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Born in 1956 in Florida and raised in Indiana, my whole life has been a rush. My stepfather Roger Howk afforded me a rare and privileged childhood in that I was a pit brat and my Dad was a Grand National Championship motorcycle rider. He rode BSAs and was National #40. He eventually owned and operated Howk Motorcycle Shop, selling Indians before I was born, BSAs when I was knee high to a grasshopper, and Hondas when I knew what was going on.
This brings me to the chapter where my love of British bikes started: (A) my Dad raced Gold Stars and (B) my Dad asked me which bike I wanted to ride! He already knew, of course, which bike I would choose and in fact that was also the one he wanted to ride. I would like to say it was a Royal Enfield although that was not the case. In fact, it was a BSA 500cc twin called a Royal Star, and it had chrome on both sides and a gas cap big enough for a kid could hang onto. Outfitted with all the modern safety equipment appropriate to the time, I had a child's size BSA riding jacket, a Brown cloth helmet, a small pair of bubble goggles, and a pair of kids gauntlet gloves. Boy those were the days! I was very fortunate to be part of such a exciting life style. I grew up in a motorcycle shop and as a pit brat, with names like Moon Buchanan, Dick Mann, Bart Markle, and so many more just household names.
In 1970, I was legally old enough to hold a work permit and this began my formal employment in the shop. I was also old enough to begin racing Hondas in local motocross events and was a proud member of Howk Motorcycle Shop's racing team. I progressed and in 1971, I entered my first flat track race and was successful - I won my heat race and finished third in the final, all in my first short track outing . In 1974, I was Indiana amateur state short track champion in the 250cc class and, in 1975, I obtained my professional license and campaigned a Honda CR250 Ellsinore. I discovered at this level of competition that everyone is good. Locally, I could expect to do well and maybe even win, but at pro races it was a different story. Not to make excuses, but I was riding a 250cc bike against competitors who were riding 360cc bikes. This led to my having to learn to ride harder and smarter. I retired as a junior in 1976 as my father sold the Honda franchise and the sponsorship left. I did develop good work habits and professional discipline in the process.
I spent several years employed at Starcraft Boat and then Supreme Corporation, working in research and development. I had majored in industrial arts in school, graduating in 1974 from Westview High School in a little town called Emma, IN. My single ambition in high school - and the only thing I wanted - was OUT! After all, I was going to be the next Grand National Champion motorcycle racer! I graduated with a 3.2 grade point average and set a new WESTVIEW record for truancy. I had moved away from home my junior year in high school and the conditions my mother set to allow this were that I had to promise to graduate. I did. When I missed school, I was at work!
I entered into the world of self employment in November, 1979, and with my wife's help, we started Goshen Budget Shop. This grew into a new appliance dealership and eventually three stores, and then Dan's Appliance Service was born. I was able to support my wife and three children for over 28 years. I matured as a businessman and we became the number one Gibson appliance dealer in Indiana and we were simultaneously the largest used appliance dealer at that time. None of this success would have been possible without the help and support of my wife Connie Holmes. Connie and I have been married for 32 years! She has been the stabilizing force that no matter what this dreamer comes up with helps keep our feet on the ground. I have a lot of big ideas and she does not tolerate a lot of bull. In any event, it is through her unselfish efforts that I have been lucky enough to achieve anything.
In 1999, I became a Royal Enfield dealer and took possession of 5 Royal Enfield Bullets and DRS Cycle was publicly recognized at 516 North Ninth Street in Goshen, IN. My father Roger Howk and I set off for the Honda Hoot a day late, in Asheville North Carolina with the last five new Royal Enfield Bullets in the US as the dealer rep for the US distributor and the United States. We displayed these and answered questions on a limited basis and ironically we had at that time never heard one run, had never ridden one, nor did we even know what the funny short little shift lever was for! We educated ourselves by taking turns reading the owner's manual so we could give informed and educated answers. Once again my dad rescued me and we were a team!
