Mark,
I agree completely with everything you're saying. My point is all of these " World Records " are class specific. Bobby Moreland holds a couple of world records at 221 mph. We all know that's not the fastest any motorcycle has gone, but it's the class he did his runs in. I don't claim to know eveything about all of this, but there are classes for no fairing, classes for fairings, classes for streamliners and in each of those classes are sub classes depending on cc's. The dude in the move " The World's Fastest Indian " still holds a couple of records in the under 1000cc liner class. Wink, the big guy from the short lived TV SHow BIG (remember the bike out front of Wheels Through Time ) holds some records in the unfaired classes. Bottom line you could build a big inch Road Glide and own a record. Just not the record that this dude's wife currently holds UNLESS you go after that record specifically.
just my $0.02
B B