1977 replacement frame

undefined Good afternoon, I recently obtained what appears to be a replacement frame for 1977kz1000A part# 32002-157. Made in Japan is stamped on the neck. No serial #'s nor sticker. There does not appear to have been any tampering involving removal of a previous Vin ID. Anyone ever run across this "replacement" part before? Or know if the serial #'s from a damaged frame (if destroyed) can be legally stamped onto the neck? Grateful for any guidance i can glean. Many thanks

I had a 73 Z1 with replacement frame and no vin.
Sometimes dealer stamps vin, sometimes they do not.
Replacement frames are rare.

Yes ! Replacement unstamped frames were not uncommon.
Stamping on the number from an existing damaged frame isn't legal but if you did real a neat good job, destroy the original and keep it to yourself who would know.. :whistle:

Well, I for one, wouldn't know! :laugh:

Thank you for the replies : ) Makes one wonder what the use of a replacement frame is if can not legally be used. Grateful

Service part frames are definitely not common, possibly because they were always a relatively expensive part. As far as restamping the V.I.N., that is what they were made for, as in replacement frame!

Mike

You have to remember that different States have different ways of dealing with things like this. In my home state at one time the State Patrol would actually stamp in a VIN once they had verified the frame replacement was legally done. If it was a frame replacement for a non-existing frame the State DOT would issue a "Wis" number that would be stamped on the frame, but this created all sorts of problems for resale, or even if you rode the bike out of state and were stopped. Especially if you went to a big bike event. Manually stamped in numbers never looked right and my advice was to always carry copies of the DOT documents with you just in case your were stopped. I have been out of the loop with this stuff for several years so they could be doing things differently today, so it would be good to check first. Before I retired we were trying to get DOT to issue a tamper proof tag with the VIN number stamped on it that could be affixed to the frame, but I don't know if that was ever done.
Rick H.

Definitely check with your local DMV. I have heard of cases where the engine number rather than the frame number was used for registration.

My 1978 LTD 1000 is a State of Michigan issued frame. The vin is “michxxxx”. It wasn’t a factor 35 years ago. I had it titled in my name and insured. But after sitting and not insured for so long, about 4 years ago when I tried to insure it it turned into a PITA. Even though I had a 25 year old expired insurance certificate and a title in my name, I had several motorcycle specific insurance companies refuse to insure it. Finally found a local company that covered it for me... About 6 months ago I bought a 1978 LTD frame that has been powder coated and waiting for me to get up the enthusiasm to swap out the frame. I assume mine was totaled and scrapped, the front end isn’t correct but everything else is. Again I assume that someone purchased it from the title company and rebuilt it... the title actually says make-Kawasaki, model-assembled.

KZ Riders, I really appreciate all the feedback. Learning from the trials of others is a tremendous resource. Be well

If you do this together with your land vehicle authority, the old damaged frame's VIN number will be checked and then stamped onto the new frame. The damaged frame is then condemned or used as parts and the new frame can be used but receives a note in the vehicle registration that the frame has been replaced on this motorcycle.