Registration Roundabout
1TW Thanks for the advice earlier on welding mm engine mounts for a classic custom prcject I wanted to build. I decided to go the route of buying a rolling chassis with an engine already installed (CB750/BANDIT 600cc). The problem is I stupidly bought it with no papers/reg number and took it at the guys word and a hand shake that it was 100% legit. The problems are that I have no idea what model the bandit 600 engine is (N71 7-1071**) and I don't want to start buying parts until I know they will work on it, any ideas on how I can find out what model it is? Also I've tried to find out, via the DVLA, if they can tell me if the bike (frame CB750H10370**) is stolen etc but won't tell me anything because of data protection -until I pay them £50 to register the bike (of course) then they will tell me if its stolen etc. After a few ohone calls and conflicting stories from them I went to a few local police stations but was turned away with the answer "how are we supposed to check if there is no reg number" or "can't do it in case we get an audit". I'm at my wits end. What should I do?
Adam Richardson, Pollokshaws ra I have checked with Suzuki, Kifll and they confirm that the engine number you give corresponds to a GSF600SW. which would have been made for the 1998 model year.
I think it is always inadvisable to buy goods of any kind without the supporting legal documentation. Probably you will simply have to pay the £50 to find out what the frame's status is. It is likely that the bike you create will end up with a Q registration because "it is assembled from a large proportion of used parts from other vehicles" and "where there is dcubt about the origin, age or identity of a vehicle, a Q registration mark is used\ to quote DVLA. The Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club has an official, Geoff Ward, who is an expert on registration queries, and l think he would be well placed to advise you on the best way forward. You can contact him at the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club, Po Box 21671, Falkirk FK1 9AL.
rj„ Well, there is something strange here. The engine and frame numbers you give correspond to a K2 model, the first of which went on sale, according to my records, on 10 April 1973. A bike sold in January 1972 would have been a KO model, according to Honda 's literature.
The KO, Kl and K2 headlamp brackets (or fork covers, as Honda term them) are all different. The part numbers for the left-hand one are: 51606-323-010XW (KO), 51606-323-020XW (Kl) and 51606-323-671XW (K2).The change to the indicators being mounted further back started for the K2 model, so those you have are correct for what you have, according to the identification numbers.
The fuel question is much simpler to answer: your bike - whichever it is -will run perfectly well on modern unleaded petrol.
WHAT IS IT?
I think your copy of the frame number cannot be quite right. The code GP71C was never used by Suzuki, as far as I can tell. I think it must actually read GP71G, and this corresponds to a GS650G non-Katana bike. A Katana would have the code GP71B or GP72G. However, the years of manufacture for frames with this prefix were 1981 to 1983, so why yours was registered in 1986,1 cannot say. Why also the bike was registered with a frame number; which was not quite the same as its real number (though evidently It does represent the same bike) again I cannot say!
Can you help me indentify what model my 1986 Suzuki is? The colour is black with orange pin-striping and the side covers say GS650GT. The engine and framo numbers (P703 1001** & GP71C-1002**) are copied from the frame and engine, whereas the logbook shows frame GS650G000001002** and engine 001001**.
I have been in touch with my local Suzuki parts supplier and they assure me It is a Katana model. As you can see my other bike is a Katana model so I know what a Katana looks like!
Peter Wells, Maidstone
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