Lessons Learned From Buying a CT90 Without a Title and Finding out it was a Stolen Bike

The Story Behind How I Bought a Stolen Honda CT90

I'm always on the lookout for a good CT90 deal and I'll regularly check Craigslist to see what bikes are for sale, especially the non-running bikes that are 90% complete and are being sold dirt cheap. Recently I picked up a great CT90 without a title, but in starting the process to get a title for the bike I was notified that the bike had been reported stolen which resulted in a series of events that I 'll share below, but based on what I went through I thought it might be a benefit to others to write this post and share a few lessons learned.

Related Post: Registering a Small Motorcycle in the State of Vermont

In mid August of this year I came across a great CT90 deal on Craigslist and was the first to respond to the ad and therefore was lucky enough (or at least I thought so at the time...) to pick up the 1970 CT90 in the picture below for only $200.00.

The person I had purchased the CT90 from didn't have a title and according to his story had received it in exchange for some work he had done for another individual.  The person I purchased the CT90 from also seemed like an honest person and had indicated that he had had the VIN number checked and it hadn't been reported stolen. We had a good conversation, generated a Bill of Sale, I paid him the $200.00 and he helped me load it in my truck and I was on my way.  As a side note, I also had made a copy of the Craigslist ad prior to going and purchasing the bike.

Lesson learned #1 - Always get a good Bill of Sale

Whenever I purchase a complete or incomplete bike, even if it was just the frame, I make sure and get  a good Bill of Sale.
I consider a good Bill of Sale to include the following:
1. The date of the transaction
2. The VIN number of the bike or frame being purchased
3. The amount the bike or frame was purchased for
4. The Bill of Sale has a simple statement as follows:
I, (printed full name of the seller), sell my (year of the bike) Honda CT90, VIN #(the VIN number of the bike) to (buyers full printed name) on this date (date the bike is sold), as-is with no warranty for (price paid for the bike).
5. The Bill of Sale is then signed by both the buyer and seller

Following the five steps above I have never had a problem with the Department of Licensing accepting a bill of sale here in Washington State.

Lesson Learned #2 - Always make a copy of the Craigslist Ad before the sale is completed

To be able to help prove that I actually bought a CT90 from someone off of Craigslist, I always make a digital or hardcopy of the Craigslist ad before I purchase a bike as sometime the person selling the bike will take the ad down shortly after the sale, especially if they are receiving a lot of emails or phone calls.

The next day after I got the bike home I did go to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NCIB) website and ran a check of the CT90's VIN number and it indicated that there were no reports associated with that VIN number.  I do this with most of the bikes I have purchased and have never had it tell me there was an issue with any bike I have purchased.

One of the next steps I always do within a week or two of purchasing a bike without a title is to send an email to the Washington Department of Licensing (DOL) asking for information on the last registered owner through what is know as a Vehicle Records Request. There is a form you fill out and include in the email that includes the VIN number of the bike and some other basic info.  The DOL in Washington State is great and never takes more than a day or two to respond to my email.  The response on all the bikes before this one has either been that there is no owner information on file or they provide the last registered owner contact info.  With either of these two types of responses from the DOL, there is a process to go through and obtain a title, but on the CT90 that is the subject of this post, the DOL provided a response I had never seen before.  The response from the DOL stated that I needed to take the bike to the Washington State Patrol for a "6500" inspection.

Well I couldn't find anything on the web on what a "6500" inspection was here in Washington State, so I went on the Washington State Patrol website and followed the online process to get the 6500 inspection scheduled and the earliest date was a month out from the day I made the appointment.  A funny thing happened later that morning as the State Patrol called me just a few hours after I had scheduled my appointment and indicated that they had an opening and I could bring the bike in that day, even during their lunch hour!  Well I thought it was my lucky day, so I loaded up the bike and took it to the State Patrol inspection station for my inspection.

When I got to the inspection station a very helpful VIN officer greated me and checked over my CT90 and took all of the paperwork I had for the bike which included the bill of sale, the Craigslist ad, an envelope that I had written the address of the person I bought the bike from and all the emails I had with the DOL that led to the inspection. She asked me to sit tight and went back into her office to what I mistakenly thought was to generate the inspection form so I could be on my way and start the process to get a title for my new CT90 from the DOL.

Well a minute of two later, the VIN officer came back out and informed me that my CT90 had been reported stolen about fifteen years ago and that they were going to have to confiscate my bike that had been such a great deal (my lucky day was quickly becoming a sad day...).  Since the bike had been reported stolen I also had to complete a "Suspect/Witness" statement (I didn't know which I was at that point...) where I provided all the information associated with how I came into possession of the bike.  This included very specific contact information on the seller as I still had his number in my phone and had written down his home address in my records.

Lesson Learned #3 - Always document the name, address, and phone number of the seller

Being able to clearly identify who the seller was was important in helping show that I had just purchased the bike.

Lesson Learned #4 - Always get a VIN number checked by your local police, sheriff, or state patrol. 

I had mention to the VIN Officer that I had done a check of the VIN number at the NICB website and it hadn't shown the bike stolen.  The officer indicated that the vin check websites may not have all the records available, especially for older vehicles like CT90's that don't always have 17 digits in their VIN number.  The officer also indicated that all law enforcement agencies are generally happy to run a VIN number for you and that would be the best way to ensure your not buying a stolen bike.

The State Patrol VIN officer also let me know that I wan't a suspect as the paper trail I had maintained clearly showed that I had just recently purchased the CT90 off of Craigslist a few days earlier and I had clear records of who I had purchased the bike from and their contact information.

The Happy Ending

The State Patrol VIN officer who was very helpful through the whole process had also indicated at the time my CT90 was confiscated that there was a very small chance that if owner who had reported the bike stolen could not be found, that the bike might be returned to me since it was reported stolen so long ago.  In the end, the police department that had the record of the bike being stolen, was able to determine who the owner was, but the owner had passed away several years ago, and since they didn't have any records of associated family members, the CT90 was given back to me (Yea!!!!).  Also, the records for my new CT90 were cleared to show it as no longer considered stolen and I received my certification of vehicle inspection from the State Patrol and can now go and get a title for the bike.   In Washington State what I will get is something called an "ownership in doubt" registration that will allow me to register the bike, get it licensed, and even sell the bike, but if someone comes out of the woodwork and declares that the bike is theirs (unlikely in this case as the owner is deceased) I, or whoever owns it at the time, could lose the bike. After three years a regular title can be applied for by whoever owns the CT90 at that point in time and the "ownership in doubt" condition goes away.

Hopefully this helpful to others purchasing older CT90's without titles.

Helpful Links (Shop Manuals, Wire Diagram, Model Information, etc.)

Link to page with listing of CT90 parts available on Amazon