vfr with vin problems, help clear confusion

Hey
i recently purchased a used bike from a guy in Pacifica Ca. The bike was advertised as an 86 vfr 750 and it needed to be reassembled. the p/o provided a non op dmv notice and the bike's clear title. i confirmed the vin matched the neck stamping but since it had no vin decal/tag other than on the steering neck, i left it like that. i did note that the neck stamping was not the typical clean inline stamping and did mentioned it to p/o. he stated not being problem with dmv and again referred to dmv issued title and non op notice. previous owned did state dmv had problem with year of bike as it was listed on title as an 85 honda and that this model was not available until 1986.
i changed the registration into my name and continued the non op with ca dmv as the bike needed to be put together. well, yesterday i got the bike to start. rather that run the bike illegally and lose it when i got pulled over (yeah, i'm that guy), i went to insurance agents office to add to policy and was told vin is missing one digit. since i did not have bike with me and only had the dmv non op cert, i was not able to dispute. then i went to dmv and they also have the bike listed as an 85 honda and confirmed a vin of only 16 digits. the dmw now wants me to bring bike and paperwork to them so they can confirm number (before allowing it to register) my concern is if the bike is not legit, they will take it from me and all i have spent fixing bike is out the window.
my question is simply to confirm what year honda introduced vfr 750. every bit of research shows available from 86 and the model i supposibly purchased was only available from 86-87. does anyone know if honda released early version of this bike in 85? Also, what about the 16 digit vin? the poorly stamped neck vin that is not straight or crisp.

any thoughts would help
Frank

 

bike could have been built in 85 and still be a 86 model but with out vin tag on frame w/ manufacter date it would be hard to confirm.

 

May be ask them for a one day temp so you can get their, its a long shot, but maybe. Also does the person have the old registration?

 

even if it the bike as an early released 86 that was sold in 85, the registration should still list the bike as an 86. dmv did provide a temp registration that is good for two months but like i said, i am afraid the bike will be taken and i will be out purchase price and cash invested in parts to get bike running

 

I would think they would just not give you registration.
not take the bike. but again you never can tell these days.
hopefully someone will post some better info for you soon.

 

Taken from who, the DMV? As long as its not stolen, I don't see how they can take it. Tell them your going to part it out or race it if you can register it. May be buy a crashed bike w/ a vin plate, mount that to you bike. I can't see a cop checking both, its a bitch to see the neck on my bike.

 

The 16 digit VIN would have me nervous too. I can't think of any reason for that other than tampering. Have you confronted the p/o on the VIN issue? Is ther 17 digiits on the paperwork? It all sounds kinda fishy to me to be honest.

 

all official dmv paperwork made out to myself and the previous owner all show 16 digits. previous owner states owning bike since 2002 and having it as non op entire time as he was planning on restoring bike but never got around to it.

 

They would only take it if it was stolen. And even one number short it would trigger an NCIC hit if they ran it. If it was listed you would already know because a nice policeman would have been called to talk to you about it at the DMV.

 

Vin must be 17 characters, 10th will tell what year, E = 1985, F = 1986. This is my 100th post.

 

here is what i have found out so far regarding honda vin's

The VIN should read as follows:

3 digits world manufacturer identifier (JH2 for Japan made Honda's, and 1HF for US made for example) 5 digits vehicle description (sc120 for my '84 vf1100c for example) 1 check digit 1 character model year
1 character plant description
6 digits sequence number

17 digits total.

currently my vin has sc160 in the five digit vehicle description. if anyone knows what the vehicle code for an vfr is it would be appreciated. i ran vin through vin a honda vin decoder
Honda Motorcycle VIN Decoder @ Motoverse.com
after some online monkeying around with decoder, I was able to get current vin to decode with addition of one zero and it shows to be vin for a 85 vf1000r. this was the only match i could come up with that did not trip a check sum error

 

vin for 86 vfr 750 should have vehicle description code "rc240" as part of vin, character 4 through 8. my stamping is for 85 vf1000r, i got poked and did not even know it. lesson learned the hard way as usual, now dmv is aware of this and i am stuck with a bike i can not drive or sell. good information regarding hondas at
http://www.motorera.com

 

Man, I'm sorry to hear that, but it all did seem pretty fishy.

 

Buy the biggest POS that you can find (maybe with blown engine?) that has a clear title and transfer all of your parts onto that frame. More time consuming than hard, but it may turn into a full restoration when you get into it.
I feel for you, that sucks.
Mike.

 

reg as 1000 then back in the day people would stuff 1000 cc motoors in 750 gixxers and never had problem as long as it doesnt come back stolen

 

So is it a 1000R frame? Why not just register it as a 1000R?

 

actually its a vfr 700/750 frame with a partial vfr1000 vin number stamped on it. the vin stamped on it is still one digit short. why pay insurance for a one liter when only 750?

 

chp impounded bike about two weeks ago during vin inspection appt. officer stated they will do acid etching on vin area to reveal correct numbers. Today i took a call from sf stolen vehicle task force and it has been confirmed bike was stolen in 1988. officer stated bike not registered in cali until 1995 and dmv must have slipped up on checking vin during that registration. officer stated original owner paid off by insurance company and now insurance company is legal owner.

 

This is what I would buy if there was a problem, frame/title.
HONDA 1986 VFR700 VFR 700 INTERCEPTOR FRAME:eBay Motors (item 110438023105 end time Sep-30-09 07:40:23 PDT)

 

yeah, that would have been a good idea about two or three months ago. cops have the bike now and i am at mercy of an insurance company ( we all know how that will turn out). time will tell, my guess is i got boned and will have to sue previous owner for selling me a stolen bike.