California Bike Registration - Federal Certification Label??

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20ftollie

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I have a '75 XS650B with 2,500 original miles. I bought the bike in Michigan and had it shipped to where I live in California. The last time the bike was registered was in 1986. So now I'm in the middle of transferring the out of state title and registering it here and having some issues getting it finished up.

I got the transfer and registration started and they needed to verify the VIN. So I took the bike up to AAA today where I'd done the paperwork and the girl there started poking around asking where the Federal Certification Label was located. Something to do with emissions?? I've never heard of this. I told it's a 36 year old bike and there was no such thing as emissions back then, and that the only sticker on the bike was on the neck that has the VIN# on it.

Has anyone ever heard of this supposed sticker, if it exists on these bikes and/or where the heck it's located on the bike? According to the California DMV, apparently all vehicles (cars, boats, trucks, etc) built after 1970 have something like this. She said that if the bike doesn't have one, I probably can't register it in California because it has below 7,500 miles on it!!! WTF!? How the hell is that even a possibility? :wtf: :banghead:

Any help or advice is appreciated.

-MR
 
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I believe the sticker on the neck is the FCL. It has the manufacture date and "complies with applicable federal motor safety standards" blah, blah, blah...
Did they say this was not acceptable? Why go to AAA?
Here in MI, you go to the sheriff and the run the number to make sure it's not stolen and that's it.
 
I had a plan, but I wouldn't doubt that CA bikes had to meet special requirements when they were new. So it wouldn't work.

But on the other hand, the bitch called it a federal sticker. So next time find a man to talk to and say since these bikes were sold there new, it obviously originally had whatever it is they want to see. The sticker came unstuck.
 
Just tell them that the bike is a 75 and that sticker fell off a long time ago there is no way a sticker is gonna be on there after 30 years
 
The mileage it passes with is going to be put on the new title.
 
So? You gonna ride it or sell it? Most (many?) states put mileage exempt on anything that old anyways.
 
As with many things in the PSROC (Peoples Socialist Republic of California), they operate quite differently than most other states I'm aware of. Have a friend there who bought a Harley here (MT) - one year old, very low mileage (maybe 1500) - from a mutual friend. That's where the fiasco began. Incidentally, according to the service manager at the local Harley store, there are differences in the engines (tuning for emissions requirements) between those sold in the PSROC and the other 49 states - dunno. Anyway, they (DMV) said it wasn't a "used" motorcycle - not enough miles on the odometer. I think he wound up buying a speedo with sufficient mileage to satisfy the cultural communists. Appears to be a revenue generating game of some sort. That and the fact they'd really like to remove any and all "old" vehicles from the highways there. Can't offer a solution to the dilemma but suspect you might be in for a bit of a hassle B4 getting the job done..................Wesley
 
I think what I'm going to end up doing is taking it to the DMV for vin verification and tell them that the odometer actually has 102,500 miles on it and doesn't work anymore. I may even disconnect the speedo cable just for fun. That way I'll just end up with xxxxx on the title like with any other used bike I've ever had.

OR, I was actually thinking the same thing wesleyonoel mentioned about the Harley and buying a speedo off ebay that has a bunch of mileage on it and replacing mine for the day.
 
C-Los SD said:
Go to the CHP instead for VIN verification. All they look at is the stamp or vin on the neck.
Click to expand...

First thing to do is to go to a DMV or a different AAA office. I just went throught this with my bike here in norcal. Had the pink, went down to the DMV with just that (bike had not been regestered since '95, tho it was a CA bike). Filled out a statement of facts (basically that the bike was given to me and it was in pieces). Paid $90.00 and left with a stack of paperwork and was told to go to the CHP for VIN verification. After the bike was mostly back together (was told by the CHP NOT to bring the bare frame in) I took it to the CHP, he verified the VIN on the neck-he told me I did NOT need a sticker-, went back to the DMV and got the reg and plates. I know my situation is different from yours but you do not have to have the fed sticker on the bike.
 
Crisis averted.... Threw my original verification DMV paper in the trash and rolled the dice and went back to AAA... I told them the speedo had gone over 100k miles and that was that. They didn't even do a VIN check again, just wrote down my info and handed me a plate and registration. Bam!
 

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