Making written off bike street legal?? major screw up | GTAMotorcycle.com

Making written off bike street legal?? major screw up

C

CBR1000 SP

Well-known member
Any way to make a bike with unfit or rebuilt status(manitoba bike) legal for the road.Got it certified today and then get told at service ontario that the bikes status is rebuilt in manitoba and in Ontario that is basically a written off bike and not able to be licensed AND nothing can be done to get it checked out to be corrected.I got taken and Its my fault for not checking more than I did before buying it.I understand that a good,fit,frame from a wreckers with the paperwork could make the bike legal,but thats too big a job for me I think and finding a newer 2012-2016 cbr1000 main frame would be like a needle and a haystack.Other than selling off the bike cheap as a track only bike (2014 cbr1000sp)or parting out as much of it as I can to recoup some of my losses does anyone know what else I can do?
 
Motorcycles are one way only - once they are branded salvage in Ontario there is no way back. A car can be rebranded to "rebuilt" from salvage, but the same is not possible for a motorcycle - apparently in Manitoba the same was possible for motorcycles, but again, in Ontario you can't put a motorcycle in "rebuilt" status back on the road as that status doesn't exist for motorcycles.

You are unfortunately stuck in a vicious circle, but in short, the bike can't ever be legally put back on the road here....the branding will follow it everywhere unless you swap a new frame/VIN.

Riceburner has a good idea, sell it as a track bike and start again unfortunately.
 
thanks very much guys.I really messed up by not checking before I got it.It was in excellent condition with lots of extras so I just "assumed" no problem.Hope others learn from my situation.I`ll get it up on kijiji and the forum.The seller will literally have been laughing all the way to the bank.
 
I would patiently wait for a sub-frame to become available and swap it over. They do come up on eBay once in a while. If it has a VIN it's not going to be cheap, but either that or take a bigger loss. You might want to check the law in Manitoba to see if the seller is required to tell you the bike is rebuilt before selling it to you. Makes you appreciate the mandatory seller's package and background check Ontario requires. Too many shady operators out there.
 
Sounds like in Manitoba putting it back on the road as rebuilt was possible, so it's doubtful the seller was trying to pull anything on you, he probably didn't know that it wasn't possible to do the same in Ontario. As mentioned, rebuilt branding isn't even physically possible to accomplish in Ontario (once it's salvage it stays salvage to the end of days) so clearly this is something different between provinces.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Sounds like in Manitoba putting it back on the road as rebuilt was possible, so it's doubtful the seller was trying to pull anything on you, he probably didn't know that it wasn't possible to do the same in Ontario. As mentioned, rebuilt branding isn't even physically possible to accomplish in Ontario (once it's salvage it stays salvage to the end of days) so clearly this is something different between provinces.
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My wife's 250 ninja was plated and on the road, also said "rebuilt" right on the ownership. No idea how it was possible, perhaps because it was imported from th US?

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Long time ago it was possible, but not in recent years(decades?).

OP could try reselling it out of province in Man. or hope to get a frame that is straight and not branded.
 
What about physically going to manitoba (where rebuilt bikes are allowed)and where it came from and get it registered in that province,get a Manitoba plate and then come back here and use the Manitoba plate and ownership?Would that work?I have also been told that Quebec allows this as well AND has places that inspect your bike to pass it or not pass it .
 
Someone who legitimately lives in Manitoba can register and insure the bike in Manitoba. If you move to Ontario (i.e. you no longer have a permanent resident address in Manitoba) you have a certain time period (60 days?) to transfer everything over to Ontario. Do you have a Manitoba address? Do you (and the bike) spend more than six months of the year there? And then the trick questions ... Does anyone else know? Can anyone else prove otherwise?
 
Even if you did the Man. thing...wouldn't the ownership still show as rebuilt? Still can't transfer it in ON.
 
I understand and you would be correct.It would stay a Manitoba bike until the end of my time with it.I expect would have to return every year or 2 to get a plate sticker for it.I should add that I do have a Manitoba safety certificate for the bike that expires next month.
 
So registered and plated in Man. but ridden here? Where is it insured? Sounds like a complicated deal. Easier to just re-sell in Man.?
 
I don't believe an Ontario insurance company will underwrite a car licensed and plated in a different province, and Manitoba insurance would be a problem as most insurance companies do specify that you need to be inside the province the majority of the time, and actually living elsewhere but telling them you reside in Manitoba could be considered material misrepresentation and result in a cancelled/void policy.
 
Manitoba has a government insurance system the last time this came up for discussion with cousins living there. Unless one meets the requirements of residency the Manitoba plating is one form of fraud or another. Your driver's licence, OHIP and income tax deductions are all province based and would have to match the bike plate.

For example if your health care is supplied by Manitoba you have to pay for ambulance rides in Ontario as well as a bunch of other things. You could be hammered with all kinds of very expensive non motorcycle events and still not be covered as you are deceptive in your residency.

I see the following options:

Part it out
Sell it for track use
Sell it to someone in Manitoba
Move to Manitoba

Which makes the best use of your time / life while giving you the least financial loss considering the situation?

Step 2, move on with life as a wiser person. We've all done it. You could write a book about people who bought stuff that they couldn't use.

P.S. How well did you get along with the seller? He may not have known that rebuilts are not permitted in Ontario. Did he have other people interested in the bike that would still be looking for a machine?

I knew a guy that took his Manitoba Goldwing to the USA and had it triked. They wouldn't let it back into Canada because it had been modified and he couldn't sell it in the USA because it was a Canadian bike.

Fortunately the company that triked it was decent, UN-triked it and shipped the parts to Manitoba where the bike was RE-triked and then legally registered. Aren't laws wonderful.
 
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thanks-your right.I`ll have to pay for my mistake and stupidity. a couple of minutes worth of investigating would have saved me.The seller is long gone and my dream of owning a mint SP is gone now too as well as a lot of cash.Thanks everyone for your help and hope others learn from me on the dangers that are out there.
 
DemonPig said:
How did they know it was modified? Did the guy volunteer this information?
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I wondered that as well. Customs often ask if you have had any work done on your vehicle and honesty is the best policy (gag, choke).

I don't know if anything changes on the registration as it is still licensed as a motorcycle AFAIK.
 
nobbie48 said:
I wondered that as well. Customs often ask if you have had any work done on your vehicle and honesty is the best policy (gag, choke).

I don't know if anything changes on the registration as it is still licensed as a motorcycle AFAIK.
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Has anyone seen the software they use at the border? Do they record a description of the vehicle you crossed in (or a picture?). That would seem to be an easy way to catch many things.
 
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