VIN Number woes

So I'm a dummy.... and I worked myself into quiet a pickle.

I bought a used bike last fall/winter, its a 1983 Yamaha XJ900. Rather than paying insurance all winter long, I decided to winterize it; and start insurance this spring. I kept the ownership papers in my trusty cars ownership manual, in the cars glove box.

Well.... 2 months ago as luck would have it; a lady came out into traffic at me in my car; and the car was written off. I took the cars ownership papers, which were with the car's insurance.... but I left the ownership manual in the glove box, and said goodbye forever to the car. (and the motorcycle ownership papers)

DOH!

So I called to ministry; they say... no problem... just bring in the receipt of sale, signed by the previous owner... and $10. Well....... the previous owner and I signed the ownership together, and put the amount of sale right on the ownership; so we never made up an official receipt.


DOH!

So, I figure I'll call the the previous owner (who I met through kijiji) to see if he will write me a post dated receipt. Lets cross our fingers he hasn't moved, or changed his number. but before I call him; I figure Id like to get the VIN number all straightened out.

On the engine it is engraved:
E31-0002**

I remember looking that up last year, and discovering that is NOT the VIN number, but rather an engine number. apparently the VIN number is on the frame. Well the previous owner painted the frame, so looking is quiet difficult.

DOH!

Well after an hour or searching in the bright sun, and slowly removing parts, I found a faint engraving on the frame. its on the right side of the main support, behind the fairing/headlight area. I scratch off some paint.....

E31-0002**

DOH!

Is this the serial number, or what the heck is going on? I thought the serial number had to be 17 digits?

So where do I go from here? how do I get this bike legally on the road... without the ownership papers, a receipt of sale, or potentially the complete VIN number.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Man Vin's on these things are kinda tricky. I bought two XJ650's around the same time, both titled and everything. One VIN is JYA4W5006BA00**** (which I believe to be the correct format). The other one is 4H002709 (which I'm positive is wrong).

Nevertheless, the Alaska DMV issued my titles for both bike, which are nearly identical, with two very different VIN numbers printed on the title.

I'm sure someone has insight into where on the frame the true number is stamped.

 

Look on the Right Hand side of the steering neck. The vin should be stamped in there. The other side should have had the vin sticker that tells the mfg date and such. Your sticker is probably gone and the PO just used the number off of the engine.

 

Some models of bikes only had the "shorty" version of the full VIN stamped on the frame (the steering head tube) and had a paper decal that listed the full 17-position VIN. Other models had the full 17-position VIN stamped onto the tube (and may or may not have also used the paper decal).

The engine case number should match the "shorty" VIN, if it is the original engine in the bike. The shorty VIN can be converted into a full 17-position VIN with a few tricks. More (much more!) here:

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14577.html

 

Maybe I'm an idiot.... but I cannot find out how to expand my shorty VIN using the information on the link provided.

I also note that I own one of the bikes where the shorty VIN was stamped onto the steering neck. And there is no sticker, or any other indication of the full VIN.

Can I call up the previous owner, and get a post dated receipt for the shorty VIN, take that to the ministry, and see if they will accept that? You know what..... After reading AlaskaZZRs post.... I do recall the shorty VIN being on the ownership... not the full 17 digit VIN.

Does this mean I can re-license this bike under the shorty VIN?

Thanks all.

 

It's doubtful that you can register the bike with the "shorty" VIN, as it's not really a "VIN"....it's just a shorthand way of expressing the full 17-position VIN.

Your 17-position VIN will be as follows.....note that I've never seen an "E31" code before, but the 1983 Canadian XJ900RK models are code "31E", and that is how I have deciphered the code below. If the code on the engine case IS actually stamped as "E31", it's either a:

a) mis-stamping (happens!)
b) out of some model that is coded as "E31", which I don't have the slightest idea what it might be.

