Some deadbeat and his lawyer came along and claimed the Harley was his. One such case involved an individual restoring a Harley originally purchased without proper papers. Never accept a Harley or other vehicles without a legal title. While it is nice to have an original Harley with matching engine and frame numbers, only the frame VIN is relevant when it comes to legal registration. Anyone trying to sell you a post-1970 Harley where the title VIN only matches the engine, but does not match the number on the frame, PASS! Want to upgrade your bike to a new custom frame? You must apply for a new title. If you have a Harley engine with matching title taken from a crashed or salvaged motorcycle, and put that engine into a new frame, the title is invalid. Not only is it illegal to drive, but you leave yourself open to unscrupulous people who could make a legal claim against you and your property. With strict state regulations increasing every year, you are better off avoiding any problem that may leave you holding a piece of property that cannot be documented. However, when buying a Harley or other vehicle with an out of state title, the difficulty in correcting such errors increases dramatically.

In some cases a visit to your local department of motor vehicles may be enough to get a VIN typo corrected. Typographical errors on motorcycle registrations are sometimes very common, but don’t take any chances. If they do not match exactly you should think about looking elsewhere. When buying any used Harley-Davidson, checking the Harley VIN numbers against the title is mandatory.

Buell engine numbers