[krapfever]

So about 45 miles outside of Columbus is Wayne National Forest. 70+ miles of trails, from tame to insane. The problem is, in order to ride Wayne (or any other State or National Forest) you gotta have a registration sticker (like you'd see on a bass boat or something like that). In order to get a registration sticker, you gotta have...yep, a title.

The Ohio DMV has a form called an "Affidavit of Ownership" in which the owner of a bike too old to have a proper Off Road Title (i.e. pre-1999) swears that the bike is his and a new title is issued. The problem is, you're still required to have a notarized bill of sale in order to use the affidavit. Now, how the HELL does that make sense? If I had a good Bill of Sale, WHY would I need a sworn affidavit just to change it over into a current Off Road Title???


I bought the bike ('74 KS125) at a swap meet from some vendor and had no idea I'd have to deal with all of this b.s. Guess I just wasn't thinking.

Now, I've got a number to call on Monday, but I still don't know if I understand the process right.

I understand that this process exists to limit the number of stolen bikes out there. I'm cool with that. I've had bikes stolen from me and if this one turns up hot and the original owner can be found, I'll surrender it.

So what do I do?

Call the cops and have them run the VIN? Its a 9 digit VIN that I'm almost positive pre-dates their records system. If it comes up clean, will I get another form with which I can generate a new title? What if they have no way of checking a VIN that old? Hell, I don't even know what state this bike came from...

 

[jbranson]

Practically every state has a method to title untitled bikes without a bill of sale. Specially vintage bikes/cars. Usually involves getting a VIN tracing to the state police first. Then going the DMV route. Check the states DMV website thoroughly first. If that doesn't help be Mr. Courteous and visit the DMV very politely asking questions.
Worse comes to worse you can use a title service.....possibly, not sure about off road machines.
JohnnyB

 

[KeninIowa]

Don't get too wound up until you talk to them. When Iowa started titling dirtbikes for park registration they understood that there are lots of old bikes out there w/o any paperwork.

Might start the converstion something like; "I've had this bike twenty years and never had any reason to register it until now."

You're right the nine digit VIN probably won't come up. That CB360 I have the PO lost the title. He's a friggin' deputy sheriff, the bike's been out of the system long enough even he can't figure out how to get me a title without an old registration or something. Iowa has a title bonding proccess that's easy and ends up costing about a hundred bucks, but I'm not paying for it because he lost the title.

 

[coolatula]

I bought a boat and trailer once at an auction and they could not find the title(they found it later which saved some grief). I had to have the local Police Dept. come out and take a picture of each and run the serial numbers(cost about $15.00 each at the time). The boat also had an old registration number as well.

If they hadn't of found the titles I would have went ahead with the other procedure. When the vehicles would have came up clean the P.D. would have given me an affidavit. I would have taken that and the bill of sale from the auction company to the local DMV and start the process there to get a title for each in my name.

If they MAKE you have to have a notarized bill of sale just SELL it to a friend(no one says you don't need the money real bad and have to sell it cheap!).

Then when you get back on your feet(next pay day/next month?)just BUY IT BACK,but when you buy it back have it NOTARIZED this time.

Make sure you have the P.D. run the VIN# first before you do all of this,so if it's hot your friend isn't caught up in a hot/stolen bike(that's not the way to treat and keep friends).

 

[UngaWunga]

Title bonding? Wow.. that sucks. Here in NH we fill out a Verification of VIN form, get a cop to sign it, and bring that and a bill of sale to the town hall. That's all they need for a registration.

 

[motomark32]

Hey Krap, I'll be interested to hear how things work out for you. I'm in Cleveland, thinking the same thoughts about titling my 71 sl100, which was a barn bike gift from a friend. The one additional wrinkle in my story is that someone took a hammer & punch to my vin tag. The vin # is still legible on the tag and on the other side of the headstock, so i'm not sure what the point of that was, but it now make the bike look shady.

 

[motomark32]

If you're interested, you can check Ohio Title info by VIN online with Ohio BMV free at this link;
https://www.dps.state.oh.us/atps/titleinq.asp?mode=i
Try it on a bike you already own, it's kinda cool. Also a great way to check out bikes you're looking at purchasing, see if the seller's on the up and up.

