Plate for the V-Strom: Ins and Outs of Motorcycle Registration
It took four trips to Motor Vehicle but I finally got my plate.
No, I did not get a plate for my new V-Strom on Friday as I expected I would. I had so much to learn!
I did get it registered and got a plate today, as you can see in the photo above. Maybe you already know all this; maybe my experience can save you some trouble when you go to register your next new bike.
My first mistake on Friday was to head out without the proof of insurance slip. I was halfway to Motor Vehicle when I realized I had left it at home but I went on anyway. Maybe I wouldn’t need it.
I arrived just after the office opened at 8 a.m. and there was a long line of people already filing in and taking numbers. The manager of the office was greeting people at the door and explaining the process to them again and again. She gets good marks for customer service.
I asked about the insurance slip and she urged me to go ahead and take a number because they might have already received notification from the insurance company. I didn’t know that happened. But they were serving numbers 1 and 2 at that point and my number was 44 so I decided not to wait and then find that they had not heard from my insurance company.
Work was slow that day so I left early and swung back by Motor Vehicle just in case I could get through the line quickly, but at 3:30 p.m. there were a lot more people than had been there in the morning.
Friends had told me by now that Monday and Friday are the worst days to go to Motor Vehicle. So I decided I’d go again on Tuesday, even earlier and with my proof of insurance.
Come Tuesday there I was. My number was 8 so I didn’t have to wait long. I handed my paperwork to the clerk and he sorted through, then asked for the VIN verification. The what? Well, it seems that if you are registering a vehicle that comes from another state (Tennessee, in this case) you have to take the bike and the title to either a dealer or to an emissions check facility to get the VIN verified. No registration and plate for you today!
On my way home that night I swung by Vickery Motorsports to inquire. They guys there were very helpful and said I just needed to bring the bike by with the title and they’d do the verification. But, I asked, how do I do that? It doesn’t have a plate on it. We all kind of went, “Hmmm,” and then I said, “I’ll take the plate off one of my other bikes and put it on.” The Vickery guy grinned and said, “I didn’t hear a thing!”
So the following day I went to work early so I could leave early and have time to get home and take the bike to Vickery. I got to Vickery, “You’re totally legal, right?” he chuckled, and the VIN verification form was completed. I asked while I was there what kind of payment Motor Vehicle wants. Do they want cash, check, credit card? I was told they do take checks and cash and only recently started taking credit cards, although they add on a 2-3 percent fee if you use a card. I’d rather pay by check anyway.
Now it’s back to Motor Vehicle.
I got up early again today to get there before the crowd but by the time I got in line my number was 32. And they had some clerks who didn’t come to work so they were short-staffed. It took an hour and a half but I finally got up to the window.
While the clerk went through my paperwork I found that my heart was pounding and my hands were shaking. I just had this dread that she would tell me something was wrong or I needed some other piece of paper or something. But no, it was all good. I wrote a check and she handed me the plates and registration, telling me I will receive the title in the mail in about six weeks. Success!
So I got to work way late but as soon as I got home this evening I put the plate on. Gosh, maybe I’ll go for a motorcycle ride this weekend. Or would that be silly?
Recent from National Motorcycle Examiner
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Biker Quote for Today
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Tags: motorcycle registration
May 24th, 2013 at 4:57 pm
Here in California, it is a whole lot simpler and quicker (and the people are nicer…:-)) to go to the AAA office.