Licensing old enduro

Has anyone tried licensing a pre 1972 enduro in Washington State? I went in the other day and was told I need a title (which my uncle the original owner never had), or a Manufacturers Statement of Origin. Being as Washington State Dept of Licensing is extremely difficult in general I’m wondering what kind of roadblocks I’m going to run into. Bike is a 1971 Enduro 360C. It does have a working headlight, taillight, brake, and functional horn. Not that I plan on racking up a lot of miles but it would be nice to ride it into work on a Friday here and there.

Did you apply for a lost title? As long as you have a bill of sale and you said it was never titled (like many old dirt bikes) then you should be able to get a title for it. That is what I did a few times here in Oregon.

Marty

Well the bike was given to me 20 years ago as a gift from my uncle. Therefore no bill of sale. As far as the title my uncle told me before he passed that he didn’t recall ever having a title. So the lady at the Department Of Licencing said since I didn’t technically lose the title I can’t file for a lost title. I did get the number for Husqvarna North America and am hoping to acquire a Manufacturers Statement of Origin. From there I can apply for a title.

Nevada is also difficult in those situations. A work-around is the state of Vermont will register an old motorcycle. You do not have to live in Vermont or have an address there. Note that I said "register". Vermont does not issue titles for vehicles over something like ten or fifteen years old. If you call Vermont, explain the situation, they are very friendly and will help you... at least they have been with me. Probably will cost less than $100 to get registration (depending if and how much tax you might have to pay... not sure what they do with gifts.) You will also need to insure the bike. (proof wasn't required but I suppose they might check)

Now here's the kicker. Nevada requires a resident to transfer out of state registration within like 30 days... so you go to Nevada DMV and they ask for the Vermont title. You tell them Vermont does not issue titles for older vehicles. They look it up in a big book. They accept the Vermont registration as legal documentation of ownership and then you fill out an application for Nevada title and registration. Bike is registered immediately and title comes in the mail a couple weeks later.

Same thing should work in WA? Or maybe you can even keep it registered in Vermont?

Of course this is not something to try with a bike of unknown or questionable origin like a Craigslist find... if the VIN comes back stolen... even decades ago... you could lose the bike or worse, end up in some kind of legal trouble. But that doesn't sound like a problem for you.

P.S. this process is what many "lost title" companies do... which would be another option but it's easy to do yourself.

Mark is correct, i have registered many dirt bikes in Vermont. But just remember they will tax you for the "Fair Value" of the bike. Look it up on the NADAS site and what they say is "Fair Value" is what they will charge for the Tax, plus the other fees. So if you say you bought the bike for 200$ they will make you pay taxs on the Fair Value of 965$ or so.

Just an FYI... actually calling Vermont is a great idea.... Vermont will give you the taxable value over the phone. On one of my bikes NADA said $1200 for "fair" condition (which i thought was high, it was a small Yamaha) and Vermont told me $300 on the phone. I sent them the tax based on a $300 value and no problems. Now I could kick myself for not calling them before.