[shoup89]

greetings!

is there a way to decode the VIN for early honda's?
ive googled the heck out of it, and cant seem to come up with a solid answer.

specifically i'd like to know the original color of my bike.

thanks for any help!

 

[tepetit53]

What bike?

 

[tepetit53]

If your bike is pre-1981, then it is only a sequential number. 1981 and later VINs must meet the federal requirement which includes mfg. location, model designation, model year code but no color indicator.

If you tell us year and model bike there are several places which have that info. (eg my 1979 CM400T and 1980 CM400A were available in Candy Holly Green and Candy Presto Red)

 

[longdistancerider]

According to this site https://www.motorera.com/honda/h0450/scramble.htm you have Candy Topaz Orange, Strato Blue Metallic and Poppy Yellow Metallic to choose from. The VIN doesn't tell you what the color was originally. If you look at the bottom of the tank you may find a section that wasn't painted or you may be able to sand some of the current color off to see what underneath. That's assuming the tank wasn't stripped before the repaint.

 

[shoup89]

thanks guys!
sorry, i should have included this: 1971 Honda CL450 Scrambler.

the tank and covers have been stripped completely and repainted a brilliant candy red.

i also cannot find the side tank decal - i kinda think it looks like the bat symbol.... one on ebay but its 200 bucks.

 

[shoup89]

also, the headlight cover has been painted black... i cannot seem to find any residual paint there either.

 

[crazypj]

DoT has problems with any early VIN as only 17 digit are recognised unless vehicle was constantly registered.( never off road and garaged without tag)
Surprisingly, Insurance institute has way more information on VIN numbers than DoT, particularly if vehicle was ever involved in an accident, theft or basically anything where an insurance company may have had to pay out