Appleberry
XS650 Member
GREAT NEWS! There IS a title afterall... Still titled to a guy in Florida.. I have the title number and last name. Does anybody know a database to search for title history so I can at least try to contact the previous owner?
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XS Registration - NO TITLE
- Thread starter Appleberry
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- registration
Don't get too excited yet, privacy laws now keep states from giving out owner information. Some states will send a notice to the last known address of the previous owner, if they are still at that address they might respond. It has worked for me before just not all that often.
Appleberry
XS650 Member
I am running into the title privacy issues right now. basically I am thinking of conducting a mechanics lien on it. So if I have the state send something to the original owner, keep following up. After 30 days, if no contact, then claim the title.
Sounds like you have bought the bike already. Wouldn't you have to prove you have done the work on it to claim a mechanics lien, and if you have a bill of sale wouldn't that void it.
Appleberry
XS650 Member
It was a prospecting purchase, so no bill of sale in my name. Allegedly the past owner on the current title has passed but there was no transfer of ownership after that. Thats the only way I can imagine the mechanics lien working on it.
Sounds really messy.
Appleberry
XS650 Member
It is. I am not looking at this sale any longer. but $800 for the set up was a nice price!
pamcopete
Ride.Enjoy.Life is Simple
jefft,
Well, if the frame was stolen, then you have just commited a felony by destroying evidence....
Well, if the frame was stolen, then you have just commited a felony by destroying evidence....
sgallaty
Antihero
Tennessee too.
I bought my bus in Tenn, and was moving to texas at the time. I went to get a temp license plate, and got a runaround. I went to register it and to my surprise it was going to be :
Tax = 8% * 20k = 1600
1 year registration 150 + 400 weight tariff (40k lbs) + fees = 600.
2200, right? I'm like, ok.
I call them to square everything away and nasty DMV lady on the phone explains to me that this vehicle shows no registration since 1990... it's 2010. She says I'll have to pay 20 years of back registration, at 600 a year.
12 thousand dollars in back registration.
We drove it with no license plate to our new home in texas and registered it there =)
Thats the sad thing about it. I took the frame down to the local cop shop and had the numbers run and the they came back clean. Therefore I would think that it would be easy to get the thing titled but its not because I don't have even a bill of sale. I don't see why under these circumstances why it is such a hassle. I had a guy email me who said he can title it in his state for $250 and then I would just transfer the title to my state. Heck I didn't even pay that much for the thing in the first place.
jefft
jefft
pamcopete
Ride.Enjoy.Life is Simple
1. Title in the name of the seller.
2. Legitimate bill of sale.
3. Matching VIN to the title.
4. Walk away if one of the above is missing.
I don't understand what is so complicated about that.
2. Legitimate bill of sale.
3. Matching VIN to the title.
4. Walk away if one of the above is missing.
I don't understand what is so complicated about that.
Nothing complicated about it. Most of the frames I see on ebay seem to lack a title. Sort of sad to see all those good frames go to the scrap heap. I knew there wasn't a bill of sale or title before I bought the one I bought but gave next to nothing for it and then started checking into it. Won't do that again.
jefft
jefft
sgallaty
Antihero
Hey, I'll take it cheap! I probably need the parts =)
So we know that a bike without a current title is something to walk away from. How about an engine swap? What's the legal side of that? Would you put an engine with one serial # in a frame that you had a good title?
Jefft
Chito you might call another office. Explain the bike isn't running and you would like to title but not tag it.
I was told I would need the title, an affidavit of gift (form 768) and a IDOD form from an inspection station. A quick check with an inspection station confirmed this.
They need to see the bike to compare VIN and odometer. Then they will issue an IDOD form and that should satisfy the DOR office.
Good luck.
sgallaty
Antihero
In texas all you need is a clear check of theft reports, and a clear bill of sale.
Then you go down and get a bonded title ($100+% of bike value).
It's different everywhere.
Then you go down and get a bonded title ($100+% of bike value).
It's different everywhere.
I'd run the VIN number on the engine past DMV to see if it was stolen before I spent any time or money on it. In the eyes of most police officers a stolen engine is no different than a stolen motorcycle and in some states they will forever confiscate your entire motorcycle should the engine come up stolen.
Of course, you can always attend the state stolen and surplus property auction and buy it back with all new and clean paperwork if you don't get outbid.
You do realize the mechanics lien you are pondering constitutes fraud? Judges don't like that much either.
pamcopete
Ride.Enjoy.Life is Simple
jefft,
As far as I know, the engine number matches the frame (VIN) from the factory for Yamaha bikes. I have been stopped a couple of times by SC's finest and the first thing they check is if the engine number matches the VIN. If it doesn't, then you are supposed to have a separate bill of sale for the engine, so I would think that would be a requirement in most states, that you have a bill of sale for the engine as well as the frame.
Now, having said all of the above, I think that the Japanese manufacturers did not always match the numbers leaving the factory, so it might be a good idea to always get a bill of sale for the engine when you buy a motorcycle.
As far as I know, the engine number matches the frame (VIN) from the factory for Yamaha bikes. I have been stopped a couple of times by SC's finest and the first thing they check is if the engine number matches the VIN. If it doesn't, then you are supposed to have a separate bill of sale for the engine, so I would think that would be a requirement in most states, that you have a bill of sale for the engine as well as the frame.
Now, having said all of the above, I think that the Japanese manufacturers did not always match the numbers leaving the factory, so it might be a good idea to always get a bill of sale for the engine when you buy a motorcycle.
