# My motorcycle has a 9 digit VIN, WTF?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-motorcycle-has-a-9-digit-vin-wtf/315685>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [August 5, 2005, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-motorcycle-has-a-9-digit-vin-wtf/315685 "2005-08-05T06:34:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-motorcycle-has-a-9-digit-vin-wtf/315685/1 "2005-08-05T06:34:17Z")

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So I’m in the process of insuring a used motorcycle that I just bought. I have a valid, unaltered title which lists the VIN number. It is 9 digits long and accurate (it correctly shows the make and the 9th check digit is correct). This corresponds to the 9 digit VIN shown on the motorcycle’s engine casing.

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Apparently, this is motor vehicle anathema. According to my insurance agent, it is impossible. He thought I was lying. Now I can't get insurance. So I'm going to have to take my title to the DMV for a big WTF.   

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Has anybody ever heard of something like this? ☹

\<grumble grumble\>

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**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-motorcycle-has-a-9-digit-vin-wtf/315685/2 "2005-08-05T06:39:37Z")

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I should have mentioned that it’s a 1981 (hence it should have 17). :smack:

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-motorcycle-has-a-9-digit-vin-wtf/315685/3 "2005-08-05T12:41:36Z")

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All I can tell you is a Google search reveals that a 9-digit VIN apparently occurs on imported vehicles. It also says that registration is a pain in the ass because nobody knows how to deal with a 9-digit VIN. One person suggested putting zeroes in front of your number for regestration forms that require the US-standard 17 digits.

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**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-motorcycle-has-a-9-digit-vin-wtf/315685/4 "2005-08-05T16:52:44Z")

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Yeah, I saw the same message board posts as you, I suspect. Unfortunately, the insurance company isn’t so hot on having a bunch of zeroes at the beginning of the VIN. From what I’ve gathered, the 10-13 digits are always the year of manufacture. So that at least gives me a 13 digit pin…I wonder if I can reconstruct the rest…