So last week I looked at an early 90's CBR600 for sale locally. Bike ran ok, took it for a short ride all checked out. It was listed very low because it has not been on the road and current owner purchased it for parts. I thought with a little bit of body work and TLC I could nurse this "vintage" sport bike back to life. I was concerned that possible it could have been stolen, always good to check, owner did not think so but good to check anyway. Well with the vin# I went to my local police station, they can't check into this and referred me to the DMV. Well went to county DMV which is always so much fun and waited about 40 minutes only to be told they can't do it, you need to go to the state office and they can do it. Well with the state office about 40 minutes away, figured grab lunch and drive over. State office sits on a hill, looks ok from about 50 yards away but once inside looks typically like a run down state building. Why do they all look and smell the same regardless of which state you go to. Anyway, waited about 30 minutes and was told, no we can't do it either you would need to purchase the bike than you are the owner and we can do it. Explained, if I did go through with the purchase then found out it was stolen I could be liable as that was what I'm trying to avoid. She did say it sounded funny but that's the way it goes, and could not help. She said the police or county DMV should not have sent me to the state anyway, guess she just wants her 25 years and retirement more than actually assisting anyone, thanks Colorado!
So happen to go to a local motorcycle dealer for another reason, mentioned what I've been through and he said the state has a website you can check. Wow, no one at the police, county or state DMV obviously knows about this. Simply plugged the vin# in and guess what, its not stolen! Yea, but as we continued our discussion he said that if the bike has not been registered on the road for past 7 years forget about getting it road worthy as you may be able to get a bond in lieu of title but its quite expensive. Good for those restoring an old Ferrari or Ducati that could be worth big bucks than some old CBR.
So hopefully your state is different, has website everyone knows about and can help get some old bikes road worthy again. If you know of another process in Colorado, leave a reply and I'll check into it.
And here is the Colorado site: https://secure.colorado.gov/apps/dps/mvvs/public/entry.jsf
