Police have seized a motorbike they believe starred in an online video showing a rider speeding at close to 300 kilometres per hour along a B.C. highway, but say they don’t have enough evidence for criminal charges.

The uninsured 2006 blue Yamaha R1 was seized from a home in Esquimalt on Friday, but it is registered to the suspected driver’s mother, who has now been served with $1,449 in traffic violation tickets.

“Someone has to take responsibility for this. If it’s not the rider, then we will take action against the registered owner, the mother,” Saanich police Sgt. Dean Jantzen told reporters Thursday.

He said investigators believe the rider is a 25-year-old local man, who does not have a valid licence to drive a motorcycle and has 27 driving infractions and five licence suspensions on his record. While police are “100-per-cent satisfied” that the bike is the same one shown in the YouTube clip, Jantzen said they cannot conclusively prove the rider’s identity yet.

“We’re left with, really, a video that shows a set of hands,” he said.

“We believe we’ve taken all the action we can up to this point.”

But investigators believe that the alleged rider bragged about his exploits in public, and they’re pleading with anyone who may have spoken to the young man to come forward with evidence that may be the key to laying charges.

Jantzen said police think the video, entitled "victoria [sic] highway run 299km,” was filmed on April 6 at about 4 p.m. and posted on YouTube the next day. It shows a dashboard view of the motorcycle weaving between traffic along the Trans-Canada Highway between McKenzie Avenue and the Millstream Road exit.

“This is not just a thrill-seeking adventure. This is a menace to road users,” Jantzen said.

Investigators identified the suspect bike shortly after becoming aware of the video thanks to a tip from the public, according to Jantzen. Police tracked the motorcycle to a home in the 800-block of Admirals Road, and a forensic investigator took photographs of the dashboard to compare with the nicks and scratches shown in screen grabs from the online video.

Forensics department Const. Will Dodds says that after he found five marks that matched perfectly, investigators had the evidence they needed to seize the bike.

Police say they’re looking into the option of impounding the bike under the Motor Vehicle Act, and they’re also working with the Civil Forfeiture Office. The motorcycle would be worth about $15,000 brand new, and can reach speeds of up to 320 kilometres per hour, according to Jantzen.