Suzuki 2 Strokes

Lost free storage for my 1972 GT550 & decided to do a cafe build.

Pic from when I got the bike.


Closeup of that wonderful fairing.


Project is waiting for GT250 motor rebuild to be finished. So its a good time to make some decision.

Decided on a Hotwing Glass Dark Wing seat.
Test fit of seat —seat lines up bottom of tank.


Closeup of test fit — front edge of seat & cover roughly line up.

Quadruple double rats!!!

I bought the bike in 2011 and put it in storage without transferring the title.
Got the paperwork out to transfer the title & the VIN doesn’t match. The last 3 digits are different.
Just emailed the PO, but don’t have much hope that he can/will fix this.

So for now the project is dead in the water!

Additional rats!!!

Paperwork also doesn’t match the motor VIN — the last 4 digits are different.

Not to rub it in, but I'm REAL glad I live in Maine. Anything 1994 and older doesn't require a title.

I just registered my 1974 GT550 on a hand-written bill of sale.

Got a seat on order (my attempt to make my own was a spectacular flop...) get a front fender, get the weather warm enough to clear-coat the paint it'll be ready to inspect and hit the road.

I checked the national vehicle database for the frame VIN & title VIN.
There is no record for the frame VIN.
The title VIN comes back as valid in the database & the current title was issued when the PO got the title.

Thankfully, neither VIN came back as stolen.

Shame to cafe a J model really. They fetch good money in the UK especially.

register it in Vermont. that's what I did with mine, even though I live in Wisconsin. Vermont will register a bike with only a bill of sale and you don't need to live in Vermont. Once I got my Vermont registration, I transferred to Wisconsin an voila- I now have a real Wisconsin title and registration. PM me and I can walk you thru process.

Exchanged a few emails with the PO.
The shop he got the bike at was local, but the owner has since retired & moved to Florida. The building was torn down & replaced with another store.

Its credible that the shop simply processed the wrong title.
And the PO did the same thing I did, which was to NOT verify that the frame & title VINs match.

Pennsylvania is picky about titles.
At this point I’m glad that the bikes wasn’t stolen, but there is no point in continuing this project unless I can get a titled frame.
Total bummer!!!

sbaugz wrote:register it in Vermont. that's what I did with mine, even though I live in Wisconsin. Vermont will register a bike with only a bill of sale and you don't need to live in Vermont. Once I got my Vermont registration, I transferred to Wisconsin an voila- I now have a real Wisconsin title and registration. PM me and I can walk you thru process.

Looks like we were typing at the same time.

That’s an interesting option. Will have to give this some thought.

its totally easy to do.

there are two forms from Vermont- a registration application and a VIN form.

You take your bike to a local police dept in your home state, and have them verify the VIN on the VIN form.

Then you send in the VIN form, application, a bill of sale and like $65 to Vermont and within a few weeks you get a valid Vermont registration and a Vermont license plate. Some people simply leave the registration in Vermont and drive the bike with Vermont plates. The state of Vermont doesn't care where you live.

In my case, when my Vermont registration period was nearing the end, I transferred the registration into Wisconsin and they have to accept it, because its a valid registration, even though Vermont is a non-title state for vintage bikes and care. They will even give you a title. Most states will do the same.

This is a well known "workaround" in the vintage motorcycle community. I have done it numerous times.

don't let the title stop you from proceeding with a bike.

Here are the two forms:
application:
http://dmv.vermont.gov/sites/dmv/files/ ... le_App.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

VIN verification form - to be completed by any police officer in your local town.
http://dmv.vermont.gov/sites/dmv/files/ ... cation.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

instructions:
http://dmv.vermont.gov/sites/dmv/files/ ... ctions.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

costs $44 for a one year registration, plus I think $23 for plates.

Thanks for the tips.

Pennsylvania is a bit picking about titles & registration.
A few years ago the owner of a local vintage bike shop told me about the state imposing tougher rules & prosecuting some people.
So I’m a bit leery about using the Vermont loophole.

If a forum member wants to buy & restore my GT550J, that would be fine with me.
We have NOT modified anything. The cafe seat in the pic is merely sitting on some plastic blocks that are taped to the frame.
I still have all the parts except for the fugly fairing.

jabcb wrote:Thanks for the tips.

Pennsylvania is a bit picking about titles & registration.
A few years ago the owner of a local vintage bike shop told me about the state imposing tougher rules & prosecuting some people.
So I’m a bit leery about using the Vermont loophole.

If a forum member wants to buy & restore my GT550J, that would be fine with me.
We have NOT modified anything. The cafe seat in the pic is merely sitting on some plastic blocks that are taped to the frame.
I still have all the parts except for the fugly fairing.

To each his own I guess. There's nothing illegal about doing that. Just leave it registered in Vermont and drive it. Totally legal and your state can't do anything about it. In fact there are companies out there who's sole function is charging people to do exactly what I described above. It just seems a shame to bail on your project over something that's really a non-issue.

So what are you asking for bike? I might be interested for right price.

Thanks for the tips.

I think I’ll ask a vintage bike shop owner about the Vermont loophole. He might also be aware of another option.

The project now has a heartbeat.

Thanks for the tips — bike now has a Vermont plate.