For stolen, you could also check here;
https://www.nicb.org//cps/rde/xchg/nicb/hs.xsl/vincheck.html although I've never had a confirmed stolen vehicle to check if this site really works or not. Good luck!

 

[krapfever]

Mark,

Thanks for the tip, I had already found the first link, but not the second.

I'm thinking because the VIN for this bike is an older-style number (i.e. xx-xxxxx) its not going to show up on many computerized record searches like a more standard, modern 17 digit number will.

So far, I've been to the Title Bureau at the Franklin County Clerk of Courts, was referred to the Ohio BMV Title Division, then kicked BACK to the Clerk of Courts to get a "Court Order Title", whatever the hell that is...classic run around. Leaves me wondering how much of this referring to different offices has to do with lazy/clueless/bitter/couldn't-care-less bureaucrats who just don't want to deal with me.

Sucks anyway because I got the day off due to half the city having no power (CRAZY windstorm a la Hurricane Ike blew through yesterday) and can't do anything about this since every government office is closed.

Eric

 

[motomark32]

The hassle you're describing is exactly why I haven't attempted to title mine yet. I'm still kicking myself for not buying another sl100 I'd seen on ebay. Crap bike with a clean frame/title in Wadsworth, went for $79 if I recall. Had a vintage boriani (sp?) race pipe and carb set up for the pipe. Damn.

Since it sounds like you've got some time to kill today, your sig line "Honda go sideways!", is that by any chance a quote from a former Paddy employee? It sounds like Miz.

-mark

 

[krapfever]

Naw, that ain't from Miz (though he does say the damnedest things sometimes).

Its from an old Honda promo patch a friend had -- some cartoon character on a dirt track bike sporting a toothy grin and next to him was written in goofy Engrish: "Honda Go Sideways!"

 

[krapfever]

Mark,


Okay, I got the title. If you, or anybody living in Ohio for that matter, needs to title an old bike but all you have is, say, a bill of sale here's what you can do:

-Go to your local county courthouse and ask the Clerk of Courts for a "Court Order Title" application. Its pretty straightforward stuff: vehicle description, your name, SSN, shit like that. There is one section where you provide a description of the circumstances under which you came to own the bike. Make sure you get this notorized (usually there is an in-house notary -- I mean, it IS a courthouse).

-The clerk will then charge you some money (in my case $35, cash or check only please) and call one of the judges upstairs to see if he/she is available.

-Next, you go upstairs to visit the judge in his/her chambers, the judge reviews your application and signs off. Take this to the title bureau and you'll be issued a CO (a.k.a. "Court Order" Title). Done.

--One thing of note: I got plenty of advice on this ahead of time from friends and they all told me to make up some b.s. story about "the bike has been in the family for years" or "just make a fake bill of sale" or blah, blah, b.s, blah. If you're the type of person that can sit across the desk from a judge, lie and get away with it, then good for you. Personally, judges scare the shit out of me so I told him the truth: swap meet bike, no bill of sale, etc. He just sized me up, said I looked honest and signed the paper.

A bill of sale would have probably made things go a little smoother, though.

Eric

 

[krapfever]

Mark,


Okay, I got the title. If you, or anybody living in Ohio for that matter, needs to title an old bike but all you have is, say, a bill of sale here's what you can do:

-Go to your local county courthouse and ask the Clerk of Courts for a "Court Order Title" application. Its pretty straightforward stuff: vehicle description, your name, SSN, shit like that. There is one section where you provide a description of the circumstances under which you came to own the bike. Make sure you get this notorized (usually there is an in-house notary -- I mean, it IS a courthouse).

-The clerk will then charge you some money (in my case $35, cash or check only please) and call one of the judges upstairs to see if he/she is available.

-Next, you go upstairs to visit the judge in his/her chambers, the judge reviews your application and signs off. Take this to the title bureau and you'll be issued a CO (a.k.a. "Court Order" Title). Done.

--One thing of note: I got plenty of advice on this ahead of time from friends and they all told me to make up some b.s. story about "the bike has been in the family for years" or "just make a fake bill of sale" or blah, blah, b.s, blah. If you're the type of person that can sit across the desk from a judge, lie and get away with it, then good for you. Personally, judges scare the shit out of me so I told him the truth: swap meet bike, no bill of sale, etc. He just sized me up, said I looked honest and signed the paper.

