kawasaki issue......

[pugeyed 0]

ok so are you sitting comfy?
then ill begin.......

friend at work bought a second hand zzr600 for his missus as she passed her test last year, his thinking was it would give her something to learn on (plus it wouldent matter if she dropped it) and it would be ideal as she is vertically challenged (in other words a short )
it only cost him £500 and the bloke who was selling it (who also works at the same place as me and my mate) had done everything to it, you name it, it had been replaced , a well looked after bike.

it came with 8 months MOT left , fast forward to present day and he booked it in with our friendly MOT tester, gets a call to say he cant start the MOT as it doesnt have a frame number !!

got it back to the workshop and he is deffo right, not one there at all!

check the v5 and it doesnt have one listed!

to say he is annoyed is an understatement , tried getting in touch with the last owner and he is not interested (to be fair it has been a while)

think he is contacting the last garage that did the MOT

Just thought i would share the story, no idea what he going to do, i would swap frames with one from evil bay but he is not keen to do that due to the work involved...

[Stue11 0]

He would want to know if he'd sold it to me surely the last garage to mot it will denie all knowledge and say that it did when mot'd it

[stantheman 0]

maybe if he took the bike back to the same garage that done the mot they would test it but it sounds a bit dodgy to me

[Robbie 0]

That's a real shitter.
As there's no number on the V5 is it a case that the V5 is fake ?
I know it's not much help now but one of the first things I do when buying a second hand bike/car is to check that the VIN/engine numbers match the V5.

My last 2 bikes have been brand new but I still checked the numbers on the bikes with the documents the dealer gave me and when the V5 came through the post, a bit anal I know but hey that's just me.

Hope he gets it sorted.

[pugeyed 0]

i know robbie im exactly the same, but obviously he didnt, its a real shame but i dont see anyway out of it than getting a new frame

the engine number matches the v5 but that dont help much lol.

[lee1 1]

Very strange so the v5 doesnt have a frame number to

is there any sign of a frame number been there,there are only 2 reasons I can think why a frame number will be removed

1 its stolen
2 its been write off at some point and shouldnt be on the road

I would do some digging mate

[bladerunner 0]

seem to remember something about replacement frames not having a number on them so i would look into whether its had a big accident in the past.might be better to get onto DVLA about this

[smilinjack 0]

Well, a couple of things. First, have you looked for the frame number on the bike itself? Kawasakis often don't have a VIN plate, it will be stamped along the steering head tube. Second, a little story about my ZZR1200. I took it for test a few years back and the examiner reckoned I'd got the wrong bike. The computer coughed up ZX12 for my frame & reg number, and of course the decals said ZZR. He thought I was up to no good until I explained the American nomenclature for these bikes. So there are certainly possible anomalies which are perfectly above board. That said, I don't get how a V5C was issued without a frame/VIN number. Is it one of the red fronted ones or an old blue type?

[pugeyed 0]

no it doesnt seem to have had a frame number stamped into the head tube, its just a factory finish, certainly doesnt look like it has been ground off as its pimply like the rest of the frame.

the v5 is the current red fronted one.
he is looking into it , certainly seems dodgy to me.

[smilinjack 0]

Well if it's a red V5C I'd say it's kosher. When was the last change of owner on the reg doc?

[streetfighter 0]

I hope he sorts it out for his Mrs

[pugeyed 0]

last change of ownership was the middle of last year when he bought it off that chap.

cheers streetfighter

[lee1 1]

I would ring dvla myself and ask them why theres nothing on the v5

[Tony nitrous 0]

I have seen new replacement frames sent out
without factory numbers.

Also seen frame powder coated and the original
numbers were very hard to find.

[Pixiejnr 0]

Dont know if this will help.....The only problem is why the frame number is gone in the first place, either stolen or more likely an insurance write off and the assessor has removed the frame number before salvage rights have been given. Do a HPi check it will tell you. You may find its a cat b or cat A write off so you cant use back on the road anyway. Cat A must be crushed, Cat B can be used for parts only. Cat C and D are the only catergories allowed back on the road.

I do hope that you sort this issue out and to a good resolve.

[trebor4460 0]

@Pixiejnr wrote:

Dont know if this will help.....The only problem is why the frame number is gone in the first place, either stolen or more likely an insurance write off and the assessor has removed the frame number before salvage rights have been given. Do a HPi check it will tell you. You may find its a cat b or cat A write off so you cant use back on the road anyway. Cat A must be crushed, Cat B can be used for parts only. Cat C and D are the only catergories allowed back on the road.

I do hope that you sort this issue out and to a good resolve.

I agree, it's prob been a cat write off or a stolen recovered with frame number removed.
You can apply to dvlc to get the original number and get it stamped on the new frame or Q plate it.

[Robbie 0]

@trebor4460 wrote:

@Pixiejnr wrote:

Dont know if this will help.....The only problem is why the frame number is gone in the first place, either stolen or more likely an insurance write off and the assessor has removed the frame number before salvage rights have been given. Do a HPi check it will tell you. You may find its a cat b or cat A write off so you cant use back on the road anyway. Cat A must be crushed, Cat B can be used for parts only. Cat C and D are the only catergories allowed back on the road.

I do hope that you sort this issue out and to a good resolve.

I agree, it's prob been a cat write off or a stolen recovered with frame number removed.
You can apply to dvlc to get the original number and get it stamped on the new frame or Q plate it.

That may sort out why there's no number on the frame but it doesn't answer why there's no number on the V5

[Pixiejnr 0]

Maybe the V5 is a fake??? All V5C have to show chassis/frame/engine numbers

- Once that is established, check whether the V5C is real or not. The V5C should have a serial number on the top right hand corner of the certificate and a DVLA watermark. Be careful to check for signs the V5C has been tampered with, or if there are parts missing.

- If you find a V5C with a serial number in the following ranges

BG8229501 to BG9999030

BI2305501 to BI2800000

If the V5C is in one of these ranges, contact the police, as these are known stolen V5Cs.

[Macie_UK 0]

[quote="Tony nitrous"]I have seen new replacement frames sent out
without factory numbers.

Not uncommon at all, don't panic too much if there is simply no frame number. Tampered frame numbers are a different matter entirely! I'd say it's had a shunt and a new frame. Has it been HPI'd? If the smack was registered then the insco should have notified the DVLA or at the very least they may have some record of it.

If it was a "CAT B" it should have had the original frame destroyed and the bike only broken for parts and not sold to retail punters, *but* you see quite a few for sale in that state!

If there really is no VIN on the headstock (rather than it being tampered with) just take it somewhere else to get it MOT'd - you'd be surprised how many places don't check the VIN now it's all computerised, they just punch in the reg number and as long as it doesn't come up as a yellow Ford Transit tipper, they just carry on with the test without checking.

After you have found somewhere to MOT it, get onto the DVLA directly and seek advice on the best way forward. They may suggest re-registering it on a Q plate if there is no receipt for the new frame (this tends to make insurance a little trickier than normal) or they may request a confirmation letter from Kawasaki, or they may just add a note onto the log book. Chill your beans.


As a final note, be aware that bikes bought new from most manufacturers under their subsidised race bike program don't have frame numbers, although 1) they aren't intended to ever see a road and b) highly unlikely that a ZZR would have been *ever* sold as a race bike!

[oslin06 0]

This is very interesting please let us know how you get on and what the rusult is from DVLA.
Keith