Early H-D VIN number backround check

[bikenut13]

I am considering purchase of a early model H-D [1937] and have been checking the different web sites that provide vehicle VIN number checking services, most that i see are setup to check out 1981 and later 17 digit vin's.

My question is what company can i use to provide a accurate vin number backround check of this old vehicle, it may have been titled last in the 1960's and information would be not on some data bases.
The vehicle appears to have un-altered original H-D vins and the seller seems reputable, but i want more history prior to purchase.

Any helpful information would be much appreciated.

[46EL]

Check and see if your State Motor Vehicle Department will do it for you. If not try the local PD. Or if you know a Police Officer well enogh he might do it. It all depends on what state you live in. Some will and some won't. It is sad there are no universal rules and regulations as far as Titles etc. goes. The US Constitution allows each state to make up different laws and regulations and that causes probelms when you try buying and selling from different states. Good Luck!

[23JDCA 808]

http://www.techsweb.us/hdvin3761.html
...bill

[bikenut13]

Thanks for the two replies, although i had hoped for much more informative detailed replies.

Looks like from what i am understanding if a buyer makes a purchase of a early bike that has the old vin numbers and does not bear the now standard 17 digit vin number [17 digit are easily tracked on many sites] the buyer gets a bill of sale made in good faith from seller, what happens when the bike is presented to a local state law enforcement agency and they find it was stolen 20 years ago, sounds like the buyer [me] ends up the loser.

How do all these real old vintage bikes that are sold end up titled, sounds like there should be some way to check out the history of these older bikes before a buyer lays down his money.

[Sargehere]

In most states, the motor number, like "47EL1234," IS the title on Harleys before 1970 and the institution of 17-digit VINs.
It sounds like you're identifying a niche market. No such warranty service exists for the old Harleys and Indians, which we know can "exist" in the guise of as little as a left engine case with an unmolested number and a genuine, old paper from a state motor vehicle authority. People make high-dollar transactions all the time on little more than that and a handshake.

Like 46EL described above, there are no uniform Federal rules on that, the regulation of motor vehicles generally being considered the states' business. What one can do in any state is inquire about the legitimacy of the paper that is offered with the vehicle being sold. It's a law enforcement procedure to "run a number," and the procedures vary, but a legitimate title or bill-of-sale can be transferred, and even between states.

Usually, states require that someone, a MV inspector or LEO, examine the vehicle in person when presented for the first time for registration in a state with an out-of-state title/registration, but it's usually a simple procedure. If the vehicle doesn't appear on any hot sheet that they reference, the transaction goes through.
If you want more protection than that, it sounds like you want a title warranty service, a "Carfax" for old motorcycles. That's basically a form of insurance company, taking responsibility for the legitimacy of, like I said, what could have recently been no more than a left engine case bearing a number, and a state paper bearing that number. Good luck with that! \

All this comes back to the "everybody knows everybody else" nature of the antique bike hobby, worldwide. It's not perfect, and ripoffs occur, but when someone gets a dis-reputation in our hobby, everyone else hears about it before long, and he doesn't last long. That's one of the protections that worldwide conversations, like this one, provide.