VIN Numbers on the Title

[CatatonicBug]

Hi all. I just bought my first bike (as outlined below) and need to title it here in Missouri. The title that I got from the seller has a spot for the VIN, but has the serial number listed there instead. Is that usually how bikes are titled? It just seems strange not to list the actual VIN from the bike on the title when that is what that space is for.

[planedick]

VIN

Means Vehicle Identification Number, on the XS it is on the steering neck of the frame and on the engine....

[CatatonicBug]

I know what the VIN is, and I have that too. The Serial number is on the engine and the neck, and is 9 digits long. However, all VINs are 17 digits long, and is printed on a label on the opposite side of the neck from where the Serial Number is stamped.

I was just wondering why the current title has the serial number in the VIN spot. Is that how bikes are usually titled? Why is the VIN not listed on the title?

[Axel]

?

Arent they the same ?

[CatatonicBug]

Nope. The serial on my bike is 4W1001544
However, the VIN, listed on the label on the left side of the neck, is JYA4W1001BA001544.
The numbers both end the same, but all VINs are 17 digits long. I figured this out when trying to quote insurance on the Progressive website. They required the whole 17-digit VIN, not the Serial number.

[Axel]

Learn somethig new every day

Interesting - I had to go check my ownership papers .
81 Midnight shares some systems with the XJ11 .
Welcome brother !

[CatatonicBug]

Axel,

Is your bike titled with the serial or the VIN on it? I am just curious as to whether I should try to get it corrected. I'm a stickler for this kind of detail, so if my current tile is incorrect, I would like to do everything I can to correct it.

[vincer]

Is the existing title a missouri title? If not you may have to take it to the highway patrol and they will have to run the numbers to confirm that the bike is not stolen. If it is a missouri title then somebody made a huge mistake as the title should have the VIN number and not the serial number. I did check my title and mine has the VIN number in the proper place. Did you get a bill of sale with the bike. If you take it to the highway patrol then I would make sure that you have a signed and dated bill of sale, if nothing else, for peace of mind.

[CatatonicBug]

Yeah, the existing title is a valid MO title, just issued in 8/2008. I am at least the 3rd owner of this bike, and both PO's were here in MO too. I didn't get a bill of sale, since the title has all the necessary spots to fill in the sale price and signatures.

I thought it was odd that the Serial number would be listed in the VIN spot. I guess I will make some phone calls to the DOR and see what they would like to do about it. I was just curious whether other people's bikes were titled with VINs or Serial Numbers - especially in Missouri.

[Axel]

Canada

Mine is with the serial number but this is Canada ...

[Brian_D]

The serial number and the vin prior to '81 were the same and were 9-digits in length. During the '81 model year, Yamaha added the JYA and some other digits to meet the US 17-digit VIN requirement. My '81 LH also has the 17-digit VIN on the neck sticker and the 9-digit serial number on the same sticker. The title has the 9-digit serial number. I also have Progressive - call them, they are aware of how to pad the serial number for insurance purposes....I think they usually pad with preceeding 0's.

[vanhump]

Catatonic, You got my curiosity up so I had to dig my title out and check. I have an 80 G and it has the 9 digit serial number on the title for the VIN. I am in Virginia and have Proggresive insurance and never no problem. Did my insurance over the net and not through an agency.

[CatatonicBug]

Brian,

Thanks for the history. That helps me understand it a bit better.

VanHump - Progressive would have allowed me to enter just the Serial, but I wanted to see if the system would auomatically recognize the model if I only entered the Serial. It didn't. When I entered the whole VIN, it recognized it right away.

[skipt]

My California title is just the nine digits.

Skip

[XSPastor]

My SH doesn't have a 17 digit VIN either. Never did. The serial number (which matches the frame and engine number) is on the title.