No Title in Illinois what to do?

[ninjeff]

Hey guys. Has anyone had any experience in purchasing a bike in Illinois without a title? I found a 92 GS500 that looks to be in good condition (for a damn fine price) but is listed as "bill of sale only, no title".
Now, i don't know much about GS500s, except what i learned form here. I don't have one yet, but its exactly what i'm looking for. This price certainly fits in the budget (with some "upgrade" money left over!)  but  with "no title" it worries me.
I figured i'd ask, because although it seems like a daunting proposition to me, perhaps someone with experience on here could guide me through the process, or at least let me know if its even worth the hassle. Should i pick it up? Or is it a "not even worth messing with" kind of problem?

[Tombstones81]

if its dirt cheap enough and Worth buying. aka it Runs and rides good.

then one option if you cannot get a title for it would be.
do the usual checks to make sure its not stolen.
and again, if you cannot get a title...
Just get a bare titled frame to swap everything over to it.

[bombsquad83]

I personally would avoid a bike with no title.  If you haven't read verboseone's thread about "the ride the gs500 gave me". I suggest that you do.  That didn't take place in Illinois, but I can only imagine things in Illinois to be worse.  A lot of pain involved.

Then again, if it is dirt cheap (I'm talking less than $500), then it might be worth it.

[ninjeff]

Its $699. So it really is butting up to the "so cheap you might as well" territory.
I have a message out to the seller asking for the important details, like why it doesn't have a title!
It would be awesome to get it, and a bare frame to swap everything with, but i live in an apartment, i don't have a garage.  I have friends with garages, but none of them ride so i would not be comfortable with borrowing thier garage for however long a swap would take.

[mimikeni]

I live in Illinois and looked into this issue two years ago.  There is so much red tape to go through, it isn't worth the hassle unless you are using it for a parts bike or plan to swao out the parts with serial or VIN numbers on them.  I've passed up a few other "great deals" because there was no title.  Sorry.

[ninjeff]

That bad huh?


Well crud.
Its it red-tape in the "takes forever" sense or in the "dmv makes it nigh impossible to complete" sense?

[bombsquad83]

That bad huh?


Well crud.
Its it red-tape in the "takes forever" sense or in the "dmv makes it nigh impossible to complete" sense?

This is Illinois, so probably both.  Living in an apartment is another issue.  You are going to want to get a bike that needs minimal restoration because you don't have space to do it.  A '92 with no title is likely going to need a lot of work.  I'm willing to help you out, but I don't have the space to store 2 bikes in my garage.

[steezin_and_wheezin]

If you are buying it as a parts bike Only, yes. $700 is was too steep still though. I paid a $450 for my first 94 gsE parts bike(title-less)

Here's NADA's value of a 92 gsE;
http://www.nadaguides.com/Motorcycles/1992/Suzuki/GS500E/Values

As you can see even the 'good' value is only $560, there's no way he'd get $700 out of me for it.

If you are buying the bike as a parts bike with only a dream of getting it titled, yer good to go! If you buy this thing thinking you'll have it on the road shortly, i wouldn't suggest it.

I am in the process of hopefully getting my 2006 parts bike titled. It has been an ongoing process for a few months now, with still no certainty of actually getting a title.

The situation with Verboseone is a bit different. I sold him a titled 2006 frame, but the lady at the DMV had filled in the incorrect info when the title was issued to me.  Long story short on that one, bike was not stolen, a bunch of typo's and headaches later Verbos was able to get a full clean and clear title. Now he's in the process of swapping everything from the untitled frame into the titled one.

If I were you, i would buy a cheaper running and title bike before you start down the parts bike path.

Buying a parts bike, fixing or parting it out has been a great adventure. I would say if you have the time/money/space for it, a parts bike is a good learning experience

[ninjeff]

Well, fair enough guys. Thanks for the replies.

Bombsquad; I appreciate the offer! A "garage for a day" isnt hard. The bike would actually be in my apartments secured parking garage and a day's worth of work is no big deal. I do think my land lord would take issue with me sprawling two motorcycles out all over the parking garage that's used for all tenants.

But i suppose i shall heed the warning of the more experienced members here. This will be my second bike, and the first one used.  i purchased my first bike brand new off the showroom floor.
But if you guys are saying its a maddening process (and i'm 100% certain you guys have more patience than myself) i guess i'll hold out.

Gotta keep looking.