Noobs VIN number hunt

[Yamajoey]

Hey fellas,I was hoping someone would be able to tell me where the VIN number would be on the frame of a 79 xs 250,I am new to biking and bought the old girl off ebay,she is a bit of a dog at the moment but with a lot of tlc I reckon she will be OK.
Anyhoo I need to fill out a V5 registration form but I need the frame number to register the bike in my name .
The bike has been in dry storage for a number of years ,its suffering from a fair bit of surface rust on the chrome ,its gonna need a few bits here and there but all in all its in fair condition for its age .
I bought it as a non runner ,so when I got it home tried to start it with the help of some jump leads ,it seems to be getting fuel but not firing up ,so I took the plugs out left them on the leads and tried again to see if there was a spark ,there wasnt,on either side ,any thoughts as to the cause ?.
I am waiting for my haynes manual to arrive (ebay again) and a speial scratching stick so I dont wear my fingers out whilst scratching my head when this project gets underway.
I know this is a site spcifically for XS11,s but I was hoping someone would be kind enough to give me a little advice ,it would be much appreciated ,thankyou
Joe.

[CatatonicBug]

Well, if it's in the same place as the XS, it will be on the side of the fork tube, and stamped on the right side of the engine. Because it's a 79, the VIN is the Serial number, which happens to be a shorter number than the modern (after '80) vehicles recieved.

[Yamajoey]

Cool,I had spotted the stamp on the engine and wondered whether it was there ,ok thanks I will look on the fork tube aswell

[fredintoon]

Cool,I had spotted the stamp on the engine and wondered whether it was there ,ok thanks I will look on the fork tube aswell

Hi Joey,
the engine & frame numbers should be the same but if they are different (some PO may have plugged in a different engine) go with the frame number that's stamped on the steering head.

[petejw]

Congrats on the bike
my first road bike was a 78 xs250 back in 82,
will be a good bike to learn on.
If the bikes been sitting for a bit, start cleaning
and checking all the wire connections and change
all fluids.
Good luck with it.