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buying a bike for the track without title


RHill

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I was thinking about picking up a bike that doesnt have a title.

They claim its not stolen....but without a title who knows.

It wouldn't ever go anywhere but on the track.

A friend brought up a good point, if I got pulled over on the way to the track and the cop decided to run the bike's VIN, I'd be screwed out of the bike, correct?

I'm guessing a bill of sale would be needed, but I doubt that will mean squat if they defaulted on a loan?

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Yes you could. I was just reading a story on a Gixxer forum about a guy that got his bike impounded by the police because they ran the VIN and it had not been registered since 08. The dealer messed up the title work and didn't have it flipped as they bought it from a repo. He will get his back eventually.

I hope Barney isn't so caught up he strolls over to your trailer to dig out a VIN either way.

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The bike HAS a title. The last titled owner. How did the titled owner come to part ways with the bike? And why did the title stop following the bike?

Think of it this way, if you turn a blind eye to the history of this bike there could very well be a fellow rider out there it was stolen from.

If it is presented to you as all legal and above-board then go get the vin and go to your local police to confirm it is not stolen. If the seller won't let you come and see the vin the don't buy it.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

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hmmmm

guess you guys have a point...the cop would have to be oddly interested to even check for a vin, and I could remove the plate or switch it with my 01, which I still have a title for.

edit: didnt see the last post. I planned on running the vin, and if they didnt want that I wouldnt buy it. If the title was still held by a bank or something via a loan, that would come up on the search too, right?

Edited by RHill
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hmmmm

guess you guys have a point...the cop would have to be oddly interested to even check for a vin, and I could remove the plate or switch it with my 01, which I still have a title for.

I wouldn't switch it. Just in case he does see it and the VIN doesn't match the bike it makes you look like the bad guy trying to cover it up. 99% chance if it won't see the streets it won't see a cop.

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hmmmm

guess you guys have a point...the cop would have to be oddly interested to even check for a vin, and I could remove the plate or switch it with my 01, which I still have a title for.

edit: didnt see the last post. I planned on running the vin, and if they didnt want that I wouldnt buy it. If the title was still held by a bank or something via a loan, that would come up on the search too, right?

If you switch the VIN, you go to jail.

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The police can't just seize a vehicle because it's not registered, nor can they seize a vehicle simply because it's being transported by someone other than the last registered owner.

If the cops pull you over, yes, they might run the VIN. So long as it's not actually stolen (check that before buying), it won't come back as stolen. If no crime is being committed, there is no basis for them to impound the bike, and you're on your merry way.

Yes, they can be a dick about it, but there's nothing wrong with being honest. "the bike hasn't been registered for years, because it hasn't been on the street for years."

As noted, no crime means no arrest, and no seizure of the bike.

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Now if you are RIDING the bike w/o proper registration, etc., or there is a problem with your trailer registration, they could impound the bike or trailer (including cargo) for THAT.

But if your ducks are otherwise in a row, it's not an issue. I keep it under 70 with the trailer anyway. Just don't trust the 12" trailer wheels; or rather, the bearings, to handle much more than that.

Edited by redkow97
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I can 100% tell you that this happened to a member/past member on here. Bike WAS stolen, and he had no idea. Bike was reported stolen, somehow tracked to him, bike is now gone, and he was out a shit load of $$.

I know who can attest and know who this was but I will NOT give names or anything like that as to not involve anyone more than they want to be. I do not know 100% the details, but that's the basic breakdown.

I personally, wouldn't buy one unless I could run the VIN and knew it wasn't stolen OR it came with a factory MSO.

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ok, wont switch the vin...wouldnt removing the vin cause the exact same issue?

Yes it will.

My last track bike didn't have a title, done a vin check, got a bill of sale from owner and all was good

Do this, and try to get a printout showing the vin comes back as not stolen. Keep a copy of it and the bill of sale with you when taking the bike to the track. I can't remember how many years ago it was, but since I remember reading it in roadracing world, it had to have been 10-15 years ago, there was an article about the police coming to a race and inspecting and impounding a large number of bikes due to missing vins or them coming back as stolen.

Me personally, when I buy a track bike, it will have to have a title, and it will be put in my name. Being it will be a cheap bike, the total cost involved won't be much for the piece of mind I'll get from having the vin come back in my name.

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Not stolen on the day you printed the paper is meaningless thereafter. I mean, it doesn't hurt to have a bill of sale that says it wasn't stolen when you bought it, but it still doesn't eliminate the possibility that party A stole bike, sold to you, and then the next day party B reported it stolen and you were none the wiser.

Like I said, if they run the VIN and it's not stolen, they can be suspicious, but that's it... Unless you are committing some other crime, there is no legitimate reason for the bike to be seized.

There are tons of logical explanations as to why you are in possession of a bike that's not registered or titled in your name. Transporting for a friend. Just bought it and seller had a lien on the title. You're being paid to ship it. And so on. There is nothing illegal about possessing or transporting an unregistered vehicle.

The only way lack of title becomes a problem is if the last owner who DID title it were to call and report it stolen. They would need to have the VIN written down for that, and then explain why they waited X years to report it.

They can't even apply for a duplicate title without a VIN inspection, so that's not a worry.

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I've had to get 3 inspections due to out of state titles. It all depends on the previous state. 2 from NJ and one from somewhere I forget where. My bike is from NJ and the title has to be inspected to match the VIN on the frame. My 1st TT same thing, got it in NJ and the title had to be inspected to match the VIN on the trailer neck.

Basically a dealer, or BMV will do them, BMV is free I believe, dealers charge like 10.00, mainly for the notary fee.

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