Stolen F2 and registration concerns... mechanical worries too
 

Hey all. way back when I was in my early 20s I bought a CBR600F2 that was used. I didn't have it for long and sure enough it was stolen in southern california. I didn't have full insurance because at my age I could have bought a new bike shortly from the insane rates.

But luckily the guys who stole my bike were amateurs. they tried to resell it, bought a salvaged frame and tried to change the engine numbers. But the cops knew the numbers to likely be changed and tracked it down.

So I had the bike a short time and where I was living at the time was in nothern california where it rains a lot. And they had this thing called the light rail with trolley train type tracks on the street.. dropped the bike. I had an appointment to take the bike to the DMV because they needed to fix the engine numbers before I could get it registered again. Took time off work to get it taken care of at the DMV and the day of the appointment some lady at the DMV calls me and says she has plans and I can't get it taken care of.

At this time I was going through crazy stuff though and trying to get a career and everything and was sick of having problems with the bike and just put it in storage and figured I'd deal with it alter.

So then I just let the bi sit for years and years. Now I am in a situation where I have a garage and want to try to fix it up again but I am living in another state now - Oregon - a nd am worried about the DMV issues. I don't even know if they transferred it our o the guys name who bought my bike and had it taken away from him.

Any idea what might might happen? The bike has a salvaged frame and I ended up taking it all apart at one point. I am wondering if I should just get a different frame and try to avoid all the DMV issues. Maybe it's no big deal though... It is my bike after all. But I am also worried about finding a decent old frame that hasn't been damaged. So in that case it may be worth it to deal with the DMV hassles.

Too long didn't read- bike was stolen I got it back and I never dealt with the DMV issues because I dropped it and was sick of the hassles at the time. Sat for years. worried about DMV BS. What should I do?



Also, I am worried about it sitting so long. Hopefully it isn't too expensive to rehabilitate it. Anyone have experience reviving a bike that has sat for years and years?

You will need to write everything down and present it to their DMV and hope they'll accept your word. You didn't say if you had a bill of sale or any paper work from either the CA police or DMV to support your case. Most DMVs communicate with each other these days. I could take you a while. See if you have a case number from the police.

Yeah, I have the old paper work. I am just worried about waiting so long. Like I said I felt like I was supposed to take care of it immediately and because of crazy stuff preventing me from taking care of it I couldn't get it done quickly then the more time passed the more worried/embarrassed about it I got and then there was a long gap where I wasn't driving at all and just left it in storage. Then i moved out of state. One of the reasons I never really dealt with it is because I didn't have a garage and no money, now I do though.

Now I am wondering if it might just be best to get a new frame since the old one was salvaged.

But I might have to deal with all the registration stuff anyway even if I get a new frame because of the engine numbers. And they need to be restamped too.

Call the dmv and find out what you need to do and how much it will be. Them you can make a decision as what to do with it.

I called the ca dmv about a bike that had sat unregistered in a garage for 12 years. Apparently, after 7 it drops from the system and all the back registration goes away.

Also Frank, in most states, the bike's title, and therefore, title status, rests with the frame of the bike only, with no concern about any other parts at all.
For example, let's say there in Oregon, you score an F2 frame, that you can use, with a clean and clear title - you basically go to the tag office to register the bike, get tags, and get the title in your name, then you swap things over to the new frame, as all you should have to take to the office, would be the title and/or bill of sale, depending on the State's requirements.

If Oregon is like Kansas, there wouldn't even be any inspection - here, the only time you have to have a vehicle inspected, is if it is from out-of-state, and technically, in the scenario I presented above, for all intents and purposes, it would be an Oregon bike... the fact that all but the frame originated from a bike titled in a different state, would be completely unknown to them.


Now if you did score a frame that came from out of state, then you may have to have the bike inspected, but if the frame has a clear title from whatever state it's from, it still shouldn't be all that complicated - you get the frame, you put everything on it, and you basically present the bike and title for new tags/registration, and possible inspection.
Like I said above, I wouldn't worry about something not "matching up" during inspection - the vehicle inspection is to make sure the machine is safe for the roads, and that your horn, lights, blinkers, etc., work just fine... the inspection isn't to look for scams, it's to be sure the bike is mechanically sound and meets legal requirements; they would have to dismantle the bike to check whether or not the engine is original, and it doesn't matter if it is anyway.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

Interesting info, demon! Thanks! I will try that.

Amazing info JNS! Thank you! That sounds like it would be the best way to go. That's a load off the mind if I could manage that.



Does anyone know if it would be possible to use any other frame besides a stock CBR600F2 frame for a CBR600F2 engine?


For example something I thought of is that I am 6'5 and I always felt like the F2 was a bit small for me. Are there any other frames with larger wheels and tires I could use?

Are there any after market custom type frames that can be used with a F2 engine at all?

6' 5" ?!? Holy crap! I feel kinda tall for the F2, and I'm only barely 6'!
For just riding, it's plenty comfortable, but it's hard getting tucked in on the straights when racing.

Anyway, with adaption and even just light fabrication work, about anything is possible, but the only frame I can tell you that the F2 motor will bolt right up to, would be the F3, and that wouldn't afford you any more room than the F2.

People have shoe-horned a 900RR motor into the F2 frame easily enough, so I suppose you could try to score a frame from a 900/919 bike, and try the reverse, but then you would need the swingarm, wheels, forks, fairings/fairing stay... the cost could stack up.
I think it would definitely be an interesting project, for sure, maybe you could luck out and find a cheap 900RR with a blown motor, but mostly complete otherwise, and give the swap a go - it really depends on what kind of work you're up to.

The nice thing is, you wouldn't necessarily be underpowered with that setup, as even the first 900RR weighed just 4 pounds more (wet) than the F2, and part of that weight would be the heavier motor/gearbox, and 1/2 gallon more fuel... the dry weight is the same, even though the 900RR motor, and the bike overall, is bigger.

JNS, you are thinking exactly what I thought too. I had remembered that the 900s, at the time when I bought my F2 used, were the same weight as my 600. I was thinking of getting a 900 with a blown engine too, if possible.

When I rode my F2 it was pretty comfortable to ride but I felt like I drove it rather than it drove me if you know what I mean. I think it was because the wheels and tires were small but that's just my guess. That was why I felt like a 900 might feel different.

I do have a little bit of hand metal fabrication experience but I have never done any welding. So I don't know what would be required but I would love to give it a shot. Hopefully an old 900 wouldn't cost too much though.

And the nice thing is, if you did this swap, once you had it running, you could then dive into the bad 900RR motor, and possibly find it not too far gone for a rebuild, and then put it back in it's place, which would grant you another 20 or 30 HP!