Topic: how to Title a Bike

[Artf0rm]

I have seen a lot of folks ask about this and I know that the answer is different in every state or Provence but I thought it would be nice if the people that had experience with titling a bike that didn't come with one at point of sale could share that knowledge.  I would be happy to give a run down of the North Carolina process but thought there has to be other people in other states that could also use the help.  As these bikes get older I am sure this is going to continue to be a problem.

[Artf0rm]

First, never purchase anything that appears or you think could be stolen.  North Carolina affords something in some cases known as purchases rights if you acquired the bike without knowledge of the item being stolen but inevitably it will involve court and lawyers and it's just not worth it. 

Purchasing a barn find or a bike in a garage for 30 years is of coarse different.  The first thing to do in North Carolina is get a accurate description of why the bike does not have a title.  (i.e.  It's 37 years old and I kept it in a shoe box that burned with my last house).  The DMV will ask you for this reason on a form when applying for your title later.  You can of course get the VIN number (NC uses frame VIN) and call the DMV and they will tell you if the bike is clean of any leans or theft however this only goes back roughly 10-15 years.  Title research goes back to original microfiche to investigate what they warrant as title applications (i.e. VIN scratched off, 2 VINs in history of sale).  Even if to the DMV a "Bill of Sale" does not help you the information on it will help you fill out there forms and comes in handle if you need to show you did actually exchange money for property.  I choose to have someone at the inspectors office run the VIN for theft and lean before spending any additional money on the rebuild.  Just to be safe.

So now you have purchased your title-less bike.  You have a decision to make.  If you are absolutely no question going to make this thing run, get to work.  Until you get it in "running order" to pass safety inspection, your done with title.  If your going to try and sell it as non-running you are supposed to apply for a Non-running vehicle title.  This just states that you have a vehicle and that it's not in any shape to be on the road.

In North Carolina once you have finished your restore and your bike now meets the safety inspection criteria for NC for a motorcycle you can request that it be inspected by a state inspector from the DMV in your county.  Some counties have an option where you may trailer the vehicle to a designated DMV office for inspection or you can make an appointment for a field visit, meaning the officer will come to your home and check out your bike. 

Before an inspector actually gets to you there is a curtain amount of paperwork that needs to be taken care of.  The first thing to do is call your insurance provider and get what is called an indemnity bond.  This will cost you around $100 depending on the agreed value of the bike. (the amount you agree the bike is worth and the max the insurance company will cover you personally for)  This takes roughly 2 weeks from start to finish.  You can choose to do the next steps before or after the inspector shows. 

There are 3 forms that the state requires for title to be issued.  MVR-1 basically vehicle and owner (that's you).  An MVR-92H this is basically what you know about the vehicle and how you came to own it.  and the MVR92A which is just a check list to make sure you have everything before you go to the DMV.  Printing the MVR92A does actually help in organizing everything.
     
If your bike is more then 35 years old from the production date on the VIN place it qualifies as an "antique vehicle" and is not governed under emission regulations.  I'm a little fuzzy as to how that applies for bikes? 

State inspector will give you a print out that states you have a clean VIN number and that you meet the safety requirements ( you have working front and rear brakes, brake lights in the rear, turn signals do not have to be present but if they are must work,headlight in low and high beam, horn works and *THERE ARE NO PARTS VISIBLE MARKED OFF ROAD USE ONLY!)  I ended up talking to the guy for +30 minutes but my understanding is that the bike does not have to be started during this inspection.   
*note CR carbs have a sticker on them.. take it off.

Now that you have your inspection and your ownership/title forms filled out take them and your Indemnity bond to the DMV tag office and receive your tags.  The fees associated to this are a $40 title fee and a 3% tax on the computer value of the vehicle.  (This is not the indemnity bond value.  This is the value the DMV sets to your motorcycle.  Mine was $14)

You can now go home with tags in hand and drive your motorcycle.  Your title is mailed to you after review of your information is complete and certified.  North Carolina loves takes and fees.  I'm sure it's easier in other states but this is how we do it here in the south.  Hope this helps someone.     

