• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

euro vin # identification

Hello all, I was wondering if anyone has a break down of euro vin #s and what the digits mean. Is it possible to tell what the color is supposed to be? I am thinking my bike was not black or the tank is different.
 
What year is your bike? If before much before 1981 or 1982, you'll only have the 7 digits to work with...won't tell you jack. Snowbum talks about the 17-digit VIN here, but it doesn't really provide all that much info.

http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/IDnumbrs.htm

Possibly, if you email the BMW Classic organization with your VIN, they could look in the records to see what it says. But that's a stretch most times.
 
here's a vin decoder that will tell you whether or not your bike is a US or Euro model. Unfortunately it only goes as far as telling what the market was, production date, model, and stuff you probably already know

http://www.bmwarchive.org/vin/bmw-vin-decoder.html

A BMW birth certificate will tell you more, but that's expensive and is intended to act almost as a title for the bike
 
The 7-digit (which is what all that the decoders accept) and even the 17-digit really don't tell much. Not like the VINs for the '70s cars which provide information on plant it was made at, color code for interior/exterior, engine size, accessories, etc.
 
I am definitely sure that it is a EURO model as I purchased it from a German citizen and I do have the German title, it doesn't say too much. My VIN is 7 digits, USAA insurance thought I was giving them a B.S. Vin number when I went to insure it. I can turn the headlights off with a switch, and the speedo is in kilometers only...fun stuff. thanks for the great information, all of you when I get some extra time I will check out the sites that were mentioned.
 
a 1985 R80 not a 1986 as I was told....agree??

Thanks for all the information, the funny thing is the serial # says it is older than the original European title, title says the first day of registration is 29 April 1986, and the dealer took delivery from the factory 5 Feb 1985. the title says 22 Oct 1984 for manufacture date and the data sheet below says 5 Dec 1984. I think it is safe to call it a 1985 not a 1986 because here the year was based off of 1st day of registration not the actual manufacture date.

Model description R 80
Market Europa
Type 0453
E-Code 247 (85)
Chassis
Steering
Doors 0
Engine 2-ZYL - 0,80l (37kW)
Drive
Transmission manuell
Body color SCHWARZ ZIERL MRT (519)
Upholstery ( *)
Production date 05.12.1984
Code Sonderausstattung Optional Equipment
X671A Schutzb?gel vorne Chrom
X681A Kofferhalter links/rechts
 
Back
Top