Can you get a title with NO paperwork whatsoever? (motorcycle)

I recently bought an ‘85 Suzuki DR125 as a father son project. The transaction was technically the same as if I found it in the woods.

Ive been toying with the idea of getting it on the road but I have to idea if you can get a title with zero paperwork regarding the sale or even its history. I’m in Massachusetts and I know it was registered in NH a few years back due to the stickers on it.

Does Massachusetts accept bonded titles?

Step #2: Submit Paperwork

Submit the following information to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles:

• Notarized Affidavit attesting to the complete history of the vehicle as known. Affidavit must include vehicle's model year, make, and Vehicle Identification Number
• Completed Visual Inspection of VIN
• Any other documentation pertaining to the transfer of ownership of the vehicle, including bills of sales or cancelled checks

The vehicle inspection form must be completed by a state police barracks or local police station.

Submit all the information via fax or mail to the Title Division, to the attention of the Title Review Officer.

I don’t have a Bill Of Sale nor a title or previous registration. 

i don’t have ANY complete history. Well, I know the year and model etc and the frame is unmodified 

I use the title bonding company on a Honda 750 I had. Basically they put up a bond against any previous titles against the vehicle after doing a VIN search and seeing who may have a claim against it. They take their paperwork to the DMV and get you a title for a fee. I paid $125 8 years ago

In reply to TRoglodyte :

Thank you for the info so far!

For the record, I have these identifiers and literally nothing else.

I want to build this bike into something FAR different than it was built to be but I certainly don’t want to put time and money that I “don’t have” if I. Any do anything with the finished product.

If you can find a Bonding Company they will tell you what paperwork they need and take it from there. Sometimes a State Trooper has to verify the VIN number on the vehicle. A New Hampshire registration should make it much easier.

In reply to TRoglodyte :

Sorry to be a pain... I have zero paperwork and I don’t have registration papers. Just an expired sticker.

If you have an expired license plate it has paperwork in the New Hampshire DMV. This will make it much easier for the title search. The woman I use knows everybody at the DMV on a first-name basis she usually takes a dozen titles a week.

In reply to TRoglodyte :

No license plate unless the 151230 in the picture is considered one.

Know anyone in Maine?  let them get a temp reg on it take that paperwork to mass get your mass reg and title.

its under 250cc so can be done in VT as well

44Dwarf said:

Know anyone in Maine?  let them get a temp reg on it take that paperwork to mass get your mass reg and title.

 

My brother lives in Maine. My other brother lives in NH. 

Whats the process for the Maine brother to get a temporary registration? What would he need?

44Dwarf said:

its under 250cc so can be done in VT as well

I’ve heard of the VT process too. I’m not sure if it applies to me with just a frame with a VIN and a NH sticker on the front...

ebonyandivory said:

My brother lives in Maine. My other brother lives in NH. 

 

This becomes easy then, I believe.  Draft a bill of sale to your brother.  Your brother can register an antique vehicle in Maine without a title.  Brother then sells vehicle to you.  Since you are buying a vehicle from a No Title State (for old cars) your current state should allow you to register it.  I have purchased more than one old car from my parents in Maine :-)  It's been a few years tho, so maybe Maine has become more troublesome.  It will help if your brother lives in a rural area, with residents numbered in the hundreds, and the local town hall still handles vehicle registrations.

Can I draft a Bill Of Sale if I have zero proof that I even own the bike?

Newfield ME I believe is still under 2,000 residents.

Can you tell me if this process is likely all on-line and mail? Meaning, is it likely that we can do the Bill Of Sale’s through the mail and he can do the Registration on-line? I’d like to avoid him or his wife having to drive to the DMV if They even use one like you mentioned

Looks like the town clerk 

I can’t even wrap my head around the steps I’m supposed to take. Frustrating 

https://www.dmv.org/me-maine/motorcycle-registration.php

maybe it’s much simpler if I’m doing like was already mentioned by Wake74 ie: selling to my brother, he registers it, sells it to me with a Bill Of Sale and I take it from there?

Hmmm, it’s seeming like it’s not crazy except he’d need to get an insurance policy BEFORE he can move forward?

I've done it through Vermont. Send in registration form with Bill of sale and check for the fees, receive plate and registration. Then transfer that registration for a title in your home state.

I bought an old bike FROM Massachusetts some years ago, and found out that motorcycles of a certain age there don't have titles.  As for buying an old bike in another state and bringing it IN to Massachusetts, I don't know but assume it won't have a title once you get it registered.  

Have you talked to someone at the Massachusetts department of motor vehicles yet?  They are the only people who can give you a straight answer, any of us from other states will only be speculating.  You may or may not have to jump through hoops like registering it in Maine first.

stuart in mn said:

 

Have you talked to someone at the Massachusetts department of motor vehicles yet?  They are the only people who can give you a straight answer, any of us from other states will only be speculating.  You may or may not have to jump through hoops like registering it in Maine first.

This. No sense in getting all freaked out about it. Show up early. Smile a lot. Say “please” and “thank you” and realize you’ll probably have to talk to more than one person.

Regardless, they WILL most likely want to do an inspection. Does it run?

In reply to poopshovel again :

(I don’t even get a Bill Of Sale from when I bought the bike. It was supposed to be a parts bike and the purchase was very informal. Can I fake a BOS?)

Its currently not even close to running. That’s what has me so concerned - that I might put so much time and effort/money into this and end up with a bike I can’t register. Needing to get it completed and inspected before I’ll know if it can be ridden is a major deal breaker 

This is the plan but there A LOT of work to be done before it can be inspected.

Contact New Hampshire DMV with the VN and ask them to contact the previous owner.

Is it in the woods because it's stolen?