Lost Title, Use different title?

[Carolinarooster]

Ok, so the title for my 79 xs400 is MIA from my buddy who gave me the bike.
I have a title 81' xs400 frame that is useless.
Question: Can I title the 79' xs 400 under the 81' xs title?... since the frame will never be used.
Im in South Carolina if that helps.
thanks

 

[Wolfe_11B]

This has been covered and argued many times in the past. A search pops up a bunch of reading material.

Bottom line is don't do what you are thinking. It's illegal.

I don't understand, why won't the original owner just go get a new title? If it was legit owned by him, and he had it registered before, than any title agency in the state will print him a replacement for not much money.

 

[xschris]

You can swap the neck of the titled frame with the other bike to make it legal. Just have a good welder do it.

 

[Greasey Fingers]

What he said

 

[rshutchinson]

It will be much easier to either get him to get a new title printed or just go the legal route yourself by writing affidavits, etc. Go to the DMV, be very nice and polite and see what you need to do.

It can be frustrating though as I had to go through a bit (and getting the correct info the first time can also be hard) to get a title for mine.

 

[manuel sena]

I agree to swap necks.why go through the hassle if you have a title all ready.your essentially rebuilding your bike from the neck back.

 

[rshutchinson]

IMO, much more money and places to go wrong with cutting and rewelding necks when all you need to do is some paperwork.

Then you can still sell the frame with title whereas you won't get anything for the frame with no title.

 

[kshansen]

Well don't know laws in SC, but in NY I believe if the person who had the title just fills out a form requesting it be reissued there is a fee, (there's always a fee!). I have a similar problem with a 1977 XS400, but person who it is titled under has gone missing for all practical purposes. There are ways around this too but at least for now I don't feel like spending the money on a free bike that may or may not be needed.

On another bike an XS650 I got very cheap had a problem of no title. I was aware the guy had passed away after leaving at a shop for work. No one ever came back to claim it. That one had been titled in Virginia and when I contacted Virginia I just told them that I did not know anything about the owner other than the bike having been titled in Virginia. That was an easy one to do. I had to send a certified letter to the last know address of the "OWNER" that they provided to me. Then send it to that address requesting he sign for the letter, well knew that was unlikely, then when it came back "REFUSED" "NO ONE BY THAT NAME" I then sent it still sealed to the Virginia DMV with a fee, always a fee, and a few weeks later a nice shiny new Title with my name on it was in the mailbox!

 

[BBS360]

I'm going through the same issue up here in Canada. Bought a bike without paperwork, told the usual paperwork retrieval procedure would work, but it didn't. Turns out it's registered in another province.
The other province agency won't deal with anyone out-of-province under any circumstances, so I need someone there to have the registration transferred to them, then do an inter-provincial transfer to me, and hopefully not have to pay any more on taxes and notaries than I have already.

It's a headache, but try to get the title the legitimate way first. It'll be much better in the long run.