After my last email, I went to Boulder County's motor vehicle office to get a title. Didn't happen. Although everyone was pleasant, they told me that I needed to have the state do a "records search" to determine the owner of record. I would then contact said owner of record and ask if he/she wanted the motorcycle. Either a negative response or no response (after 30 days) would allow me to apply for a title. Since the last owner had been dead for thirty years, it seemed unlikely he would respond.
I sent a written request for a records search to the state. I did the same thing online. Not wanting to chance falling through the cracks, I made an appointment with the state DMV to again request a search. Although three weeks have passed since I submitted the first two requests, crickets. When I met with the DMV, a clerk ran a search while I waited and told me there was no record for The Beast in Colorado or any other state. No record means no letter.
My second meeting with Boulder County happened this morning. As the clerk asked for forms, I was able to pull each one out of a folder and hand it over. I had done my homework.
Missing titles with no known owners are a bit unusual. The clerk had to talk to her supervisor. She came back and started to tell me about a similar case from several years earlier and how it was resolved. At that point, I was reasonably certain that today's meeting would go my way. Then she pulled out a photo of her Harley. Score.
I now have a license plate. The state will mail the title to me.
I'll put together a presentation (with PowerPoint!) on the process of getting a title.
Bob
On Fri, Dec 12, 2025 at 9:27 PM Norman Wright <lowrtax@gmail.com> wrote:
Great news and best of luck with the process. I've generally found county dmv people helpful if your story makes sense, as yours does.--On Sat, Dec 13, 2025, 5:15 AM robert sheehan <bob.sheehan2@gmail.com> wrote:--Some of you may recall that the 1978 Bonneville, The Beast, I was given, lacked a title. That's been something of a concern as I spent money restoring the bike.The state of Colorado is relatively accommodating on resolving missing titles, particularly when the vehicle is at least 25 years old. However, depending on the vehicle's condition, the resulting title may bear the label of "salvage". Not wanting that, I held off having the State Police inspect The Beast until it conformed to their definition of "roadworthy".Yesterday, it was inspected.A VIN search verified that the bike had not been stolen, but because it had not been licensed in 30 years, no other history was available. Not a problem. At most, I'll have to spend $3.50 at the DMV for them to make a similar determination.I trailered The Beast to the inspection site, and the bike remained on the trailer throughout the inspection. Lights and horn were checked. "Did it have factory turn signals?" "Not when I got it." "Okay."The final test was to determine if the motor ran. It started on the first kick.The inspector was helpful, and informed me that there is a two-year window from when the bill of sale is signed, during which a vehicle can be titled without posting a bond. For me, that window closes next February. I have an appointment with Boulder County next Tuesday to apply for title application.Bob
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