Registering a bike with no paperwork

RadRacer203

Active Member
I've got my 1974 XL70 up and going, fully ready for the road, and insured but I went to the Massachusetts RMV today and they refused to let me register it because I didn't have any title or previous registration. I'm wondering if anyone knows what hoops I have to jump through to get this thing on the road. I want to register it in Massachusetts where I live as a limited use vehicle so I don't need a class M license, just my standard drivers license, and I know it meets all the criteria for that. Can anyone help me or give me some pointers?
 

red69

Well-Known Member
I don't recall being asked for a driver's license of any kind and currently, V.I.N. verification is waived in Vermont. Go to the Vermont site and download the proper application form.
 

RadRacer203

Active Member
I don't recall being asked for a driver's license of any kind and currently, V.I.N. verification is waived in Vermont. Go to the Vermont site and download the proper application form.

Yeah, I saw that the VIN verification is waived, probably a good time to register questionable bikes like mine lol. I ask about the license because on that form (119) there's a spot to put the "vermont license number". Also, is section 3b just for bikes from dealers? And I'm not sure what section 7 is about. Sorry if these are stupid questions but this is the first vehicle I've ever had to register and the bureaucracy is a little overwhelming
 

69ST

Well-Known Member
They're not stupid questions. Titling a vintage vehicle is anything but uniform...more like a patchwork of 50 sets of different hoops to jump through. That is why, with few exceptions, no one from another state can really provide you with step-by-step instructions. Oh, and the rules keep changing over time.
 

Tripod

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I saw that the VIN verification is waived, probably a good time to register questionable bikes like mine lol. I ask about the license because on that form (119) there's a spot to put the "vermont license number". Also, is section 3b just for bikes from dealers? And I'm not sure what section 7 is about. Sorry if these are stupid questions but this is the first vehicle I've ever had to register and the bureaucracy is a little overwhelming

Overwhelming? Come out to Kalifornistan.

No need for a motorcycle license. Leave vermont license number blank. Ignore the dealer section unless your a dealer. Its pretty simple.
 

69ST

Well-Known Member
Overwhelming? Come out to Kalifornistan.

No need for a motorcycle license. Leave vermont license number blank. Ignore the dealer section unless your a dealer. Its pretty simple.

I understand what you're saying and agree that, from what I've seen, your state is really greedy about "back registration fees". That doesn't make some of the other states any less assholish, just in slightly different ways. And there's no other logic behind it other than politics, bought & paid for by the insurance lobby. One would think that less populous states would be more straightforward about the process. Yet, states like Iowa and Nebraska are big on "surety bonds". Michigan hopped on that bandwagon one governor ago. Until then, anything 25+ years old, they simply ran the VIN, while you were at the counter. And, in Ohio, it's nearly impossible to directly title an old old bike."Surety bonds" are only available from private insurance companies...surprise, surprise.o_O
 
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kirrbby

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I saw that the VIN verification is waived, probably a good time to register questionable bikes like mine lol. I ask about the license because on that form (119) there's a spot to put the "vermont license number". Also, is section 3b just for bikes from dealers? And I'm not sure what section 7 is about. Sorry if these are stupid questions but this is the first vehicle I've ever had to register and the bureaucracy is a little overwhelming

From what I've read...Vermont seems to be pretty great about this process. If you leave something out, or don't send enough info or money, they will contact you and help you through it. If I we're doing what you are doing, I wouldn't be scared at all. They seem to actually want to help you.

Usually...
Vermont will register your bike. Then you can use that registration to title the bike in your own state. You shouldn't need the endorsement on your licence just to register the bike. You DO need the endorsement if you want to ride it on the street. If you get pulled over...it's 2 separate things...
Is this bike registered?
Do you have a MC endorsement?
2 questions, 2 tickets.
 

allenp42

Well-Known Member
That doesn't make some of the other states any less assholish, just in slightly different ways.

That is so true. Just yesterday, I took my Vermont registration to get a NC title & plate and the rules have changed since last year. Here in NC, the DMV now requires 3 consecutive registrations for a vehicle from a non title state to be registered and titled in NC....or get a surety bond good for 3 years. I'll keep it registered in Vermont for now.....and keep up with my registrations.
 

