Hi all. First post here! I was occasionally on the old forum (with the highly original username 'nick'!), and came back to see if any of you lovely knowledgeable ninjas could help me with a question I have...

I had a KTM 200 EXC which was stolen over a year ago. Obviously I thought I'd seen the last of it, but Lewisham police have come up trumps - they raided some local known scumbags and found it! I'm going to pick it up next week, only problem seems to be they have ground off the frame and engine numbers.  It'll be OK if I can get it working and use it at off-road events, but seems like it will be impossible for me to sell it in future without a VIN, and I don't think it can be MOT'd either.

The cop I've spoken to doesn't seem to know how to deal with this. Anyone here have any idea? Can I get the frame re-stamped? Should the police give me any paperwork to prove what happened?

if it was me id just stamp it back on regardless , ive known some off road events to get funny about bikes with obviously removed numbers.... one other question if they removed the numbers how did the police know it was yours?

Quote from: Carbon_ZX6R on July 30, 2014, 01:15:12 PM
if it was me id just stamp it back on regardless , ive known some off road events to get funny about bikes with obviously removed numbers.... one other question if they removed the numbers how did the police know it was yours?

Yeah good question! He said they have some forensic technique that let them see part of the VIN even though it's been ground off. Also luckily being a 10-year-old enduro bike it had its fair share of scratches and dings on it, I had some old photos and they match up to damage on the bike they recovered.

If I stamp the number back on the frame it will be obvious it's a DIY job - isn't that just as bad as having no number to anyone who looks at it?

not really as it should be down as stolen and nobody would stamp a stolen vin on , aslong as you explain if you sell it

If you claimed from your insurance company then the bike belongs to them

Your crime report will document the facts of the bike and the lack of vin/engine number etc so keep the number to hand.

Re the re stamping....ive no idea! Good result from the local plod  :police

Quote from: Maddog on July 30, 2014, 02:26:39 PM
If you claimed from your insurance company then the bike belongs to them

Your crime report will document the facts of the bike and the lack of vin/engine number etc so keep the number to hand.

Re the re stamping....ive no idea! Good result from the local plod  :police

+1 on this. I had a bicycle stolen 4 years ago, it turned up on Ebay last year and I had it back. Long story , but basically itwasn't insured so I took the full hit. If i'd claimed, then the insurance would have the title. However. if you have been stung by a hefty excess, then you shoudl be rights retain part of the title as they haven't reimbured you in full for the market value of the bike.

See what they say, you may be able to buy it back for a nominal sum minus your excess.

Thanks for replies everyone. Bike wasn't insured as I only used it offroad, so no problems there. If plod will give me a crime report with all the details on that seems like decent proof of what happened.

Now I'm just waiting for next week to see what sort of condition it's in when i get it back! 

did they not give you any idea of the condition?

When you reported it as stolen they would have created a crime report.

Quote from: Maddog on July 30, 2014, 06:31:34 PM
When you reported it as stolen they would have created a crime report.

exactly

I bought a stolen recovered zxr, it had a new frame number issued, frame re-stamped, and was assigned a non transferable Q plate (all done by the previous owner so im not sure of the full process) came with lots of documentation to prove all this aswell.. I'd ask the DVLA how to go about getting that done?

I wouldn't hold your breath my friend. in my experience thieving, pikey scumbags are not renowned for their care of motorcycles at the best of times. I'd be prepared to take one look at the bike and decide you just want to part it out and get rid - if you are not particularly bothered by that bike then parting it out would probably be the best way of getting your money back on a bike with that history. 

Good luck anyway, hope it's not too much hassle either way.

Quote from: Gilby104 on July 31, 2014, 10:49:20 AM
I wouldn't hold your breath my friend. in my experience thieving, pikey scumbags are not renowned for their care of motorcycles at the best of times. I'd be prepared to take one look at the bike and decide you just want to part it out and get rid - if you are not particularly bothered by that bike then parting it out would probably be the best way of getting your money back on a bike with that history. 

Good luck anyway, hope it's not too much hassle either way.

Yeah, thanks! The way I see it, I wasn't expecting to ever see this bike again, so if it's a case of putting it on ebay for spares/repair and getting a couple of hundred quid it's still a good result. If I can get it running and do an enduro event on it before the end of summer it's a bonus.

The fact that plod could ID it from my photos tells me there's still something left of it, beyond that I don't know anything, I'll just find out next week. At the very least by going to pick it up and giving a statement there's a chance that I'm helping get the scrotes put away.

Quote from: motto on August 01, 2014, 03:49:56 PM

Quote from: Gilby104 on July 31, 2014, 10:49:20 AM
I wouldn't hold your breath my friend. in my experience thieving, pikey scumbags are not renowned for their care of motorcycles at the best of times. I'd be prepared to take one look at the bike and decide you just want to part it out and get rid - if you are not particularly bothered by that bike then parting it out would probably be the best way of getting your money back on a bike with that history. 

Good luck anyway, hope it's not too much hassle either way.

Yeah, thanks! The way I see it, I wasn't expecting to ever see this bike again, so if it's a case of putting it on ebay for spares/repair and getting a couple of hundred quid it's still a good result. If I can get it running and do an enduro event on it before the end of summer it's a bonus.

The fact that plod could ID it from my photos tells me there's still something left of it, beyond that I don't know anything, I'll just find out next week. At the very least by going to pick it up and giving a statement there's a chance that I'm helping get the scrotes put away.

Good luck with it buddy, didn't mean to put a downer on things!

Well I went to have a look last night and gave them a statement. The bike wasn't as bad as it could have been - all the road gear has been taken off it, the frame and wheels have been badly resprayed, and the chain looks like it spent the last year in the sea, but aside from that it seems ok!

Gonna see if I can get it started at the weekend and if not I will flog it, not worth spending money to get it working.

Thanks for all the advice