Modern Vespa

Hey scooterers. I've almost gotten my '65 Allstate on the road and I'm onto getting everything legal wrapped up. I believe I may have seen a link on here to an online Vespa title search site. If anyone has a link could you please post it?

Thanks.

International Title Service is what people seem to use. My state's DOT has a process as well. I elected to use the State which took FOREVER.

Do you mean International Title Service?

You use them when your state requires a title, but you don't have one. They do something that's a bit shady - a loophole in the law. They register your bike in a state like Connecticut or something that doesn't require titles for vehicles under 250cc. Then they send you that registration ... so you go to your DMV and say "i bought this scooter off a dude in Connecticut where they don't require titles - registration there counts as a title" ... and your state has no choice but to honor that state's rules, accept the registration as a title, and then issue you one.

Except some states have caught on to this ( Ohio, for one ) and no longer accept ITS.

I used ITS for my CB400 when I lived in LA, here's how the process worked.
1. You send them money and a signed, notarized vehicular power of attorney.
2. They register your vehicle in Maine in YOUR NAME. Maine does not issue titles on vehicles prior to 1988.
3. You take the valid reg to your local DMV and get a title and register it in your name in your state.

i foolishly used it on my first bike in Michigan years back...

only to find out that Michigan is about the easiest state to title a bike in. Now i just go to the DMV, tell them i bought a bike at a garage sale, they run the VIN in the computer and hand me a new title 2 weeks later.

Nice.

In Iowa, I had to get a bond issued for 1.5 times the value of the vehicle. They determined my P2 to be worth $1000. So I purchased a bond worth $1500 over 3 years, my cost was around $50. In 3 years if someone pops up saying my P is theirs, they get the $1500 bond money and I keep the scooter.

Once the bond was acquired, a DMV inspector had to physically look at the serial number on the bike and make sure it matched all of my paperwork. It took him nearly 4 months to show up at my garage to look at the bike.

After that, I could take the paperwork he gave me and get a title and a plate.

i think your p might belong to me

You know, that's not a bad idea... 8)

Thanks for the info guys. I guess I'll keep everything above board and go to my state as I'm in no rush.

Hey Silver, I'm in Georgia myself. I haven't fooled with any of this stuff yet, so I don't know all the specifics, but I do know all you need in GA is a bill of sale. Even on new vehicles, this is all they care about. You'll need a motorcycle affidavit as well, and that's what they'll use to do a search and make sure the bike isn't stolen. You'll need to get it filled out and notarized by a cop, usually at the DDS, or if you've got a cop buddy that can do it for you. The one tip I've gotten is do NOT let them put white out on any part of that motorcycle affidavit. If they do, just go ahead and start over.

i would get every bike you buy titled right away. if you don't, and there are issues, there will be tears. have the person you buy the bike from put like 150 dollars (on the bill of sale). the taxes will be cheaper, too.

for the title search to see if it is stolen and a new title it is like 40$ in michigan, depending on the price of the bike on the bill of sale. we have a 6% sales tax in michigan.