Motorcycles end up as junk for the same reasons cars do, only faster. A season passes with the bike under a tarp, the carburetor gums up, the battery dies, and the tires go flat against the garage floor. Or it went down on a wet street and nobody had the heart to fix it. On the Far South Side we find them in detached garages off the alley, in the narrow gangway between two houses, and at the back of a yard behind a locked gate.
Papers for selling a motorcycle in Illinois
Motorcycles are titled vehicles here. The Illinois Vehicle Code requires a certificate of title for every motorcycle bought new on or after January 1, 1980, and for every off-highway motorcycle bought on or after January 1, 1998 (625 ILCS 5/3-101). So for most bikes, the paper you need is the title, signed over to us at pickup.
What to have ready:
- the title in your name, or the papers you do have if it’s gone (an old registration, a bill of sale, a lien release if the bike was financed)
- a photo ID that matches the name on the papers
- the key, if you still have it; it isn’t required
- a photo of the VIN on the steering head, which helps us match the bike to the papers
If the bike came from another state, or the title says salvage, our guide to out-of-state and salvage titles in Illinois explains what changes. If the key is long gone, see selling with no keys.
Where bikes sit, and how they come out
A motorcycle is light next to a car, but it’s awkward to move when it can’t roll or steer. Tell us on the call:
- Where it is. Garage, gangway, backyard, basement walk-out or the curb. A gangway is often too narrow for anything but the bike itself, so the driver will walk it out to the alley or the street.
- Whether the wheels turn. Flat tires are fine. A seized rear wheel or a missing front wheel means lifting instead of rolling.
- What’s in the way. A car parked in front of the garage door, a gate with a padlock, or a stack of storage boxes.
Clear a path if you can, and make sure someone can open the garage or the gate when the driver arrives.
What changes the number on a bike
We price the bike you describe: the make and model, the year, whether the engine is there and turns over, how complete it is, and the papers. Crash damage matters less than people expect when the engine and frame are intact. Missing major parts matter more. Tell us what’s there and what isn’t, so the number you hear on the phone has no reason to change when the driver sees the bike.
Selling a car along with the bike? Our page on non-running cars covers that side, and pickups, vans and SUVs covers the bigger vehicles. Pickups run across the communities we cover, from the ridge in Beverly and Mount Greenwood to the lakefront blocks of South Shore.
Free pickup, payment when the bike is loaded, and an offer that doesn’t expire. Describe the bike.