In the event, the seller flaked out on me, and I don't want the bike badly enough to warrant driving there again.
As far as licensing goes, I'm in California. The pre-UCE bikes were never certified to meet smog standards, so they could not be sold in the state. The only loopholes:
- you can bring in a used bike from out of state, but it must have more than 7,000 miles
- an out of state resident moving to California can get their bike "granfathered" in.
- an "unusual" bike may possible be registered as a "collector's" bike, with limitations on how many miles it can be ridden.
This bike supposedly has CA plates that expired in 1999, which means that a replacement title can be obtained after jumping through the appropriate paperwork hoops. From the ad, it looks like it might have been an Indian domestic bike.
If anyone is interested in pursuing it, here's the link:
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/mcy/d/san-ramon-1997-enfield-500-obo/6970133000.html