Bought my Honda a year ago off the internet from a bloke in Liverpool. Absolute leap of faith. Got the bike and had a great year on it. Stupidly never checked the VIN number on the frame when it was delivered. Took it for an MOT last week, but didn't get through the first step of identifying the bike because someone had filed the VIN number off before I received it. Delivery to me was two days after it had been MOT'd in Liverpool where the tester obviously hadn't bothered about the missing VIN. Being an honest bloke I rang up the DVLA and asked what to do next. The conversation went.... DVLA - "Do you have a V5 with the VIN number in it?" Me - "yes". DVLA - "Does the engine number match the one on the bike?" Me - "Yes". DVLA - "well get the VIN number in the V5 re-stamped onto the frame". Me - speechless. Anyhow that's what I did and I now have a full MOT and a bike that I assume nobody will doubt it's legitimacy. One can only assume that the DVLA and the police have absolutely no interest in the true identification of a 40 year old bike, but the message is clear - beware what you buy and check the VIN on the bike.