitchcocks. Removed the Nitrous system but will be included in sale. It will go 120 mph with current setup. More if nitrous is put back on.

"Comes with a bunch of spare parts, Spare engine with fresh top end. Extra transmission. Fiberglass molds that were used to make the body. Also comes with a motorcycle dyno used for runs and tuning. Dyno works with a laptop and updated software."