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Hello, I really need some advice here, I am a brand new to bikes and this event was my first bike purchase. I purchased a bike from someone that I’ve known along time. We traded, I gave him some motors and he gave me this bike. I asked him for the title and he said that when he bought it that he was never given one. This was only a few months earlier, he had a bill of sale but no title. So my first thought is this bike is stolen. So I run the VIN with Secretary of State, local PD, and bumper to see what came up. Turns out it’s not stolen, I was told by the Secretary of State employee the last time anything was done with the bike was 2013. So I can apply for a new or lost title. I thought great. I asked them if they could tell me who the owner was in 2013 that registered the bike and they said no. I want to know this so then if they have the damn title I can save a whole lot of different hoops I need to jump through. So there was no plate on the bike, just the Vin. Main question I guess is. How can I find out who registered this bike in 2013, one I wanna see if I can get the title and 2 I just wanna hear it from them that they let the bike go years ago. Even tho it’s not reported stolen or that, why have the last 2 owners not had a title. So can we find out who last owned this bike off the VIN??
Last edited by MikeJonez; Jun 13, 2023 at 12:32 AM.
Reason: Better title
You might check with your local HD Dealer to see if they have any service records. If they do, they may contain information about who the customer was at the time, if they will provide you with a copy.
Depending on your state regulations, you may be able to get a bonded title with the Bill of Sale that was given to you. Generally, you want a lien free title in the name of the person you are purchasing the bike from that they sign and assign t you during the purchase. Otherwise it's a lot like the wold west and subject to state laws in terms of attaining proper ownership, registration etc.
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First bike purchase first headache
Shhhh.
