Author Topic: how to determine year made?  (Read 4242 times)

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ieatalot

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on: April 27, 2013, 11:00:21 am
I bought a 1969 RE 500 in 2005. How can I check to see if it is an actual 1969. It didn't come with a title but I had the VIN# verified and got one. Is there anything specific to a 69 or in general that I could look for on the bike. I just want to check English or Indian.


baird4444

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Reply #1 on: April 27, 2013, 11:40:16 am
hope this helps - Mike
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Royalista

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Reply #2 on: April 27, 2013, 09:08:56 pm
It certainly does.

From the owner's manual the legend for European motors:

VIN number:
#1-3     manufacturer's code
#2-4     frame type
#5-6     version/model
#7        ignition type
#8        transmission
#9        year code
#10      assembly factory
#11-17 serial nos.

Engine number:
#1      engine family
#2      engine capacity
#3      type of ignition
#4      transmission
#5      fuel feed
#6      blank for future use
#7      year of manufacture
#8      month of production
#9-14 serial nos.

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ace.cafe

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Reply #3 on: April 30, 2013, 09:13:07 pm
By 1969, the Royal Enfield company in the UK had long stopped making any Bullets, and were making only twins. And in fact, they were just about to go out of business and close their doors.
The India Enfield factory didn't start making 500 models until the later part of the 1980s.

You definitely do not have a 1969 500 Bullet because no such animal has ever been made.
You might have a 1969 frame from a 350, with a more modern 500 engine in it.

Either way, it doesn't change what the bike is, and as long as you like it, that's the main thing.
« Last Edit: April 30, 2013, 09:16:25 pm by ace.cafe »
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barenekd

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Reply #4 on: May 02, 2013, 09:19:49 pm
I don't think the Indians were even selling bikes to the public in 1969. 1989 was when the 500s were reintroduced. The Brit ones went out of production in 1962.
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Reply #5 on: April 02, 2016, 02:08:37 pm
hope this helps - Mike

This is interesting... I have a 1996 RE Bullet 500, and in my VIN, the model year digit is 'T' denoting a 1995 model year... yet, the Certificate of Origin shows 1996, along with the inside plate in the RH side cover, and also on the down tube number plate... They all clearly state 1996 as the model year. Is this wrong, or has anyone an Idea as to why there is a discrepancy, or has anyone ever seen this mismatch before? Thanks!
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malky

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Reply #6 on: April 02, 2016, 02:29:42 pm
This is interesting... I have a 1996 RE Bullet 500, and in my VIN, the model year digit is 'T' denoting a 1995 model year... yet, the Certificate of Origin shows 1996, along with the inside plate in the RH side cover, and also on the down tube number plate... They all clearly state 1996 as the model year. Is this wrong, or has anyone an Idea as to why there is a discrepancy, or has anyone ever seen this mismatch before? Thanks!
I don't know how things work where you are, but here in the U.K. the "year" is the date the vehicle is registered. So a bike made in 2014 could have sat in the showroom until last week. If it was then purchased it would be registered as a 2016 bike.
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Yamahawk

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Reply #7 on: April 02, 2016, 03:02:16 pm
I understand the registration, but the Certificate of Origin is from the manufacturer to the dealer, then the dealer takes it to get the purchaser the title, or the purchaser takes it to get the title... And, the plates on the down tube and the one inside the rh box, also state 1996 as the year. So, it should be the same as the VIN for the year, I would suppose. Not sure why this one is a year off, but it could be it wasn't imported until 1996.
Think about the circumstances of your call...Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks as weak to shame the strong. 1 Cor 1:26-27


malky

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Reply #8 on: April 02, 2016, 03:12:07 pm
Not sure why this one is a year off, but it could be it wasn't imported until 1996.
Possibly the answer, different method in the U.K. Does that mean if your bike had been imported in 1996 but not sold until say 1999 it would be shown on the docs as a 1996?
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Yamahawk

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Reply #9 on: April 02, 2016, 07:43:29 pm
Possibly the answer, different method in the U.K. Does that mean if your bike had been imported in 1996 but not sold until say 1999 it would be shown on the docs as a 1996?

Yes! I purchased a 1981 Yamaha XV920RH in 1985, new in the crate, from a dealer, and it is titled as a 1981. Not sure why the RE Bullet 500 VIN plates, both in the side box, and on the down tube says 1996, as that came from RE themselves, in India, and I don't believe they rivet the plates on before sale here in the States. That would have been done in India, before export to wherever I am thinking... possibly was it an error on their part, or, maybe the last part of 1995 manufacture would be considered a next year model? I have seen that before, on Jap bikes, where they were 10/74 on the VIN label, and sold as a 1975...
Think about the circumstances of your call...Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks as weak to shame the strong. 1 Cor 1:26-27


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Reply #10 on: April 03, 2016, 03:53:58 am
 Registration clerks can and do make mistakes so that may be a possibility.
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