I'm going to get my BMW PROJECT-S registered with the CA DMV. Bike has been on Non-Op status since I bought it. I was looking at the CA Title and it lists the Frame and Engine number as the same 7 digit number. So, I go out to the bike and yes the frame number matches, but, the Engine number on a boss on the front left is a different "6" digit number.with "247/D" (the engine model I presume). And so I as you fellow BMW experts; Q: Aren't the engine and frame number suppose to match on a 1979 R100RT built 9/78? TINK
Maybe...something this old may have had the engine and/or tranny replaced. Unless you get a bike with paperwork from day one, you never know.
Look for a number stamped on a boss above the oil dipstick hole. Not sure but this is only four years newer than mine so think this should be the engine number location. At some point things changed. Things can always be different because you are in Cali but here the only number that maters is the frame number.
Thanks disston. Yes, the number stamped above the oil dipstick does match the number on the frame. Mystery solved. TINK
Begs the question...do they really care? I am putting a new motor in my frame. Will this cause registration problems some day?
I have purchased several bikes from out of state and when I brought them to CA the DMW required a visual inspection of the frame and engine number (some AAA offices can do this). I'm sure the same could be true for other states should you sell your bike some day to someone out of state. If they do not match, there's a background check of the miss matched numbers, to see it either the frame or engine are stolen, and of course the requisite additional DMV forms to fill out and sign. Ask me how I know,,, TINK