The Expert Podcast

It's getting a title for a motorcycle any different from getting a title for a car or truck Well technically the title document For a motorcycle is the same as any other motor vehicle However the process of getting a title for a motorcycle or a bike title May have some different requirements and here's the reason why Motorcycles generally have two physical differences that make the titling process More enhanced First is the VIN number the vehicle identification number On a motor vehicle Passenger car truck SUV that VIN number is stamped into many places on the vehicle on the dashboard on the firewall on the cowl usually on the door jams underneath and on modern vehicles there are 14 or 15 hidden VIN numbers on that vehicle
On motorcycles There's not as many places to put a VIN number So it's usually on the forks or on the the neck or so close to the handlebars And it may be in other places of the frame On older Harley Davidson motorcycles It may even be down the engine Or on the engine case The department of motor vehicle agencies in all the states recognize that motorcycles have a different VIN number placement So they usually make a requirement to have a more scrutinized inspection of that VIN number The reason why is because motorcycles are easier to steal they're smaller And if you just change one part sometimes you can get rid of a stolen VIN number So they're going to look at that vehicle More closely to make sure it's not a stolen vehicle In fact When we process titles Every once in awhile we'll get a message that the vehicle has a stolen Active theft record More times than not it's a motorcycle And for whatever reason a lot of those are Harley Davidson motorcycles Because they're easy to swap the motor and just get a new VIN number So if you have a motorcycle and yours is going to be legitimate That's not what we're saying Be aware that you may run into more complex titling processes for a motorcycle versus a regular vehicle Because the DMV recognizes the differences the physical difference of the motorcycle and the The market differences in the security of ownership on a motorcycle title