JYA31E00?DA0002**


That's as far as I can go with the info provided. The "?" in the 9th position is a mathematically calculated "check digit" used to prevent typos, etc. during key-punching. It can be calculated as follows:

Some Other Semi-Useful Tidbits Of Information About VIN's:

* In order to avoid visual confusion errors, the letters I, O, and Q are not allowed in any position of a 1981-later VIN.

* In order to avoid visual confusion errors, the characters U, Z, and 0 (zero) are not used for the model-year designation (the 10th position); however, the letters U and Z and the number 0 can be used in any other positions of the VIN.

* Although you didn't ask, here is how you calculate the "check digit" that is in position #9 in the VIN:

A) All letters and characters in the long VIN are assigned a numerical value. Numbers, of course, keep their like-value (i.e. 1 = 1, 5 = 5, etc.) Letters are assigned the numerical values as follows:

1 = A or J
2 = B, K, or S
3 = C, L, or T
4 = D, M, or U
5 = E, N, or V
6 = F or W
7 = G, P, or X
8 = H or Y
9 = R or Z


B) A multiplication factor is assigned to each VIN character position:

1st position: x8
2nd position: x7
3rd position: x6
4th position: x5
5th position: x4
6th position: x3
7th position: x2
8th position: x10
9th position: unknown, this is what you're trying to figure out!
10th position: x9
11th position: x8
12th position: x7
13th position: x6
14th position: x5
15th position: x4
16th position: x3
17th position: x2


C) Okay, now convert the 17-position VIN to the numerical value as outlined in "A" above:

JYA4H700?BA101457 (the ? is the check digit we're trying to calculate)

becomes, from the coding routine in "A" above:

18148700?21101457

and multiply each position value by the multiplication factor in "B" above:

1st position: 1 x8 = 8
2nd position: 8 x7 = 56
3rd position: 1 x6 = 6
4th position: 4 x5 = 20
5th position: 8 x4 = 32
6th position: 7 x3 = 21
7th position: 0 x2 = 0
8th position: 0 x10 = 0
9th position: unknown, this is what you're trying to figure out!
10th position: 2 x9 = 18
11th position: 1 x8 = 8
12th position: 1 x7 = 7
13th position: 0 x6 = 0
14th position: 1 x5 = 5
15th position: 4 x4 = 16
16th position: 5 x3 = 15
17th position: 7 x2 = 14


D) Now, add up all those sums from above:

8 + 56 + 6 + 20 + 32 + 21 + 0 + 0 + 18 + 8 + 7 + 0 + 5 + 16 + 15 + 14 = 226

Divide the sum (226) by 11 and note what the "remainder" is:

226 divided by 11 = 20 with a "remainder" of 6.........here, I'd forgotten basic math, too, so here's what a "remainder" is!:

226 divided by 11 is 20.5455, but the ".5455" part is not important. What IS important is that 11 x 20 = 220, and the "remainder" is 6 (because 220 + 6 is = 226). The "remainder" is the amount "left over" when you are using just whole numbers, no decimal places or fractions allowed.........

So the check digit for this VIN is 6:

JYA4H7006BA101457

By the way, if the calculations for a particular VIN leaves a "remainder" of 10 or more, then the check digit becomes the letter "X".

 

thanks so much Chacal.

I've got the full VIN. I'll let you know how the licensing goes.

-Lawrence

 

In the Original Title of my XJ 750, the VIN has a B instead of the 8 that it really is. I hope I won't have a problem when I get the Mexican title.
Saludos desde Reynosa, Tamaulipas, México.
macnifico
.
..
...

 

my bike doesn't have a 17 digit vin. THe bike only has the shorty vin as some say here. Even the sticker only has the short version. When I registered the bike I showed them a picture and registered it with the short version. It wasn't an issue. But I'm in Canada. I still have yet to figure out how to read the code.

 

My maxim came with the shorty vin on the title. My insurance agent scratched her head asked me several time if that was correct. She didn't believe me so I had to show her the title.