[HondaMan]

Here in CO it's not quite that bad, except for the VIN inspection. Here, you can apply to ITS (www.its-titles.com) with whatever info you have and some $$, and they will do a full-nation title search and if OK, get the bike registered in a state where it is legal. In effect, they buy the bike from you, then sell it back to you with a valid out-of-state registration, if it has a clear title or at least has not been reported stolen anywhere in the U.S.. Then, you take the papers to the DMV, get a temporary plate, and get the VIN inspection, then take that to the DMV again and you can get a plate.

However: the VIN inspection was, just this year, taken away from car, bike, and boat dealers, and given to the State Highway Patrol, who does not want it at all. They make you call for an appointment, telling you they will call you back sometime in the next 2 weeks to give you a date: I have been trying this since June this year to title a CB100, and they have NEVER called me back, despite many calls from me. In the meantime, the temporary plate has expired, so I will have to now pay a $100 fine when I next go to get the next paper plate, so I can take it to the State Patrol, IF they ever call for an appointment.

This is our Dem governor's way of 'controlling vehicle theft', per his statements when he issued this new policy last year. If you can figure out how that many ANY sense, good for you: the real effect has now been the loss of more than 100 businesses in the Denver area alone where vintage vehicles of all types used to be restored and sold to people all over the world. They have all closed up shop because they cannot retitle anything. 

[Harsh]

VA isn't too bad either.  You can apply to get a title as an abandoned vehicle.  You can do everything online.

You start out by doing and abandoned vehicle record request.  That checks the VIN to see if anyone holds a title to it.  Not only do they check VA but they use a database for all states.  There is a $25 fee for this.  Once the check comes back (almost instantaneously) you must wait 18 days before you can move onto the next step.  The wait is to provide time in case there is a title holder to come forward and claim the vehicle.  The second step is to place an intent to auction.  This intent is only placed on the DMV's site and in order for anyone to claim it they must have the VIN.  This wait is in case is to provide anyone with a lein on the bike time to claim it.  After the second step is done you can get a title in your name.

I am currently half way through the second portion of this to get a title for my '74 CB750.

[coma13]

This is our Dem governor's way of 'controlling vehicle theft', per his statements when he issued this new policy last year. If you can figure out how that many ANY sense, good for you: the real effect has now been the loss of more than 100 businesses in the Denver area alone where vintage vehicles of all types used to be restored and sold to people all over the world. They have all closed up shop because they cannot retitle anything. 

UGH. Nothing like a little more government regulation to tighten the stranglehold on our already crippled economy. 

[Smoke Detector]

Ontario, Canada process (went through this last fall):
+1 on don't buy anything you think is stolen, cops or karma will catch up with you. It's a big red flag if no title exists so find out as much as you can about why this is the case. If it doesn't feel right it probably isn't.
It's legal here to sell a (non-stolen) bike "for parts" (no title or intention to register). I was looking for a restoration candidate and bought a "parts" bike from a guy that had also bought it for parts (so no title), but ended up not using much from it and it sat with him for ten years. I talked to PO at length and believed what he was telling me about his knowledge of the bike's history, and knew where the guy lived so could turn the heat on if anything wasn't true, but even so it's still a gamble. I obtained registration first, before doing anything else.
The steps and costs:
get a receipt from the PO with their name, signature, address, purchase date, amount, and bike model/VIN (free, essential. IF PO WON"T SIGN A RECEIPT, WALK AWAY)
get an affidavit stating your name address, PO name address, bike VIN and model, circumstances of purchase, and saying "I am making this statement for purposes of obtaining registration and no other improper reason". (cost approx $80-100, I wrote it myself and got a favour from our company lawyer to notarize it)
go to Driver and Vehicle office and pay for a Used Vehicle Info Package (the indirect Ontario money grab  which runs the VIN to show ownership history, technically the PO's responsibility but in actuality always falls to purchaser, approx 25$) If the bike is stolen, this step will/should reveal it, so hold your breath and hope the story you were told by PO is true. In my case the VIN didn't show up in the system, this means the bike was not registered in Ontario previously, and had not been registered as stolen). Most challenging part of this step was that the lack of a now-standard 14-digit VIN confused the computer and the staff, but thanks to my genius suggestion ("add some zeroes to it to make it 14 digits") we were on our way.   
Paid tax on the purchase price - (this would be the direct Ontario gov't grab)
Paid for the cost of a registration (I think $74, grab grab grab)
With the receipt and affidavit in hand, the actual visit to the Vehicles office took 15 minutes, they (and I) were satisfied the bike was clean, and I walked out with the all-important registration document.

