Old Motorcycles and Titles Issue

[zero]

Ok. Back in September I bought a 1979 Honda cb650 for a pretty low price. It didn't run but looked pretty clean. I got a title with the bike, but stupidly, did not check that the VIN matched the bike. Nothing seemed sketchy about the deal so I simply didn't think to do it. It said '79 650 and that was good enough.

 

Two weeks ago I sold it. Between having an accident on my daily rider bike and focusing my efforts on the Z I just haven't had time for another bike. I had never attempted to title or register the bike so I gave the new buyer the signed title from the previous owner.

 

Today I hear from the guy I sold it to that the VIN's don't match on the title and bike. I honestly had no idea about this. Frankly, I probably never would have known if I had kept the bike. Unlike NY where the previous owner and new owner live, NJ doesn't require inspections for motorcycles, so I would have ridden a bike with a mismatched title/registration none the wiser.

 

I contacted the previous owner and he said he would talk to his sister to see if there is any other paperwork (the bike was titled in his sister's name). Does anyone have any experience with this? Finding accurate titling information online is proving pretty difficult. What have people here done with barn finds? Title searches for vehicles without 17 digit VIN's seem hard to find. I will be calling DMV about checking the records of the correct VIN tomorrow (for some reason the title office is closed on Wednesdays...)

 

I figured someone on here might have some insight into this. Thanks

[Tony D]

Bill of Sale, Statement if Fact, lose the mismatched paperwork.

It's not a difficult exercise unless someone turns it into one.