Does CCS check for altered VIN #'s at races? I have heard several rumors lately about people calling in crashed bikes as stolen to avoid insurance rake hikes. Instead of absorbing it themselves it causes all insurance to go up and it's upsetting me to here how common this is. So does tech inspection include a check to make sure the VIN looks unaltered (I know that running the VIN's would take too much effort) and also can the motors be checked for a legit serial number (not the actual value of the number but whether the number looks unaltered and original or not). And if you get upset with this post we can probably guess why >:(.
Litespeed:
Tech does not check VIN numbers or serial numbers on the motor. With all the body work on many bikes, I don't see how they could.
Plus, based on our own personal experience. After a lowside at Road America, the VIN plate on the side of our SV has road rash that you wouldn't believe making the VIN almost unreadable.
Dawn
Dawn - the VIN is also stamped into the frame at the headstock. That location is pretty much crash-proof unless the frame is totally destroyed.
I wonder how many racebikes aren't just reported as stolen but are actually built from stolen machines. I sure hear a lot of rumors in the paddock about certain racers' bikes....
Road Racer R6
That is true that the VIN is on the headstock, but where is the mose convenient place to look for a VIN? ??? In my book it is the VIN plate on the frame.
I'm sorry to hear that in your region you hear such rumors about certain racer's bikes. I don't know what to due about that one, but I don't know what CCS could do about it either. Someone would need to have the balls enough to go up to a person's bike, write down the VIN and call it into the authorities. Who should be the one to do that and how due we avoid the possible fall out if one is accused in error?
Dawn ???
do = action to take
due = something owed.
Sorry about the errors in my previous post, I must have been having a "gray" aka "senior" moment. ::)
Dawn :)
Yes, we do occasionally check for altered VIN numbers, and when we do, we do not announce it ahead of time.
And anytime the local authorities request access, we must grant it to them, and they never call ahead about that either.
For the record, I haven't heard of any racers partaking in this activity in the SW region or any region for that matter. What I did observe was a couple of would-be racers at a local hang out talking about it. I have also seen to many posts about illegally reportings to insurance companies on this matter. I was king of hoping that the VIN (the stamped/cast one, not the sticker) on the frame would be at least looked at during tech to make sure a number was there and looked like it wasn't altered. You can't really ask for much more than that.
Sh*t can happen.
When John (my crew chief) and his ex-wife were racing their Top Fuel Harley in the early '90's, they were at an event in Texas where the police came in, shut the gate and started checking VIN's and paperwork... a number of race machines ended up being impounded. Consequently, he's a stickler about keeping the registrations for our bikes with the other paperwork we bring to the track. Not a bad idea, if you think about it.