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I live in texas A friend is selling me A chopper frame ''''harley'''' type. The frame is home made 100% custom so no vin #s how do i buy A title or get it registerde (before) I put It together I already know about the depatrment of transpotation . ''''just put it together and bring it to us'''' I have ben to them with a diferent frame same problem (''''rigid'''' the guy asked me if if it was A softail) spooky! I will not tae my 30.000 dollar investment to an agency that cant identify A frame and has the athourity to confiscate my merchandice and throw me in state jail. I am a honest man I have A verry good job. those people treated me like a criminal......this is turning in to a rant thanks for reading. HOPE YOU CAN HELP
Hi Evo, Sounds like you are getting primed for the custom chop blues. I think this will also let know how good of a "friend" this person is. States used to be able to designate special construction vin numbers for situations like yours. Since the homemade chopper explosion & kit bike phenomenon of the last few years the EPA has tightened the cinch on the whole process and now most states require a federal vin number to get registered and INSURED. If you choose to use a frame that does not come with an MSO from a frame manufacturer you will need to get a DOT inspection and approval on that chassis before you get a vin number attached to a finished motorcycle, and most states will look down upon a rigid chassis as they see it as an unsafe liability. You need a state certified MSO, or statement of origin. And most insurance companies want nothing to do with a rigid motorcycle of homemade construction. Both the state & the insurance industries are looking out for their asses and do not want the liability of a homemade vehicle cruising the streets. If they let you put it on the road and you die on it, there will be an investigation, and if a faulty weld on your "inspected" chassis is determined to be the fault they are liable. In this overly litigious society that we are wallowing in "homemade" chassis are not very popular with the powers that be. It may be a quality frame that you have, but even so the DOT sees plenty of fatalities waiting to happen everyday with the crap people think is roadworthy, so I can not imagine that they are hopping up & down to give a homemade chassis a vin number. You can't expect a non-motorcycle person/inspector to know that your bike is not a suspended model, as the whole point of the softail design was to look like a rigid and custom builders have been trying to hide suspension ever since. DOT inspectors are not bike builders, they are state inspectors that hold the numbers that you need, I recommend sucking whatever ass is necessary there to get what is that you want. As long as you pass inspection, what you do with your piece after that is your choice. I'm sorry that there is not better news attached here. I've been playing this game a long time & find it easiest to move to states like AZ where you can put a lawnmower on the road if it has a head light, brake light, & one mirror. Even there they are getting more & more strict. And again before you get to crazy and build this bike, besides DOT inspections you will want to contact the DMV for their requirements as well as your insurance company to see if they will even take it. With my chop that had a federal vin number and MSO from a well known builder, I could only get state minimum liability coverage on a bike that was worth well over $40K.Brian39509.5343272338