Motorcycle Vin Number Report?

Question

Can anyone tell me how to get a motorcycle report on a motorcycle my husband is thinking about buying? I can not find anything online for reports, and carfax only has cars.

I have also called my insurance company, and the lady there could not help me. Does anyone know how to see if the bike has been involved in an accident.? If not, how would we ever know that the bike was "laid down" or even wrecked?

Is the person selling the bike REQUIRED to disclose? I saw the title it does have ORIGINAL stamped on it.

Answer 1

No on is required to unless it has been salvage.  Then that should show up on the title.  Most people are pretty honest if you ask.  Look for any dents, scrapes, rust, etc. and ask about them.  Keep in mind that some wear and tear are normal as these are driven on the road and exposed to all kinds of weather and some rocks being tossed from vehicles in the front or beside you.  I would worry more about mechanically working, no leaks, running well, tracks well, etc.

Answer 2

If an accident was never reported there is no way of looking it up anywhere.  You've got to look the bike over for any tell tale signs such as scratches on the engine covers or exhuast, or evidence that parts have been replaced.  If you don't find anything you just have to take the seller's word.  Any honest seller, regardless of the law, would disclose the bike's history, but there isn't much you can do about a dishonest one.

Answer 3

First of all, bikes aren't bound by law to carry their record around with them like cars are. If a vehicle has been destroyed in a wreck (totalled), it can't be registered or given a license plate. A totalled bike that has been rebuilt has to have a special inspection, and if its approved, the bike will be listed as 'rebuilt' on the title.

Usually in a car accident, the cars involved can't be easily fixed by anyone but a real bodyshop that knows what they're doing.

In contrast, many bike wrecks are what we call 'single vehicle accidents'. Thats where somebody lost control for whatever reason (lots of times due to experience or doing something foolish). When a bike is involved in a single vehicle accident, many times its damaged, but mainly just beat up some and scraped like the above poster said. Many times the bike is repairable just by getting replacement parts and the like. Not that you should watch out for bikes that have damage to them, but just explaining why its difficult to find reports.

Put it this way. Say you're in a car wreck. What are the chances that the damaged can be repaired and covered up by the owner of the car just by merely tinkering in the garage? Probably not likely.

If your bike gets laid out on the street? Chances are pretty good the rider can fix it up themselves unless you hit something hard or had an actual collision with another car.

Tell-tale signs of a wrecked bike for the average person:

1. aftermarket mirrors, or mirrors dont match

2. scratches on plastic body panels (fairings) on a sportbike

3. scratches on engine cover (round case on the sides near the footpegs. these will almost certainly get scuffed if the bike falls over)

4. scratches on end of handlebars

5. scratches on end of brake/clutch levers

6. new paint job (on a sportbike, could indicate that the plastic fairings were repaired at some point, or an unpainted fairing was bought as a replacement)

Answer 4

In California the Highway Patrol has access to a data base of MC vin's and can tell the status ,unreported, stolen and recovered or salvage , or stolen.

Check with the Highway Patrol in your state.