A bill of sale would have probably made things go a little smoother, though.

Eric

 

[coolatula]

quote:Originally posted by krapfever

Mark,


Okay, I got the title. If you, or anybody living in Ohio for that matter, needs to title an old bike but all you have is, say, a bill of sale here's what you can do:

-Go to your local county courthouse and ask the Clerk of Courts for a "Court Order Title" application. Its pretty straightforward stuff: vehicle description, your name, SSN, shit like that. There is one section where you provide a description of the circumstances under which you came to own the bike. Make sure you get this notorized (usually there is an in-house notary -- I mean, it IS a courthouse).

-The clerk will then charge you some money (in my case $35, cash or check only please) and call one of the judges upstairs to see if he/she is available.

-Next, you go upstairs to visit the judge in his/her chambers, the judge reviews your application and signs off. Take this to the title bureau and you'll be issued a CO (a.k.a. "Court Order" Title). Done.

--One thing of note: I got plenty of advice on this ahead of time from friends and they all told me to make up some b.s. story about "the bike has been in the family for years" or "just make a fake bill of sale" or blah, blah, b.s, blah. If you're the type of person that can sit across the desk from a judge, lie and get away with it, then good for you. Personally, judges scare the shit out of me so I told him the truth: swap meet bike, no bill of sale, etc. He just sized me up, said I looked honest and signed the paper.

A bill of sale would have probably made things go a little smoother, though.

Eric

Man,that's great news!
I motorcycle parts dealer I know SAY'S it's not hard to get a title in Indiana(he's done it several times),but I really don't know.

I have a CB200 I really need to see about getting a title for.
That is if I don't turn it into a track day bike like my Hodaka.

 

[coolatula]

quote:Originally posted by krapfever

Mark,


Okay, I got the title. If you, or anybody living in Ohio for that matter, needs to title an old bike but all you have is, say, a bill of sale here's what you can do:

-Go to your local county courthouse and ask the Clerk of Courts for a "Court Order Title" application. Its pretty straightforward stuff: vehicle description, your name, SSN, shit like that. There is one section where you provide a description of the circumstances under which you came to own the bike. Make sure you get this notorized (usually there is an in-house notary -- I mean, it IS a courthouse).

-The clerk will then charge you some money (in my case $35, cash or check only please) and call one of the judges upstairs to see if he/she is available.

-Next, you go upstairs to visit the judge in his/her chambers, the judge reviews your application and signs off. Take this to the title bureau and you'll be issued a CO (a.k.a. "Court Order" Title). Done.

--One thing of note: I got plenty of advice on this ahead of time from friends and they all told me to make up some b.s. story about "the bike has been in the family for years" or "just make a fake bill of sale" or blah, blah, b.s, blah. If you're the type of person that can sit across the desk from a judge, lie and get away with it, then good for you. Personally, judges scare the shit out of me so I told him the truth: swap meet bike, no bill of sale, etc. He just sized me up, said I looked honest and signed the paper.

A bill of sale would have probably made things go a little smoother, though.

Eric

Man,that's great news!
I motorcycle parts dealer I know SAY'S it's not hard to get a title in Indiana(he's done it several times),but I really don't know.

I have a CB200 I really need to see about getting a title for.
That is if I don't turn it into a track day bike like my Hodaka.

 

[motomark32]

Hey Eric,

Congratulations and thanks for posting up the info! I can definitely swing a B.O.S., the only real drawback for me in this process is that the county courthouse for me is in Downtown Cleveland, my least favorite place. I wonder if I could go to any county's courthouse?

Maybe we should start a "Caferacer Title Service" for Ohio bikes 200cc or less. Who'd we have to split the profits with for the use of the Caferacer name?

 

[motomark32]

Hey Eric,

Congratulations and thanks for posting up the info! I can definitely swing a B.O.S., the only real drawback for me in this process is that the county courthouse for me is in Downtown Cleveland, my least favorite place. I wonder if I could go to any county's courthouse?

Maybe we should start a "Caferacer Title Service" for Ohio bikes 200cc or less. Who'd we have to split the profits with for the use of the Caferacer name?