Not mechanical tech related... but technical nonetheless.

LuckyStar64

LuckyStar64

PR Addict
So here's the scoop.... I got a super sweet 150R (I'm a sucker for unloved mini bikes) as a partial trade on another bike I just sold to somebody. It came from Tennessee where they don't get titles for dirt bikes. Now it's here in Ohio-- where we DO have titles for dirt bikes. What do I need to do in order to get an Ohio title when it didn't come with one originally? I have the original bill of sale, and a new bill of sale to me that's signed by the original owner. Anybody know anything regarding this? --Tony C.
 
You have to take the bike physically up to the license bureau and pay $3.50 for an out of state inspection. They will come out and inspect the VIN of the bike.

Then you take all the paperwork over to the title bureau and ask to have an Ohio title created. You will have to pay tax on the purchase price you paid.
 
I would not title it. You have enough documentation to prove it is not stolen, and titles on dirtbikes are BS.
 
freeh said:
I would not title it. You have enough documentation to prove it is not stolen, and titles on dirtbikes are BS.
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I agree, but there is a problem with that legally. If the bike was manufactured after July 1, 1999 then it's required to have a title in Ohio to legally sell the bike in Ohio. Again, I agree it's BS, just stating the laws of our tax-mongering state.

If Tony sells the bike to someone else in Ohio and provides them a bill of sale from himself as an Ohio resident, and that person goes to get a title, there could then be a problem that would come back to Tony.

I just did this Ohio title process on Friday with my RM250 that I bought with a WV title.
 
won't he need an MCO? (manufacturers certificate of origin) to get a title created? If one was never generated they will have to create one, and i (think) that cant be done without it?

if you HAD the title already then yes you would take it for inspection, they would check VIN, then issue ohio title. however I think w/out the current title you need an MCO to get one created.
 
A few years ago I bought a street legal Hodaka that's ultra clean, got it cheap due to no title.

Thanks to the advice of a paralegal who used to frequent the board, I visited the clerk of courts for my county with a hand written bill of sale along with the vin# and told them it was not in running order when I bought it. They ran the number while I waited and then for something like 50-75 bucks they gave me a letter that I was instructed to take to the BMV. Gave the BMV the clerk of courts letter along with another fee and they issued me a title and plates on the the spot...didn't have the bike with me for any kind of inspection.
 
Well-- I don't particularly care for titles on dirt bikes either. BUT-- had I not had the title for my 150F that was stolen last year, it would have probably been more difficult and costly to get it back when I caught the hillbilly riding it at the Medina fair race.

I don't think I'll have to pay any taxes on the deal, because I swapped even for a bike I already had. You only have to pay taxes on the money difference... I think.

I didn't get the bill of sale notarized... yet. I guess I could try and get something done today with it. --L*64
 
LuckyStar64 said:
I don't think I'll have to pay any taxes on the deal, because I swapped even for a bike I already had. You only have to pay taxes on the money difference... I think.
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Personally I would research that a little more. Uncle sam wants his cut. I believe that you pay the differences in worth when you trade titles....in a lot of states. I don't know specifically though.
 
I've done it the way PitRacer describes a few times, works fine. Used to be the dealers could do it, must have changed since I did it.

You should see the hassle I'll be going thru on my old ones. New Jersey is going to want reports from the states I got them in, saying they're clear before they'll issue a title. Regardless of bill of sale. This will be fun. And titles aren't required in NJ, but most want them. Obviously if I sell to another old bike guy, it will go easier. I will be looking into proving they were clear and getting some docs together, but geez....

Gotta love everyone's hand out for "fees" for all this stuff, yet they're all broke and over budget.
 
GeorgiePorgie said:
Personally I would research that a little more. Uncle sam wants his cut. I believe that you pay the differences in worth when you trade titles....in a lot of states. I don't know specifically though.
Click to expand...

nah i've wrote 0 on seveal title transfers and also even asked and they said you can even write "trade" ...
 
OK-- Back to this bull$h!t again.... So I submitted a notarized bill of sale to the title bureau to attempt to get a title for this whip, and no dice. Problem is that the guy bought the bike in KY where a title is optional. He lives in TN though, where a title is mandatory. The dealer never charged him tax on the bike, and he never paid it to get a title. Now he can't legally sell it to me w/o paying taxes, and getting a title first. When I called the guy about it, he doesn't want to pay $h!t now that he doesn't have the bike (he'd have to pay on the $3800 he paid for the bike originally) anymore.

Any ideas? Mechanics' lean? Find an Ebay frame with a title for $100...? Worry about it later on when and if I go to sell it? Part it out instead of selling it? Sell it as a parts bike w/o title? Tell the Highway Patrol that I put the bike together w/Ebay parts and try to get a new title issued? Weld over the serial numbers and tell 'em I got a new frame? Drive to TN and put the guy in a head lock? Call the Atty General in TN? I'm open to suggestions at this point. --L*64
 
I'd just forget about it for now. You have a notarized bill of sale in case it gets stolen or anything.

Or find someone in KY to say it was theirs and create a bill of sale from them. Since titles are optional in KY, you would probably be all set.
 
You can go online and do a DMV search on the bikes VIN.
Does that come back to the previous Tennessee owners name?
If the bike was never titled, I'm not sure how or why the VIN would be registered with a states DMV.

I agree that all of this reach's a point of frustrating stupidity from state bureaucracy and sometimes it's best to just forget it and move on with it untitled. But I have been taught that with a little determined persistence you can skin this cat.

As it stands now, this bike has never been titled. So, the simple procedures for getting it titled should apply. Same as it does for bikes built and sold prior to July 1999.

Pull back and patiently start asking around and talking to people about this. Find somebody who knows somebody that works for the Ohio title bureau. You have to know that there are people in the system out there who can pull this off for you. It is not as though you are trying to do something illegal.

It has always amazed me that when you go into places like the title bureau or the DMV, or any other state or federal agencies that inevitably you get stuck at the counter with some uptight ass that is on a mission to put you through hell instead of trying to find some way to help you fix your deal.
 
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