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Advice on motorcycle title

llewellync said:
The bike is in good shape and ready to go. I want it and I'm going through with the transaction. I just want to ask if anybody had this happen to them before. Are there any legal ramifications when I go to register the bike and pay the tax?
Click to expand...

Don't be scared off ;)
Let us know how it actually works out for you.....if you can.
OM
 
Personally I don't think I'd buy any vehicle without a clean accurate title.
In Colorado the DMV is a can of worms.
There's a lot of very nice air heads that pop up all the time with no title problems on the Marketplace.
Nick
1978 R-80
 
STEVENRANKIN said:
You may buy the bike, put time and money into it to make it yours then find out it is stolen.

That comment brings up what just happened to my cousin. He purchased a motorcycle from a private party with a title from our state where the previous owner had signed off on it in 2015, it had not between registered in the mean time. My cousin worked on bike and then sold it to a friend who was a retired LEO, giving him the title that he had received. The retired LEO was having the bike worked on at the local Yamaha dealer. While it was in the shop he took his title to the local DMV to transfer it into his name and register the bike. The local DMV informed our friend that the bike had been listed as stolen in 2016, they called the local police and they confiscated the bike from the dealer doing the repair work. (no bike, they still have to get paid for work performed) Since the insurance paid off on the stolen bike it belongs to them, both my cousin and the retired LEO are out their money.
So having a title and the keys on a purchase it is still worth checking to see if the vehicle has been stolen. The local LEOS are still trying to trace all the transactions back to see who put the insurance claim in on it in the first place.
Click to expand...
 
In Indiana all out of state vehicles have their numbers checked at initial registration, numbers don't match equals no registration, no title and no license plate.
 
Years ago I had a bit of the same adventure with an Opel GT we bought from Voni's sister. It had a Minnesota title. We lived in Iowa. One of the digits in the VIN on the title did not match one of the digits in the VIN on the car. The State Trooper that did the inspection sent me home and told me I would be contacted. About a week later I got a call and a vehicle inspector came to the house. This was before everything was in computers. He looked at the title and the car. He then opened the trunk of his car which contained what looked like an encyclopedia - a collection of more than a dozen books.

He found the right book and looked up something. He smiled and told me I was lucky. The digit in the VIN which was wrong was the 11th one which is the one denoting the factory of manufacture. Since Opel only had one factory the number in the title had to be wrong. He filled out the form to fix the title. He did say that had the error been one of the last 6 digits reflectng the sequence of manufacture things would have been much more complicated, and they would have had to be corrected in Minnesota. In other words not his problem.

So beware!
 
The vin number is in more than one place, has the OP looked at the plate, frame areas and motor to see if there is any other discrepancies or numbers that match the title?
 
Something not brought up is age of the bike.

Some states have made it easy to get a title for a bike or car that is "abandoned" or has a lost title.

First thing I would do is take the VIN to a sheriff to see if that number comes up stolen. If not....

See about applying for a title for it....without having ANY title present. Say it could not be found. Technically that is correct, as the title with the incorrect VIN is NOT the title for the bike.

Unlike a 2015 car or bike, no one cares too much about any title or VIN shenanigans ( spelled FBI ) on a 40 year old vehicle.
 
another two cents

For those of you who are giving advice and information regarding correcting the title so iiwellnyc can buy the bike, fine, but why should HE do the work? HE will be the one who will be SOL if something goes bad on this deal.

I know a lost title can be replaced or fixed, or any number of things. The previous owner may be honest and there is no problem with the bike's past ownership. Fine, let HIM fix his mistake.

I know mistakes can happen and even a bike which has been properly titled can have problems such as a mismatched number or had fallen through the cracks and is stolen. Those incidents are far and few between.

Only someone who isn't thinking straight will willingly purchase a bike, car, truck knowing there is a problem with the title or registration from the start. If a deal is too good to be true, it is not. St.
 
STEVENRANKIN said:
For those of you who are giving advice and information regarding correcting the title so iiwellnyc can buy the bike, fine, but why should HE do the work? HE will be the one who will be SOL if something goes bad on this deal.

I know a lost title can be replaced or fixed, or any number of things. The previous owner may be honest and there is no problem with the bike's past ownership. Fine, let HIM fix his mistake.

I know mistakes can happen and even a bike which has been properly titled can have problems such as a mismatched number or had fallen through the cracks and is stolen. Those incidents are far and few between.

Only someone who isn't thinking straight will willingly purchase a bike, car, truck knowing there is a problem with the title or registration from the start. If a deal is too good to be true, it is not. St.
Click to expand...
I agree with most of what you said. If the selling price reflects that it is an untitled vehicle, it may be worthwhile. But an untitled vehicle would only be worth junk price or parts bike price to me. LOL
 
In Oregon an out of State vehicle is inspected, they actually look at the VIN on the frame. I would eitther walk away from the deal or make the current owner get a title. You will be in a hassle with DMV for months getting the title straight and whos to know the bike is not stolen or the frame was from a stolen bike. Just saying
 
Update on Title question

Thanks to all the responses, here's an update on what's going on. I spoke with the seller and told him that I'm backing out. I told him that I don't want the hassle of jumping through different hoops to get a good title. I spoke with the TX DMV and the lady said he only needed to get it titled and it's not required to be registered if the bike was only going to be stored.

The seller said he will try to get the bike titled in Texas. Now, he also has an R90 that I said I'll buy instead of the R65 if that one has a clean title. I don't think he wants to sell the R90 even though he has several other airheads.

I'll keep you guys updated.
 
llewellync said:
Thanks to all the responses, here's an update on what's going on. I spoke with the seller and told him that I'm backing out. I told him that I don't want the hassle of jumping through different hoops to get a good title. I spoke with the TX DMV and the lady said he only needed to get it titled and it's not required to be registered if the bike was only going to be stored.

The seller said he will try to get the bike titled in Texas. Now, he also has an R90 that I said I'll buy instead of the R65 if that one has a clean title. I don't think he wants to sell the R90 even though he has several other airheads.

I'll keep you guys updated.
Click to expand...

There is what appears to be a well loved two owner 1987 R65 located in Utah recently posted on the Airheads site. Might be worth considering. Attached link.
https://www.airheads.org/classifieds/9397/1987-r-65-mono/motorcycles/
 
A good sign

It is a good sign when the seller does what he is supposed to do regarding paperwork. Far better to have it solved now before money changes hands.

I will say most Airhead owners are good people and are honest. Problem is, it only takes one bad person to ruin things.

Thanks for letting us know how you are making out, and let us know what you end up buying. St.
 
llewellync said:
I spoke with the seller and told him that I'm backing out....
Click to expand...

Good decision. I'm a retired attorney and the other thing that had occurred to me was that the seller might not have a conveyance from the Ohio owner, and who might not be around any longer or who might be deceased.

Some of the title issues on personal property can get quite complex.
 
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