Engine numbers

[AndyD]

Just a general question after some idle eBay surfing...
What do people do when buying / selling engines without frames, i.e. with no registration docs.
Is there any way to check as a buyer (or confirm as a seller) if an engine is from a genuine bike being broken rather than possibly being stolen?
Cheers,
Andy
 

[SumpMagnet]

I suspect you wouldn;t find out until you try and advise DVLA of the new engine number.... but then the same is true of buying a frame with no logbook.

If you are buying from a genuine seller, who is breaking a bike for spares, it ought to be possible and entriely reasonable to ask to see the logbook to verify frame and engine numbers match.

If you are buying an engine on it's own, bought as spares or whatever.....then you are pretty much reliant on the integrity of the seller.

[AndyD]

I guess you're right.
Shame there isn't some online way to check on engine numbers - I did see mention of a few where you can input frame / VIN numbers for vehicles but guess engines aren't as closely logged anywhere.
I've got a few engines I'll probably sell over time and will make sure I keep a copy of the V5 relating to these to pass to any buyer for peace of mind.
Mind you, I've also got a few cases / engines with no idea where I picked them up any more - probably came bundled up with project bikes / basket cases I've bought over the years. Probably over-thinking things and will decide what to do with these when the time comes.
Cheers,
Andy

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

In the past with cars I have just filled in the registration document showing a change of engine number or chassis number be it a new engine or a used one without any problems with the old style log books and the newer V5 style documents until about the mid 1990's - it was certainly the case by 2005  that our local DVLA Office before it closed  insisted on receipts for such changes.


As an anecdote a friend of mine who purchased a used BMW circa 1998 that had it's engine changed from a 318 to a 320 before sale  - he notified DVLA of the change of engine number only to find that the engine was out of a vehicle stolen several years earlier. It resulted in him paying the Insurance Company about £250 to obtain legal title to the engine and get the V5 updated. Certainly car VIN numbers including engine numbers are on the PNC database if they are stolen - it used to be under the stolen Plant & Equipment section.

[Laverda Dave]

I know back in the days of proddie racing it wasn't unheard of for the local constabulary to visit tracks and check engine numbers  of race bikes. A good few had engines of dubious history.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

A Honda Dealership in Eckington added to the circulation of stolen engines back in the 1960s.

[SteveD CB500K0]

Pray tell…

Assuming they are long dead and gone of course


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