This confirms it: I've lost my mind.

At this point you should be golden. The VIN check is a key component. No state will register a bike that comes up as stolen and the VIN check is needed to clear the bike. The reason you dont' need to do that when buying from a dealership is because they run a VIN check when they purchase the bike.

 

Now I just need pipes!

 

Which reminds me, I've been wondering about the Mac 4-2 pipes I've seen for sale. There's no cross bar at the collectors. Does that mean rejetting?

 

Sorry about the extra grieve you have to go through, Baldwonder. Didn't you read my post this thread on page two, LOL.

"I went the VT route and did not need a notarized bill of sale. In my case, I bought the bike in Florida, so I took with me a Florida bill of sale which I downloaded form the FL DMV. I also downloaded an odometer/VIN verification form form the FL DMV. After picking up the bike I had a local Sheriff meet me at and he verified the VIN and odometer and signed the form I brought with me along with his information. One thing to keep in mind, VT will not issue a title for a bike older than 15 years old. Only are registration. I don't think they titled bikes back then. So as long as the bike is older than 15 years old it should be no problem. Here how it works. I used this form:
DMV-DB119
You don't have to be a resident and don't have to be in the state to apply. VT will accept your bill of sale and the the odometer/ VIN verification by a certified agency in your state (in FL, state or county law enforcement officer is authorized to do the check). You will be charged 6% of the sale price. But you will at minimum, be assessed on a $500.00 sale price even if you paid less for the bike. Then it will cost you an additional $44.00 for the registration and plates which is good for one year. You can use that for a year and transfer before they expire to NJ if you like. In my case I went and paid FL to get a FL title using the VT registration as proof of ownership. Good luck."

No harm done. And it's not like you are in a rush since you won't need it until the bike is roadworthy.

 

That would have helped, but yeah, no rush, no harm, no foul. I'm honestly just excited that it was a somewhat positive response, and the local cops didn't think I was trying to pull anything, so that's extra awesome.

 

Shouldn't need to rejet. The bike will sound a little different, and you will want to check the idle mixtures and do another running synch.

 

Ok, good to know that's a viable alternative if I can't get a decent set of originals. Thanks, K-moe.

 

Just email me a photo of the bike - your address, your social, your mothers maiden name and you credit card number I'll be happy to take care of all this for you.

 

Hmm, sounds legit. Pipes too?

 

On the factory pipes, any difference between the 81 xj650 maxim pipes and the 82?

 

No difference.

 

Just the man to answer! While I've got you, do you sell the header clamp nuts, and/or any of the gaskets for the pipes?

 

But of course! Drop me a note and we'll go from there....

 

Nice! And I aplrecoate the info/process documentation of going the VT route. I have a 81 550 Seca I'm bringing back to life (slowly) and it's also titless. I was thinking about going the "Hobbyist" route here in WI but if I could get a clean title and then register it here in WI under my collector number, it would only be $23 for life, vs $75 for life to start a Hobbyist number also.

 

You have a 550 Seca that's "titless"??? I dated a girl like that once, and only once.

 

Better to be title-less than to have those awful looking fake titles! Damn forgeries!

 

Got this on Friday, guys. (Sorry for not posting until now. Big weekend with the family.)

 

Did you get a title or just registration?

 

Just registration. They do not issue titles for bike over 15 years old. However, after I get my year's worth of use out of this plate (probably mostly in the garage, being worked on), I can then take this registration as proof of ownership to an Ohio BMV and get a title issued.

Though I am left scratching my head... aren't I supposed to get a sticker to put on this plate? I'll call later, but it might just be coming in another envelope. Ohio always sends theirs separately (maybe to avoid fraud through theft?).

 

Did you get to talk to any of the VT prisoners over the phone?

 

Nope, all through the mail. Introverts unite! Or not.

 

If you do call, you will be asked if you would like to speak to a prisoner, instead of someone at the DMV. Absolutely go for it. The guy I spoke with was very knowledgable and extremely helpful. I don't think they let Bubba work the phones.

 

Follow up: this came in the mail yesterday.

Now it's official!

Next, get the bike running.

 

So do you plan to keep this registered in Vermont or will you be able to get Ohio registration without a title? I'm curious how that works.

 

Either when the registration expires or I go to sell it (whichever comes first), I'll take the VT registration to the Ohio DMV. All DMVs have a "Big Book of Interstate Licensing Policies" and they'll see that VT bikes over 15 years old don't have titles, so Ohio will issue a new title. Ohio can trust that the bike isn't stolen because in registering the bike with VT, VT has already run the VIN and verified it hasn't been reported as stolen.

This is all according to things I've read on other forums of others trying to do the same thing, so this has yet to be seen. However, all the VT part of this came true. I did see one report of a guy in Ohio getting the stink-eye and a big fat "No, GTFO" from one branch, but it would seem it was a very small-town location with one particular person who hadn't seen this before and didn't know what was going on. Everyone that responded to the guy's story was like "What? No, that person is dumb. Go to another location or tell him/her to call Columbus to verify."

 

if this all works out for you (looks like it did) it opens a door to a lot of cheap bikes with no title, you could be a milllllionare !

 

Plus I've seen this bike, no way someone would steal that thing

 

That is exactly how it works. Great description.

 

In this case, it was Craigslist. I think I lucked out that a small Harley parts shop picked it up out of some barn and knew nothing about it. They just seemed to want it gone and didn't want to bother with parting it out.