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Upon returning from the Honda Hoot, I set about developing our website and internet sales, eventually becoming the number one Royal Enfield dealer and sponsoring Johnny Szoldrak (Norwegian) who rode our little Enfield Bullet in 2001, 2002, and in 2003 to victory, an almost fairytale ending by winning the AHRMA classic 60's 500cc class against much more formidable competition. It was a team effort starting with Glen Kyle (four time National Hill climb Champion), Phil Myers as a tuner and custom c&c parts maker, Johnny Szoldrak as rider, my sons Nathan and Jason Holmes, and myself as team manager. We completed 25 consecutive starts and had no DNF'S. That is a miracle in vintage racing and we had some close calls!
In 2002, my daughter Heather Lynn Holmes passed away from cancer at the age of 22. My wife and I were in lock step with her and became her primary care givers, all the while struggling to maintain the business and supporting my family. I have often said that when my daughter died, it broke my heart.
Well, in a way it did, as my wife and I became her primary care givers, I had some underlying health issues of my own and chose to ignore them. I thought I had sleep apnea and eventually discovered that I had a enlarged heart, with congestive heart failure resulting in what is called cardio-pulmonary edema, which means you are drowning in your own fluids, and a ejection fraction of 10%. Normally, ejection fractions would be something like 70% for a athlete and 60-65% for normal people. At 30% you are thought to have three to five years to live, and 50% you don't make it.
Well, I knew I had a big heart and I knew I was a 10, just ask the people around me! This placed me on the New York Heart Association's list as a 1A in need of a heart transplant! As a result I had no choice but to close Dan's appliance Service and sell DRS Cycle. I did so reluctantly and worked very hard at staying alive. I was able to persuade my wife to allow me to continue the road race effort to win the championship and the last two races I attended were at least theoretically when I was in intensive care. We had made a previous attempt at Bonneville in 2002 with Mark Brownlee and I vowed to come back.
To fast forward, I had begun a race project in 2003 to build a dedicated Bonneville bike with the help of Classic Motorworks and my own resources. Due to my health this project endured countless delays as I needed time to improve and also needed resources to build and conduct the effort. In the final analysis my long time friend, mentor, and engine builder Glen Kyle took on the responsibility of completing the build. I am so grateful it is hard to put into words. Kevin Mahoney the CEO of Classic Motorworks has been my primary product sponsor and was instrumental in starting a grass roots effort to finance the project. I was unable to fund the project on my own resources and my efforts were rewarded but fell short of our goal. The bike build was taking longer than anticipated and I had some personal tragedies to endure.
My wife has always accepted the fact she married a motorcycle racer and has allowed me enough room to operate. However, when I proceeded on the Bonneville project, she began to question my judgment! All she could see was unnecessary expense and risk considering my health. I assured her that my desire to complete this project was one of the impetuses to keep me going! She eventually learned to accept it and quit worrying so much. In spite of the adversity, I felt I had made a commitment to the contributors who sent their hard earned money and I intend to keep it. I am a recipient of a Medtronic's pace maker and am glad to report while I am not perfect I am basically doing ok. Note Medtronic's just sent me a recall notice on the wire harness! Jees what else could go wrong, I told the surgeon to put a zipper in and he did not listen. Well, at least I got electronic ignition!
On another note, it was to my good fortune to meet Bob Hutchinson. It is with his help and efforts that we hope the project will move forward once more and we can achieve our goals and set new ones. Bob is the Bomb, and he has encouraged me to start dreaming again. I am a lead, follow, or get the fork, out of the way kinda guy. We as a team consist of a bunch of dedicated enthusiasts and there are no honorary members. Everyone pulls his or her own weight and more. I would like to Thank Everyone who is or has or will contribute to this project as TEAM BONNEVILLE BULLET MAKES ITS ATTEMPT AT SETTING A RECORD!
~ ~ Dan
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