I desperately need some help from other 1980-81 xj650 owners!

I desperately need some images of 1980 and 1981 XJ650 manufacturer neck ID tags that say “this vehicle conforms to all applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards in effect on the date of manufacture shown above”.

California DMV is saying my 1980 XJ650 is supposed to have an ID tag that says “the vehicle meets all federal emission standards” but that didn’t start until the 1982 model year. They gave me 2 months to either bring a letter from Yamaha stating that or provide some other form of proof or they are going to revoke my registration, I’ve been waiting a month for Yamaha to respond and I’m running out of time. The only other option I can think of is to submit copies of ID tags from other 1980-81 XJ’s and I have some people looking but so far I only have found 1 which I'm sure won't be enough.

Any help I can get from other XJ owners to save my bike will be appreciated more then I could ever express in words and if anyone is worried about sharing their vin/serial number info, all I’ll need is just 1 or 2 of the numbers to show that I’m not just submitting multiple copies of the same ID tag so you can blur out the remaining numbers or I can blur them before I submit them to DMV. If you do want to help you can send the photos to my listed email.

Thank You for your time,

Brad King

 

circumvent the man.

register your bike in Vermont through the mail as a non resident.

or go to a Yamaha dealership they may be able to give you that letter or do an emissions test for you.

81 and above had yics motors which had better emissions. some 81 xj650 still had non yics motors as did the 82 xj650rj.

 

may be a service manual will work for you





California models started in 83 and84

 

thanks for the responses, ironically no actual emissions test is required, the problem is CARB (California air research board) who has declared that in order to register a motorcycle that is 1978 or newer in California it must have the factory ID tag it came with which says the vehicle conforms to all federal emissions standards at the time it was manufactured, the problem with that is, like the 17 digit vin requirement, Yamaha filed for and was granted a stay of execution exempting most if not all of their US bikes through the 1981 model year so Yamaha's manufactured for the US market prior to the 1982 model year never had an emissions tag to begin with. So CARB is trying to require now 40 years later that 78-81 motorcycles have an original manufacturer federal emissions tag that the bikes never came with in the first place and that's what I need to prove to DMV and why I need copies of ID tags from other bikes the same model and year. the requirement needs to be changed and that's what I am fighting for along with being able to ride the the barn find bike I just spent months and money on to get it running and road worthy again.

 

thanks for the responses, I wished I could have done the Vermont thing but the elderly neighbor who bought the bike new, parked the bike in the shed next to his barn in 1994 because was losing his eyesight and by the time I acquired the bike last year his relatives had already packed up and moved the rest of his stuff out of state so I didn't get a title just a bill of sale
As for California, ironically no actual emissions test is required, the problem is CARB (California air research board) who has declared that in order to register a motorcycle that is 1978 or newer in California it must have the factory ID tag it came with which said the vehicle conforms to all federal emissions standards at the time it was manufactured, the problem with that is, like the 17 digit vin requirement, Yamaha filed for and was granted a stay of execution exempting most if not all of their US bikes through the 1981 model year so Yamaha's manufactured for the US market prior to the 1982 model year never had an emissions tag to begin with and some never had any tag, just the serial number stamped on the neck. In spite of that, now 40 years after the fact CARB is trying to require that 78-81 motorcycles have an original manufacturer federal emissions tag which the bikes never came with in the first place. That is why I need copies of ID tags from other bikes the same model and year, I'm hoping to prove to DMV that the requirement needs to be changed so that I can keep riding the basically barn found bike I just spent months and money on to get running and road worthy again.

It should be said that I think this situation is CARB's response to what Mecum and others are doing, just this week I watched 100 or more imported motorcycles get sold to US residents in the Mecum motorcycle auction, these were all motorcycles that were originally manufactured to be sold in foreign markets and never submitted for US approval so CARB is trying to keep them off US highways but they've over reached.

 

Have you moved up the chain to find someone at DMV who knows that happened?
Sometimes it takes a little casual conversation to find someone who is willing to help. The other route is to write to the EPA for a copy of the waiver. It's public record and should be available for a small fee.

 

for Vermont registration you need a bill of sale and a vin check certificate filled out by law enforcement or Yamaha dealer NO title is required.
that would give you time to do your research to reg in CA.