Vincents, like other classic motorcycle marques, suffer from re-stamped frames and engines. Most were done in the 1960’s and 1970’s when it was common practice when trying to keep an old vehicle on the road, but in the 21st century it presents a real problem – especially with machines of these values. Some people will go to great lengths to intentionally present a machine as the genuine article in order to take your hard-earned cash. So, it is vital to get any machine thoroughly checked by the VOC machine dating service before you buy it. This is a free service, and is available to non-members. Do NOT rely on old dating certificates or certificates of authentication – these may not be what they appear or could simply be out of date.
The DVLA have tightened their procedures to combat this, but fraudster modify how they operate. We regularly see new crank cases stamped to deceive people into believing they are original items. The VOC have themselves been a victim of this and now continually reviews how it operates. Do not rely on the fact a machine may have a DVLA V5C logbook as there are several cases where a Vincent in the past has been sold overseas and then later the old V5 logbook has been resurrected on a cloned machine using new crankcases and other new parts. The clubs dating service regularly checks the identity of Vincent machines and we utilise a machine database which contains nearly 10,000 images of machines, parts, documents, engine and frame numbers and the history of most machines. The VOC are the sole owners of the original Vincent factory records, which is another huge source of information and a great tool to fight any fraud. Unfortunately, we currently deal with three or four re-stamped Vincents every month and see all too often the aftermath of someone buying a cloned machine.
To protect yourself and your investment, you need to obtain clear, unambiguous photographs of the relevant identification numbers on the machine. You may need to gently remove paint to expose the frame numbers, so it’s preferable to take photos before these items are re-painted. You can find examples on this website of where the identifying numbers are located on a Vincent. Once you have these images, there’s an on-line form or you can email us direct. We will then guide you through the process and check the machine, which is usually a simple process. The location of these numbers can be found by clicking HERE.
Any enquiries where photos are not provided of the numbers will be answered on a quoted numbers basis.
Although you don’t have to be a club member to benefit from the dating service, of course it is recommended joining the VOC.
To contact the Machine Registrar & Machine Researcher click
Here