[Duanob]

In Washington you can do it but only with a notorized afadavit from the person who's name the bike is registered in. then you apply for lost title and after three years you will get a clear title for it as I understand it. If you bought a bike that was passed around from garage sale to garage sale, forget it. We don't have inspections for bikes which is a good thing.

This is our Dem governor's way of 'controlling vehicle theft', per his statements when he issued this new policy last year. If you can figure out how that many ANY sense, good for you: the real effect has now been the loss of more than 100 businesses in the Denver area alone where vintage vehicles of all types used to be restored and sold to people all over the world. They have all closed up shop because they cannot retitle anything. 

UGH. Nothing like a little more government regulation to tighten the stranglehold on our already crippled economy. 

until your bike is stolen I guess you wouldn't understand.

[coma13]

In Washington you can do it but only with a notorized afadavit from the person who's name the bike is registered in. then you apply for lost title and after three years you will get a clear title for it as I understand it. If you bought a bike that was passed around from garage sale to garage sale, forget it. We don't have inspections for bikes which is a good thing.

This is our Dem governor's way of 'controlling vehicle theft', per his statements when he issued this new policy last year. If you can figure out how that many ANY sense, good for you: the real effect has now been the loss of more than 100 businesses in the Denver area alone where vintage vehicles of all types used to be restored and sold to people all over the world. They have all closed up shop because they cannot retitle anything. 

UGH. Nothing like a little more government regulation to tighten the stranglehold on our already crippled economy. 

until your bike is stolen I guess you wouldn't understand.

That's (one of the reasons) why I have insurance.

[Duanob]

In Washington you can do it but only with a notorized afadavit from the person who's name the bike is registered in. then you apply for lost title and after three years you will get a clear title for it as I understand it. If you bought a bike that was passed around from garage sale to garage sale, forget it. We don't have inspections for bikes which is a good thing.

This is our Dem governor's way of 'controlling vehicle theft', per his statements when he issued this new policy last year. If you can figure out how that many ANY sense, good for you: the real effect has now been the loss of more than 100 businesses in the Denver area alone where vintage vehicles of all types used to be restored and sold to people all over the world. They have all closed up shop because they cannot retitle anything. 

UGH. Nothing like a little more government regulation to tighten the stranglehold on our already crippled economy. 

until your bike is stolen I guess you wouldn't understand.

That's (one of the reasons) why I have insurance.

Insurance may cover the replacement value of the bike but it sure doesn't cover the blood, sweat, tears, and hours and hours of time most of us spent restoring these bikes. Even if I was lucky enough to be covered for what my bike is worth to me I would still want to bash the little thief's head in with a pipe wrench knowing he will dismantle the thing and sell it off in parts on EBAY or CL. Places that I shop for parts.

[d9canada]

In British Columbia (Canada not some banana republic in South America!!) we have a process called last resort.  You send $7 to the DMV (called ICBC or Insurance Corp or BC) with an explanation of your situation.  If they feel it is warranted, they will assist in one of several ways to get the title for you.  They really want you to dig first to get to the previous registered owner but if not possible, you fill out a form, get it notarized and submit it.  This gets you to square one, finally finding out the last registered owner's name and address.  The thing is, you used to get this no problem with a simple search but now privacy laws changed everything.  So then you have to send a registered letter to that person requesting their assistance in completing the transfer, which of course they will probably ignore.  If they do not respond in 30 days, you get title.

Also, here's a cool thing to know..  often dismantled or non-running bikes are left at rented housing of some form.. the landlords often want to just get rid of them but in fact they can seize them under landlord tenancy laws here in BC. 

Also #2, if the PO suddenly tries to claim his bike or charge for giving up title, you hit him up with a bill for storage plus whatever you paid for the bike.

Finally, my advice, first I echo previous comments about signs the dealer is shady.  Second, even if you are really thinking of a bike only for parts, do whatever you can to get title just in case.  If nothing else, you may end up with a titled frame to sell.  I bought a CB900C for parts with a blown motor.  I fed the best stuff from it to my two runners.  But I kept all the stuff so I could still make a decent third bike.  Then I found a bottom end for $75 - thank gawd I have title!

