Ariel Owners Motorcycle Club

Is it possible to find a motorcycle's registration details from a frame number?
I am not seeking to circumvent the work of the club's Registrar, I am just curious to know if it can be done.
I will most likely need the club's help to register the motorcycle in due course.
I bought a frame and engine with matching numbers that was presumably from a registered motorcycle and if the registration has not been reused by the DVLA it would be good to get that registration back again for the restored motorcycle.
Dennis

hi i think you may be able get the reg back if it has not been reused but i think you will need to get more information from the club

There isn't a way to do that, although in theory if it has been listed on Swansea's 'pooter they could find it but they won't. Your only hope is if is listed on the club's register, although even if it is only about 50% list the reg number. Send me the numbers you have and I will take a peek.

The factory records only show which dealer the bike was despatched to and when.

You may be lucky in that the registration details for the country that the dealer was in
have not been destroyed. An online search is the best way forward there. If you are
extremely luck the dealer's records may have survived.

As Roger says, finding a registration from a frame number doesn't usually happen and
even if you have a registration there is no guarantee that Swansea will give it back.

If you do come up with a number and it doesn't appear to be on the Swansea computer
don't give up. Give them a ring instead as there are a lot of numbers now archived off the
main system as they haven't been used for a while.

Thanks both. This is the bike that Roger has already confirmed is a 1956 NH shipped to Monmouthshire.
The frame number is PR 2754 and the engine number is MA 1219.
Many thanks,
Dennis

If you find which dealer the bike went to, and hence the likely registration authority, and if the registration records have actually survived, you may be able to make a good guess as to the registration number if it was the only Ariel registered by that dealer at the relevant time. Very few registration authorities recorded frame (or engine) numbers against the registration number. Often, all you get is the dealer's name and the make of the vehicle, so Ariel in this case. You might just get something like 350cc as a bonus entry. The only registration authority I know of which recorded frame numbers is Oxford and there was a major Ariel dealer in Kings of Oxford. So if your bike went to Kings in Oxford, your chances of finding the original registration number and getting it back from DVLA are very high. Otherwise, your chances are poor at best.

Paul,
Very interesting. However, it is beyond my ability to investigate
Having registered a motorcycle previously with the DVLA it might be easier for me to go down that route.
Dennis

Dennis, if you apply for an age related registration number be prepared to have your application rejected if the VIN frame number is already on the system. If that happens you will need to make an another application to obtain a V5c in your name based on the previous one being lost or destroyed. It is highly unlikely you will get any information from DVLA before starting this process. It’s exactly what happened with my bike so good luck. Paul

Paul,
Thank you for the warning.
Dennis

getting the original no back is impossible now unless you have "proof" of the reg no linked to the frame no the DVLA will not issue the old no and you will get an age related no, old tax discs wont do, i had a leader with an old tax disc but no documentation and i could not find anything to link the frame to the reg no so had an age related no.