Topic: No title or registration ... CT law advice?

[nickap]

Hi all -- with being stuck at home I'm finally doing the restoration work needed for the 1980 Honda CB650c that has been sitting in my garage for an embarrassing number of years ... I'm pretty sure I can get it running again, but I'm wondering what happens when I finally get it ready to ride. I bought it 10 years ago, from a guy who had (like me) intended to restore and ride it, but never got around to it. So he never ended up getting it registered, and he didn't have a title. So what I have is a bill of sale from that guy, and also the bill of sale that he got when he bought it from the previous owner - but no title or registration. My understanding is that for a 1980 bike in CT I don't need a title, but if I don't have a title, then I need a copy of a previous registration in order to get it registered again. It seems like there must be some kind of a work around though; this can't be the only time an old bike has shown up without title or registration. Does anyone know what I will need to do to get it registered?

[69cb750]

Does anyone know what I will need to do to get it registered?

Each state has procedures for registration or titles for old vehicles.
Contact your dmv office and ask what the procedure is (my state and dmv is shut down, you may have to wait).

[DaveBarbier]

Yeah, in CT we don’t need titles for vehicles (bikes or cars) older than 20 years. I have registered bikes with the Ownership Affidavit (form H-115) and a Bill of Sale. I don’t think I had a registration for them. I would try to call the DMV and double check though.

[Doobie]

It's the same in Mass. You can register an old bike without a title using proof of prior registration.

I've been told that it's possible to get a title by registering an old bike in NH, which supposedly only requires a BoS. Evidently, you don't need to live there either. I have not looked into this, so I'm just passing it along, in case you run out of other options.

[nickap]

Good to know ... I think I heard that about Vermont too. I'm hoping that it won't be necessary, but do you know whether a bike inspection is required if you go to one of those states to register? It wouldn't be too hard to take a quick drive up there, but if I have to rent a trailer and haul the bike along, that would be a lot more complicated.