I hate to say it but those rivets look like someone else (not Honda) has put the VIN plate on. Sure it happens all the time after powdercoating etc but in your case their is this discrepancy. Id contact the State DMV on your current Title and ask them for a background check on the bike.
Good luck,
Andy
+1, those are modern pop rivets, Honda never used them in the past -nor do I think they use it now.
Jona, you have been sold a bike with no valid title. Even if your intention was good, the DMV inspector doesn't have to know whether you bought the bike with no knowledge of the situation or you are part of the act.
I don't think I really have to say this, but you have two options:
1) Give up and consider the money spent as a lost, and try to sell the bike for parts trying to recover that money.
2) Burn all your bridges and move on and try to get the bike registered under any circumstance. You can talk to the inspector and explain the situation: the money paid, your lack of knowledge about the numbers engraved in the steering stem, the bike age -no suspect of importing an stolen modern, expensive bike-. Once a person say "no", it is very difficult you will get a "yes". Arrange a meeting with him. Explain the situation, but don't offer alternatives. Ask the inspector what your options are. Even if it is not his problem, he will have a hard time telling you you have to lose your money. If you don't get a satisfactory answer, leave before getting a "no" and scheduel a meeting again in a few days. Be a pain in the back. Be friendly. Put the ball in his court: make him feel guilty for doing what he have to do. This works sometimes in Spain, much better than bribing or threatening.
Whatever you do with the engraved number, if there is only one inspector, there would be no way to fool him, and you can always pretend you are stupid when you want, but it sucks when people take you as an stupid. Don't commit that mistake.
Let me share my experience with you at the spanish customs. French bike, no title. No way to registering without a valid title. Got an Alabama title through a title company. Went to the customs office to pay the duties. Didn't have much experience on that, but I knew that custom clerks are dealing everyday with people trying to avoid paying taxes or importing forbidden goods. So my target was: "get there, pay, and talk as little as possible". I thought I could be asked where did the bike come through, so I thought to myself I just bought it on the internet and I picked up in Valencia -there is a harbour there-.
So I got into the customs office. "Good morning, I want to import a bike". "Good, is it registered to you or you bought it?" "I bought it, here you have the title and the bill of sale". "Great. Can I see the import document"
Shudder. "What?" "I don't have any other document". The clerk is puzzled. "Where did the bike came through". I explain him I bought it on the Internet to a company that sells bikes to Germany, France, UK and Spain and sends them in containers. I was told to contact somebody in Valencia, went there and picked it up". The guy looks me in the eye and asks the customs manager. He also looks puzzled. I shudder, two years restoration, lots of money spent, no customs=no registration. Suddenly an idea crosses my mind: I took some pictures of the bike when I bought it, and had them with me to show it was a restoration -so I had only to pay for the sale price and not for the estimated value- I show it to them, and with a pity voice, tells them: "It was a wrecker, I bought it for restoration". They ease up, seems that for a moment they thought it was a modern bike. "When was it built?" "1972" They ease up a little more. "How much did you pay for it" "700 euro". "Do you have any proof of payment?" "no sir".
The guy explains me that when the bike arrived, it is not just that you pick it up and then come back to pay taxes. You can't take it out of customs without paying it. I could have offered an explanation saying that the man I got it from should have done it, but I just remain silent leaving him to imagine what happened. I was playing the uninformed so I shouldn't have explanations for everything.
Then, the guy asks me: "so you have been driving a bike with no document at all up to here?" Before I got in I thought about saying somebody brought it in a trailer, but I was wearing my riding jacket and had the helmet with me. It was stupid to deny it, so I just looked him in the eye, raised my shoulders, and showed a gesture like saying "what can i say you, it's obvious" without uttering a word. In that moment, the clerk asked the manager: "should we make the paperwork" The manager said yes. The clerk handed me some documents to fill up and he filled up the customs documentation. In two minutes he handed me the payment document, told me where was the nearest bank office, and in ten minutes I returned with the payment done and they gave me the custom document, after they checked that the VIN number in title and bike matched.
What's my opinion? There was something fishy on it. They could smell it from a mile. Fortunately, the bike was a wreck, so I was not guilty of suspicion of importing an stolen bike. Nevertheless, the procedure was not going the normal path. They needed to check whether I did know what I was doing or not. In my opinion, the key was my reaction when he asked me about whether I drove the bike up to there. If I was capable of admitting -even in an implicit way- that I had done an illegal action, there should be no reason why I should hide anything about the bike. Furthermore, if the bike had gone through customs already, somebody should have already paid taxes, so if I was stupid enough to pay it again, that was not their problem.
