When a bike is first purchased, it will be registered with the Department of motor vehicles (DMV). One of the requirements for registration is a vehicle identification number. 

Just like a car, a motorcycle, dirt bike, or ATV also comes with a 17-digit VIN consisting of letters and numbers. A bike with less than 17 digits VIN would have been built before 1981, a time when car and motorcycle manufacturers were allowed to use whatever string of numbers they deemed fit as the VIN of their vehicles.  

The VIN of a bike tells you the story of the motorcycle. By examining a motorcycle's VIN, you can get information on the manufacturer of the bike, the model, year, and history of the motorbike. 

A motorcycle VIN provides all the relevant information about the bike since it was manufactured. This post will show you how to look up the VIN of a motorcycle. 

Benefits of a VIN

A vehicle identification number has been a helpful tool in finding stolen vehicles. If your motorcycle is stolen, the vehicle Identification number on it will make it harder for the thief to sell it. 

As soon as you report the theft, the police will link that theft report to the motorcycle's history through the VIN, thus alerting the police to be on the lookout while warning off innocent potential buyers of the stolen bike.

Furthermore, a VIN informs prospective buyers of previous titles under which the motorcycle has been held. 

If the bike has been involved in an accident or was previously damaged, the VIN will show a record of this as long as the owner reported the incident.

VIN also helps in reducing uncertainty when buying parts for your motorcycle. If you do not know the correct parts to use, you can look up the motorcycle’s details with a free online VIN lookup tool. This VIN will show the details of the bike so that you can buy the right parts for it. 

Some sellers will sell you a piece of worthless scrap with a fault. They will package it off to conceal its flaws until you make payment and take your purchase home to discover that you bought a bad motorcycle. 

In order to prevent the frustration of losing money, it is best to use a free motorcycle VIN check service on the spot before you think of paying for a motorcycle. 

A motorcycle’s VIN will tell you the history of the bike, where it has been, what it has been used for, what it used to look like, who it has been with, and how long it has been used. 

A VIN check tool is the first tool to arm yourself with when you want to buy a used motorcycle. If you fail to run a VIN check first, you may spend the rest of the bike’s lifespan trying to fix it, or worse, you could end up with a criminal charge of facilitating theft if the motorcycle turns out to have been stolen.

Where to find the VIN on a motorcycle   

Motorcycle manufacturers place the VIN on different parts of the bike. Some are kept in plain sight, while some are hidden. 

Check the frame under the shifter if you have trouble finding the VIN on your motorbike. Also, check around the plastic hood and the left side of the frame beside the engine. Look at the frame under the tail section. Check around the neck of the steering, inside the wheels, or by the radiator. These are some spots where you can find a VIN on a motorcycle. 

How to decode a motorcycle VIN 

A vehicle’s VIN may seem like a jumble of numbers and alphabets, but it is no ordinary mix of numbers. It is a unique set of numbers that can only belong to one vehicle at a time.

The VIN of any vehicle is made up of the numbers one to nine and the alphabets A to Z. The only alphabets missing are O, Q, and I, because they can be mistaken for other digits.

A motorcycle’s VIN is divided into three parts. The first segment of the VIN, consisting of three characters, contains information on the manufacturer’s identity. 

The next segment contains information about the motorcycle itself. This section is made up of five characters that describe the motorcycle's components. This part talks about the engine, motorcycle model, engine type, and any other information the manufacturer wants to represent.

The third section contains the motorcycle's security code or serial number. 

If you want to buy a motorcycle, you can look up the VIN using EpicVin. This VIN lookup tool is a free online service that will help you check the VIN on your motorcycle for free. 

Visit the EpicVin website and look up any VIN. On the site, input the VIN in the search query and initiate a search. You will receive a report of the car's history in less than a minute.

Don’t take a bad deal

Whether buying a new bike, or a pre-owned one, you should first check the VIN. A seller can package an already used, damaged, or stolen bike to be sold at a high price. 

Don’t take the salesperson's word for it. Do your research. If you find that the VIN on the body of the motorcycle is different from the VIN on the paperwork, this is a sign that the seller may have something else up their sleeves.

 

 

 

 

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