Salvage Title California

As some of you know I had a mishap on my XR a while back. Enough of a mishap to make the insurance company consider my bike a total loss. It doesn’t take much damage for that to happen ,considering labor costs, to get to blue book. In my case the insurance company figures blue book value +$3000 max for aftermarket parts+$600 for a new helmet. Then they knock a little bit off if you want to keep the bike so you have enough to fix it back up.
——Once the insurance company declares the bike a total loss you have 10 days to get to the DMV and get a Salvage Title and surrender the license plate. Then if you want to reregister the bike you have to get a “Brake and Light” inspection from a licensed shop, fill out the “Salvage Retention“ forms, and take the form and inspection certificate along with the motorcycle back to the DMV so they can cross check the VIN # and engine # to the inspection certificate ( to make sure you’re not trying to pull a fast one). After all that you get a new license plate and a new registration in your hand and a new title ,in the mail, that says “Salvage” on it somewhere.
——I don’t know if it’s the same in all the U.S. but I know there is some new Cali owners on here that this may help. I’m sharing so folks don’t make the same mistakes I made or could have made if I didn’t know nuthin’.
——First I didnt pay attention to the 10 day part and waited almost a year. In that time the registration expired and I had to pay $198 for that. The “Retention Fee” was another $90.
——Second, and the main reason I wanted to share, is the Brake and Light inspection($125). The guy has a headlight calibration machine that he points at the light with the rider sitting on the bike to make sure it’s adjusted properly and didn’t get knocked out of whack. He checked the tail light, blinkers, and brake light to see that they work properly and have no cracks and are activated by both the lever and foot pedal(brake). He looked to see that there is sufficient brake pad left everywhere and, here’s an important tip, that you have REFLECTORS in place. A yellow reflector on both sides of the fork. A red reflector on both sides at the rear AND a red reflector in back.
——It took quite a few phone calls to find a place that does the inspection on motorcycles. This place happened to be next door to one of the places I physically stopped into. No advertising or anything. I’m glad I called ahead because he told me about reflectors and cracks in the lights. Both of which would have had me doing a rounder. That and the horn. I was using the horn button as a blinker.
——Lastly, don’t forget to bring the motorcycle to the DMV. Even though this guy had to take classes and pay for a special license to be able to certify that your machine is safe and is the machine that the title says it is, They still want to inspect it for themselves. Not all the lights and stuff, just the #s.(this cost me an extra trip)
——I know…..long read. Maybe someone will be helped by this. Save all the stuff you take off. You may have to put it back on someday.