Engine Numbers differ from Frame Numbers

TINK · 01-18-2013, 07:37 PM

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

Beemerguru · 01-18-2013, 07:41 PM

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.

TINK · 01-18-2013, 07:45 PM

Am I looking in the right place for the engine number?

disston · 01-18-2013, 07:50 PM

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.

TINK · 01-18-2013, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by disston

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

disston · 01-18-2013, 09:37 PM

Everybody gets one right once in a while.

DiabloADV · 01-19-2013, 12:29 AM

Begs the question...do they really care? I am putting a new motor in my frame. Will this cause registration problems some day?

TINK · 01-19-2013, 05:22 AM

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

01-18-2013, 07:37 PM	#1
TINK ^OP Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Nov 2007 Location: So Cal Oddometer: 482	Engine Numbers differ from Frame Numbers 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

01-18-2013, 07:41 PM	#2
Beemerguru Beemerguru...G/S guy Joined: Nov 2006 Location: Foster City, CA Oddometer: 635	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. __________________ Greg Hutchinson BMW Club of Northern California, Ambassador, BMW MOA, Vice President Vintage BMW Club http://gregsgssite.shutterfly.com/

01-18-2013, 07:45 PM	#3
TINK ^OP Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Nov 2007 Location: So Cal Oddometer: 482	Looking Am I looking in the right place for the engine number?

01-18-2013, 07:50 PM	#4
disston ShadeTreeExpert Joined: Mar 2011 Location: Silver Spring, Md Oddometer: 4,987	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. __________________ Never memorize something you can look up. ---Albert Einstein

01-18-2013, 09:37 PM	#6
disston ShadeTreeExpert Joined: Mar 2011 Location: Silver Spring, Md Oddometer: 4,987	Everybody gets one right once in a while. __________________ Never memorize something you can look up. ---Albert Einstein

01-19-2013, 12:29 AM	#7
DiabloADV Semi-Occasional Joined: Oct 2010 Location: Nor Cal, USA Oddometer: 1,534	Begs the question...do they really care? I am putting a new motor in my frame. Will this cause registration problems some day? __________________ '74/'70 R98/6/GS Traveling Bike (construction under way) '91 Bill Holland Steel w/Dura Ace

01-19-2013, 05:22 AM	#8
TINK ^OP Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Nov 2007 Location: So Cal Oddometer: 482	Who Cares 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

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