Hello everyone. I am new to posting on HDForums though I have enjoyed looking for much longer than that. Harleys have always been a little expensive for me but I fell into a good deal that is turning out to be a deal with many headaches. Hopefully some of you can point me in the right direction.

I bought highly customized motorcycle from an airman in my unit at the beginning of the year. He laid it down with a girl on the back that wasn't his girlfriend so he had to get rid of it quickly. I picked it up for a good deal as it was in need of some work. He told me the bike was custom built from the frame up with a 2003 Road King engine and street glide body panels but had a custom built title since it was not on a Harley frame. I bought the bike and a few weeks later I noticed some gunk on the neck. After I scraped it off I realized that it was the vin # that had been caulked over by a previous owner. After some snooping at the DMV, I found out that the motorcycle is an actual 2003 Road King from California that had a salvaged title. The person apparently had a custom built title laying around so he caulked the vin and sold it as a custom bike. It went through 3 owners this way and now I am the wonderful owner of a bike with technically no title. I even made sure it wasn't stolen with an officer friend of mine.

I have talked to several people about what to do and I have come to a few solutions. The easiest way to get it done would be to part the bike out. I feel I could recoup most, if not all, of the money by selling the bike in pieces and then I could go buy a legit Harley. This would work but I really do like the bike. Next, I was told I could contact the last person who had the salvaged title and see if he can get it transferred to me. The problem with that is I feel that if he was the shady guy who caulked the vin in the first place he could just say that he never sold the bike and could fight to get it back. Lastly, I was thinking about buying a Paughco frame, switching everything to it, and actually titling it as a custom bike. The problem is I have heard Florida is difficult to do this and every part has to be invoiced properly. Impossible to do if 80% of the final bike is from a bike with no title.

I know this is long winded and I apologize. I have just been hearing about it being an expensive paperweight from my wife for a few months and it either needs to go or get on the road. I have added a couple of pics to give you guys an idea of the bike. The bags were cracked, the tank is dented, and the fork tubes were bent. Besides that, it has the 88ci engine with "apparently" performance cams and heads, upgraded carb, Rinehart dual exhaust, and PM Hooligan wheels (21F, 16R).

Thank you for any help.

Brent

 

I apologize. Forgot to add the pics.

 

Use some bondo instead of caulkin and sell it

 

Didn't you say it has a custom built title already? What's the problem then? Bondo back over the VIN, fix the damage, and ride your 'custom built' bike.

I'd probably delete this thread also.

 

Go and find the last person with the salvage title, if they did the concealment the have broken the law so will be in no position to try and claim the bike back.

 

The only problem is the title has nothing to do eith the bike. Its just a random number like HD0123456.

I guess bondo would work. I guess most people won't know the difference. I was just trying to be an honest person. Thank you guys for the help!

 

Does the title not match the frame? I guess I'm lost. I'd fix it legally, then physically and ride it or sell it. It's going to take forever to part it out, and in the long run you're going to be trying to give stuff away to get it out of your hair. I don't know what you have into it, but parting it out don't seem fun or financially sound. Good luck.

 

Yeah I don't think any of it sounds fun.

To answer your question, no the title and frame do not match. It appears an owner had a salvaged title on it but had a random title sitting around. It has 1960 for year exempt for odometer and vin is HDxxxxxxx. I would feel pretty foolish for falling for it but the bike and title went through 3 others before me and transferred from CA to AL to FL without being questioned.

Brent

 

If the Bike was salvaged in Calif. the HD vin on the neck is no longer valid. CHP or DMV may have even covered it? The bike gets a salvage vin when it is retitled. There is something fishy if the current title calls it a 1960. It should show the year it was retitled sometime after '03. Of course if it a Frankenstein bike put together with stolen parts, that is something else? Some deals are to good to be true? Good Luck

 

Yeah the guy probably just had a 1960 title laying around and figured he would sell the bike for more if he sold it as a "custom" than salvaged.

I didn't think they re-vin a bike when it is salvaged. I just thought the new title says salvage and the frame might get a sticker. When I checked the DMV they said the last action they have on that vin is a salvage in like 09.

I know some deals are too good to be true but it came from a guy in my unit who was just as suprised as me. I really contemplated covering it up better and dumping it but I would be worried it would come back on me in the future.