Engine confusion

I would clean it up, find out what it is when stripping it down, see what is useful to me (whole engine or in parts) but learn a bit more about the engine anyway............

..........after all, if I ground the numbers off and at some stage had a 'chain-off' which smashed my crankcase, I'm pretty sure that when new replacement crankcases come from Ducati, they don't have a whole engine number stamped on them.........

Therefore my engine number should be the same as it was before replacing the crankcase.

AL

 

Not sure if I've missed something but finding out what you've actually got - as in engine CC - would be the first thing I'd do?

 

but why is it definitely dodgy Steve? it's always been accepted that you can restamp a frame number under certain conditions e.g. - frame replaced due to irrepairable damage and if an engine was built up of non std parts and/or original capacity was altered then surely it would be totally legit to do the same to the engine number as long as DVLA gave it their blessing.

 

That's almost the same point as I made Chris........if I bust my crankcase for whatever reason and I ordered one from Ducati, which won't be stamped with an engine number, that doesn't mean my engine is dodgy does it?

So all Mel (or someone) has to do, is make a professional job of removing the number..........it ain't hard with some decent tools.....

"Oh look.........it's got no number..........it must have had a broken chain through the cranckase at some stage"...

Who can prove otherwise........I don't think many people have access to the equipment that Plod use for 'seeing' the numbers removed from a firearm, say....

....and if anyone thinks that method might get used, just bl**dy well stamp some fresh numbers over the top of the old ones first which will bugger up anything that can be seen after they have been removed.

AL

 

A mate of mine once had an RG500 square four Suzuki engine which was stamped Kangaroo Kid...

Frame and engine numbers are rubbish anyway. What actually constitutes the identity of a bike? The V5, and Chassis or Frame or VIN which ever you want to call it, number.

Most of my bikes are like Trigger's broom. Different engines, frames... How much and what is original?

 

And if there are no numbers on the engine???

 

the frame number isn't altered - it's a new number that has it's own designation as it's a replacement frame and a few years down the line when it's got it's own patina, no-one is to know that it was even a replacement frame apart from the serial number. I have had to sign off cars in the past as part of my 'clubby' role and ditto engine numbers although more of an usual case. I know this applies to bike frames and I can't see why the same shouldn't apply to bike engines.

 

Once again, a forum thread where sound legal advice is being derided in favour of urban myth and percieved wisdom... Meanwhile, back at the OP - it's easy for people to say "oh, just flog it on..." or "break it up and flog the bits..." but Mel obviously has a higher moral standard than some posters and does not want pass on an engine that is potentially not 100% legal to someone else. The cold fact is that she appears to have been ripped off by someone selling on an engine that has a dubious history and now has a serious dilemma on how to deal with that situation...

 

not disagreeing with all the above? - but AM saying that a frame or engine can exists with a dodgy looking row of stamping (and no-one here has verified OP engine numbers with DVLA yet) and it can still be legitimate FFS. I have seen worse punch striking than that on car scuttles before now and it's been totally legal.

 

I'm not trying to wind you up, and as you are suggesting I'm naive, then I'm suggesting you are either thick, or you are being deliberately thick.

I shall not repeat this any more................Buy a new fucking crankcase and it won't have a fucking number on it..........

Fit to your engine then means your engine has no number on it.............Is your engine now dodgy or nicked?

No it fucking isn't.

Are you seriously trying to tell me that you, with all your self-trumpeted skills and knowledge couldn't remove the numbers from the engine and not make it look like a replacement crankcase with the blank machined off area?

Notice how restrained I was here and confined the use of bad language to 'fucking'?

AL

 

The worse thing to do at this stage is even contemplate contacting the DVLA...........(but maybe even they read the Ducati Forum)..............the best thing for Hellcat to do is wait and see if she gets a response from Ducati Italy.

AL

 

Not once, in 40+ years of biking and driving have I ever had Plod check an engine or chassis number, or even have one looked at closely by an MOT tester.............all the tester has ever done is check what the chassis says against the document; never the engine number.


AL

 

I bet you do.......

....You, IMO happen to be one of the most self-opiniated twats on this forum, yet you can't even absorb simple logic and have to resort to insults..............

Well, its my turn now to resort to insults.

While you are being a thicko, have another look at an SS crankcase.................is there any need for a plate?..................who said anything about a plate? (apart from you, tit).

And who said anything about swapping out dodgy cases and replacing them with new cases?..........You are obviously gobby, but you can't read.

Got it? Twat.............

..........tell you what, I'm f-in glad you moved..............I don't think I could stand your company for more than a minute.

And now after all the shite you and others have posted on here, Hellcat might just as well go and hand the engine over the counter to local Plod.

What a fuckin' dickhead you are.

AL

 

My word this is getting nasty.
Mel you have 2 choices part it out as you intended or (a) contact DVLA and ask them or (b) ask the Police they too can check whether it is nicked. If it is stolen it is likely to be taken from you.

As for fitting new cases with no numbers for a legut reason such as snapped chain damage then you simply keep the paperwork re the purchase of the cases. A Frame is Different that is the identity of the machine and if you intended to use it on the road then it requiresits own idetity ie reregistering.
I have done that so I know whats involved.of course it is different if you buy a second hand frame

 

so go to the police then...didnt I say that half a thread ago?! Or put to experince and move on...choices are ignore it and break and feed the leccy meter or report and give it up.

and before anyone gets on their high horse, I've been there plenty of times and sometime you do what it takes to get food on the table

 

Of course it is getting nasty when some twat full of his own self-importance starts lecturing and accusing other members of being naive; when in reality those members are trying to assist another forum member who appears to have a spot of bother on her hands..........

..........and I love the fact that other self-important types including the dickhead, have already assumed the engine is dodgy or stolen, which has put the OP under more pressure.......

Sometimes I wonder about where these clever b*****ds were educated...............Behind the door, I reckon.

 

Irrespective of whether its stolen or not, or whether the number was removed/changed, it's all irrelevant until you find out what you have actually got. If its not the engine you want then its no use to you, and you can't sell it on until you actually know what it is. Br realistic, plod will not be interested in this engine, not even if you hand deliver it and dump it on the front desk. You see, the original number has been removed and something else put in its place. The police have no way of tracing where it came from. If they can't prove that its stolen then its not stolen. It may well be iffy. It may well not have the original numbers on it. But if the police aren't interested in it then its yours to do with as you please. For all they know you could have removed the numbers yourself. Its not illegal to do it.
You really need to find out what the engine is. You are clearly not going to do that from the engine numbers. Why not put up a few more pics and let people have a look. On the cylinder head there may well be a stamp, something like S1 or V2 or similar.
If you can successfully identify what the engine is then you can legitimately advertise it safe in the knowledge that you are not misselling it, and be honest about its provenance. At least the next buyer will know what he's getting, and he may well get it at a bargain price, but at least you will see some return on it.