Question for you guys in Alberta...

[Angus McL]

Does anyone know if you need insurance to register a bike in AB? Even if it's not going on the road and you just want the paperwork in your name, do you need ins?

A.

[Angus McL]

Long story kinda shortened, I bought the bike from a guy in our Calgary office and had it shipped down last fall. He bought the bike 6 or 8 yrs ago, added it to his collection of 20-some bikes, and then it sat gathering dust.

I got a bill of sale from him a couple months ago and went in to Service NS with it. They ran the VIN and it comes up in someone else's name. Turns out my guy has the signed over registration slip with his name on it from the previous owner, but never registered it in his own name. He checks with Service NS equivalent in AB and is told he needs insurance on the bike to register it. Even if you don't want to plate it, you still need ins.

So in the meantime, he scans and emails me the registration slip that the last owner signed over to him. Ignoring for a second that it's a copy, not an original, I figure that with the last registration slip and a bill of sale, that would be enough info to tie the three names together and prove ownership. I have original owners name and address (which matches what she sees when running the VIN), name and address of the guy who signed the back of the registration slip to take ownership and who is the same guy who wrote my bill of sale, and my name and address on the bill of sale. Apparently I was a little over-optimistic... They say it looks like transfer of ownership, but doesn't prove it. Even if I had the original registration slip, no dice. They want to see two names, not three.

Now I've got my guy in Calgary looking to insure a bike for 24hrs so he can register it in his name. Is that kind of policy even available? Or will he have to get a 6 or 12 month policy and then cancel it? Likely a nice cancellation fee doing that! I told him I'd split the cost if this is the only option just to get it done quicker.

[evan_calgary]

Why are you concerned about having the registration in your name? This is entirely legit and by no means do you have to register a bike with every owner. The gov't can pound sand, it is none of their business who has owned a motorcycle if they do not intend to put it on the road. This is the case in Alberta, I have no clue what they have chosen to do in NS. A bill of sale here is checked for the correct information and the VIN checked for police report or leins, the last registered name does NOT have to match the name on the bill of sale.

Yes, you need insurance to register a vehicle but, at least in Alberta, I believe you can update the information in their system without insurance. This is at least the case with an out of province and I believe also just general.

[Bare]

Bit of a mess ain't it?
Very foolish to Not register a machine immediately.
Until it's registered.. in your Name it's Not yours.
Also if you sell one then the twit buyer doesn't register it .. it remains yours..(with ALL liability issues inherent)
As above ...registration does not require insurance.
Driving /riding it does

[hondaror]

Bit of a mess ain't it?
Very foolish to Not register a machine immediately.
Until it's registered.. in your Name it's Not yours.
Also if you sell one then the twit buyer doesn't register it .. it remains yours..(with ALL liability issues inherent)
As above ...registration does not require insurance.
Driving /riding it does

Not the case if you have a copy of the bill of sale with all the info on both parties. That's why it's so important to have a copy of the bill of sale as a seller. Also, you sign a portion of the paperwork to allow them to put the vehicle in their name.

[solo 2]

In Alberta you need 3 things to register a bike, bill of sale from last owner (they don't care about any previous sales or registrations), insurance and a valid drivers licence. It doesn't matter when it was last registered or if the previous owner registered it. I've gone through this twice in the last couple of years, I would recommend you use a gov't bill of sale and fill everything out properly. My GSXR wasn't registered for 20 years, had 2 different owners and was out of province, the only reason I had any problem was a misprint on a bill of sale written on a sheet of scrap paper.

Any issues you're having are with your DMV or it's personnel.

[Bare]

[/quote] Not the case if you have a copy of the bill of sale with all the info on both parties. That's why it's so important to have a copy of the bill of sale as a seller. Also, you sign a portion of the paperwork to allow them to put the vehicle in their name.[/quote]
Soo following on that.. you (as a seller) needs Keep your bill of Sale copy for:? 1, 10, 0r 20 years Just in case of some Horrendous downstream liability issues ?
Years ago a friend sold a car.. then 5 years! later the Po-lice came knocking on his door because of some ugly accident... involving the 'sold' car... which was still registered to him.
Took months and a lot of Legal fees to fix that mess.

[2smoke]

The problem is that your buddy signed on the registration slip.
Might be worth trying to get a hold of the guy that is still registered to the bike. He might want to get this done. He can get a new slip for a small fee, and start over.

[Angus McL]

I really do know better than to leave registration to the last minute... I've done it enough with sleds to know the headaches... just got ahead of myself with this one!

Seems AB is more lenient on proving ownership, but needing ins. is a pain in the ass. NS is stricter on proving ownership, but doesn't need ins. to register if not going on the road. Doesn't help me much since I am trying to get it on the road.

Colin, good suggestion to get hold of the last registered owner. Is it kosher for me to post his name here and ask if any of you Calgary guys know him?

A.

[2smoke]

I don't see why not. Or search online 411 with his name and area.

[evan_calgary]

I believe the word you are looking for is REASONABLE, not lenient. It is not reasonable to expect every owner of a bike to register it. The gov't can stay the heck out of my business if I want to own as many vehicles as I wan't without registering them provided I do not drive them.

I really do know better than to leave registration to the last minute... I've done it enough with sleds to know the headaches... just got ahead of myself with this one!

Seems AB is more lenient on proving ownership, but needing ins. is a pain in the ass. NS is stricter on proving ownership, but doesn't need ins. to register if not going on the road. Doesn't help me much since I am trying to get it on the road.

Colin, good suggestion to get hold of the last registered owner. Is it kosher for me to post his name here and ask if any of you Calgary guys know him?

A.

[Hooligan]

FWIW we can only get 1 year of insurance. On the good side, it is possible to buy third party insurance only for roughly $100 a year.

While that may suck if you have to go that route at least it's not a huge expense.