Brian
02 Sportster
2+5/8 CB900C
77 CB550K
74 CB350F

[coma13]

In Washington you can do it but only with a notorized afadavit from the person who's name the bike is registered in. then you apply for lost title and after three years you will get a clear title for it as I understand it. If you bought a bike that was passed around from garage sale to garage sale, forget it. We don't have inspections for bikes which is a good thing.

This is our Dem governor's way of 'controlling vehicle theft', per his statements when he issued this new policy last year. If you can figure out how that many ANY sense, good for you: the real effect has now been the loss of more than 100 businesses in the Denver area alone where vintage vehicles of all types used to be restored and sold to people all over the world. They have all closed up shop because they cannot retitle anything. 

UGH. Nothing like a little more government regulation to tighten the stranglehold on our already crippled economy. 

until your bike is stolen I guess you wouldn't understand.

That's (one of the reasons) why I have insurance.

Insurance may cover the replacement value of the bike but it sure doesn't cover the blood, sweat, tears, and hours and hours of time most of us spent restoring these bikes. Even if I was lucky enough to be covered for what my bike is worth to me I would still want to bash the little thief's head in with a pipe wrench knowing he will dismantle the thing and sell it off in parts on EBAY or CL. Places that I shop for parts.

I'm not trying to be an ass, but how does not being able to get a title stop a thief from doing exactly what you are lamenting here? I'm sure that is what most bike thieves do anyway, and I couldn't tell you the last time I asked for proof of ownership of a hub bought on eBay.

[johnrdupree]

Georgia doesn't title vehicles older than model year 1986 so for the bikes we usually deal with missing titles aren't an issue.  From the Georgia Department of Revenue website:

You can title a 1963-1985 year model vehicles if:
1) you have a title issued in your name;
2) the owner on the front of the title has assigned the title to you;
3) the owner on the front of the title has assigned the title to a dealer and the dealer has assigned the title to you.
     
You can not title a 1963-1985 year model vehicle if:
1) the vehicle has been registered in someone else's name(s) other than the owner(s) shown on the face of the Georgia title.

What this means is that is you buy a bike from an owner that has the title, the state will issue you a title if you want one.  If you buy a bike from someone who doesn't have a title, the state will not issue you one.  At all.  Period.

You still have to register it to to ride it, of course, but that's pretty frickin' easy.  It has to be insured, and the state maintains a database of insured vehicles and they look it up when you're at the local tag office.  It takes 3 or 4 business days for it to show up in the database so be sure to allow some time for that.  If you're in a hurry, have your insurance agent give (or fax) you an insurance binder.

If the bike has been registered in Georgia before, all you need is a bill of sale signed by you and the seller.  If it hasn't been registered in Georgia, you need the bill of sale and an inspection form filled out by any law enforcement officer (form T-22B, downloadable from the GA DOR website).  That can be the local police or sheriff, or the state patrol.  The LEO checks to see if it's stolen and verifies the VIN.  How you get it inspected is up to you: trailer it to the local police station or call the non-emergency dispatch number to have somebody come to your house.  Or flag down a cop driving by your house.  (My tag office told me I had to take the bike to a specific sheriff's station but  knew that was BS.  I went by the station closest to me one random evening to ask about a good time to bring the bike up there for an inspection.  I happened to get there at shift change and the man in charge just picked an officer and sent him to my house.)

Once you've got the T-22B filled out, take it, the bill of sale, and your ID to your county tag office, fork over some cash and they hand you registration papers and a plate.

Good luck,
~john

[bjatwood]

I have a guy in Michigan that can get a title for any of my bikes thru a dealer connection that he uses. Nebraska then requires a VIN inspection that cost's 10 bucks, then you take the inspection certificate to the County Clerk where he/she processes it and a title is printed on the spot.

Or, one can take the Bonded state title process that will cost you 10% of the value of the bike, which the state holds in lein for 2 years. If nobody reports the VIN number stolen, the state will issue you a new title and give you your money back...without interest!

I choose the first option of this post