Jeckler

Member
I'll be going the Vermont route on my CT in a little bit. It hopefully goes smooth. And as far as I know, they don't do VIN verification on a bike under 300cc at all.
 

red69

Well-Known Member
You can't fix bureaucratic stupid! One would think more registrations = more money in the government kitty, but NOOOOOOOOO, that's not how it works with bureaucratic stupid.
 

mikejana

Active Member
Florida has a loophole for bikes over a certain age, as long as they have never been titled.
You need is a bill of sale and they run the Vin check at the DMV. easy with the 50s and 70s as many were never titled. Have to do it in person and be a Florida resident. You can walk out with a title in hand. Never been titled is the key there, also Florida residence. Have any Florida friends? a vin check for Florida can be done by any Law enforcement agency; https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/forms/82042.pdf

Alabama has a similar loophole. No title needed for vehicles over a certain age (30years?), just a bill of sale with 2 witnesses. I've never been an Alabama resident, but have a piece of property there. Your intent has to be to use/keep it in Alabama. They issue reggo only, no title for old vehicles.

I've used both of those successfully, but sometimes had to make multiple DMV trips.

The Vermont route can be a little more expensive (they calculate tax based on their determination of value) but Vermont makes it super easy. Call them, follow their instructions and wait patiently for a few weeks.

I just talked to them this week to get info how to register a used bike I bought, registered and rode in Australia, then shipped it home.
 

69ST

Well-Known Member
You can't fix bureaucratic stupid! One would think more registrations = more money in the government kitty, but NOOOOOOOOO, that's not how it works with bureaucratic stupid.
This is a classic example of megacorporate sleight-of-hand that is destroying everything. I understand the frustration, hell, I live with it same as anyone else. You step up to the dmv counter and then get a runaround, usually from a clerk with a bad attitude. It's much the same as dealing with shipping. The real question, IMO, is why the employees we deal with face-to-face have the shite attitude. Has humanity suddenly changed? Do the counter people make policy? Last time I visited secretary of state, to renew paperwork, they were short-staffed and had large "help wanted" signs that read "earn up to $11/hour"(!). In this state, there's been a revolving door between the insurance industry and the state capitol for the last 50 years and the results have been predictable. The people making policies that drain your wallet don't face the public...they hide, like cockroaches, while the majority of the public become more and more frustrated (rightly so) with the part-time clerks/human shields taking the hit. Think of it this way...what brings in more bucks: surety bonds or legit titling fees that cost less than 1/3 of that amount? Who benefits from those "surety bonds"? Think it's possible that they're the ones paying for armies of lobbyists & legislators? I'm not defending the system , I loathe the f***ing system. But seeing it as "bureaucratic stupid" instead of the carefully engineered, institutionalized, system of theft that it is will only result in more of the same, and worse. ~rant over~
 

RadRacer203

Active Member
Thanks for all the help. My plan is to register it in Vermont, I have the paperwork mostly done, just have to send it off now. Then after it's registered I'm going to re-register it in Massachusetts as a limited use vehicle so I don't need a motorcycle license to ride it. I'm not planning on riding anything much bigger than this thing, maybe a trail 90 or 110 eventually, so I don't really want to have to get my class M license for something so slow that's only ever going to be on back roads anyway
 

tinkerer

New Member
I've got my 1974 XL70 up and going, fully ready for the road, and insured but I went to the Massachusetts RMV today and they refused to let me register it because I didn't have any title or previous registration. I'm wondering if anyone knows what hoops I have to jump through to get this thing on the road. I want to register it in Massachusetts where I live as a limited use vehicle so I don't need a class M license, just my standard drivers license, and I know it meets all the criteria for that. Can anyone help me or give me some pointers?
Has anyone registered in Vermont recently? It's been 5 weeks for me and I still haven't heard anything. I sent the application signature confirmation, so I know they have it!

Thanks,
tinkerer
 
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