Harley-Davidson VIN Decoder

Decode any Harley-Davidson VIN free. Every Milwaukee-built H-D carries WMI 1HD or 5HD — codes the Motor Company has used since the 17-digit standard arrived in 1981. Confirm family, year, engine and any open NHTSA recalls before you buy.

In one sentence

Automano decodes any motorcycle VIN free and pulls its NHTSA safety recalls and federal ODI complaint records into one report — no signup, and the paid tier adds a market-value estimate for $6.90.

TL;DR

Free VIN decode for any motorcycle — make, model year, engine, plant — straight from the official NHTSA vPIC database.
NHTSA safety recalls and ODI owner complaints for your exact VIN, free, without an account.
The 10th VIN character is the model year; the first three identify the maker (JH2 Honda, JYA Yamaha, 1HD Harley-Davidson).
The full report is $6.90: identification, recalls, complaints, market value. No official US database tracks motorcycle accident history.

Common questions

Is a motorcycle VIN check different from a car VIN check?
The VIN itself is identical: 17 characters, same WMI and model-year positions. What differs is the data behind it. NHTSA recalls and NMVTIS title brands both cover motorcycles, but there is no US equivalent of the insurance and repair-shop records that feed car history reports, so a bike report is thinner by design. Theft matters more too — motorcycles are stolen at a far higher rate per registered vehicle than cars.
Can I check motorcycle recalls for free?
Yes. NHTSA’s recall lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls covers motorcycles and works by VIN. Automano runs the same NHTSA recall data plus ODI complaint records for your VIN, free and without an account — the decoder on this page does both.
What year is my motorcycle by VIN?
Read the 10th character. Since 1981 every US street bike follows the same 30-year cycle: Y = 2000, digits 1–9 = 2001–2009, A = 2010 and so on. Manufacturers occasionally build a bike the calendar year before its model year, so the VIN — not the first-sale date — is the authoritative model year.
Do motorcycles have accident history?
Not in any official US registry. Car history reports lean on insurance-claim, repair-shop and auction data that is overwhelmingly car-oriented; NMVTIS records title brands (salvage, flood, junk) but attaches them to the paperwork, not to a crash log. Automano shows claim and damage records where a source actually has them and reports nothing where it does not — which is why a frame inspection and a title-brand check matter more on a bike than on a car. Buying a European import instead? See our European motorcycle VIN guide (verifier-vin-moto) and the accident-history check for Europe.
What does the $6.90 report include?
Vehicle identification from NHTSA vPIC, open safety recalls, ODI complaint records for the VIN, and a market-value range for that exact model and mileage. Dedicated motorcycle-history services typically charge around $25 per report, and mainstream car-report rivals (CarVertical, CARFAX) charge three to five times our car price. Accident and salvage-auction records are not part of it — no US source publishes those for motorcycles.

Last updated: 2026-09-24

Why a motorcycle VIN check matters more on a bike

A motorcycle VIN carries the same 17-character structure as a car’s, but the risks you are screening for are different. Bikes get written off far more often — a lowside that would dent a car’s bumper can total a motorcycle — so salvage and rebuild titles are common on the used market.

Theft is the second factor. Motorcycles are stolen at a much higher rate per registered vehicle, and a swapped engine plate or re-stamped steering head is exactly the kind of problem a VIN check surfaces before money changes hands.

Start with the 10th character for the model year and the first three for the maker: JH2 or 1HF for Honda, JYA for Yamaha, 1HD or 5HD for Harley-Davidson. A VIN that does not decode cleanly — wrong length, missing plate, characters that look re-struck — is a walk-away.

What Automano gives you free — and what costs $6.90

The decoder on this page is free and unlimited. Enter any 17-character VIN and you get the full factory decode from NHTSA vPIC — manufacturer, model year, engine, assembly plant — with no signup.

For US motorcycles, two official feeds ride along free: NHTSA’s motorcycle safety-recall database and ODI, the federal complaint database where owners report defects and mechanical failures. Both are government data, both are searchable by VIN, and neither needs an account.

The paid report is $6.90 and adds a market-value range for the exact model and mileage. Dedicated motorcycle-history services typically charge around $25 per report. What the $6.90 report covers: vehicle identification, recalls, complaints, market value. It does not include accident or salvage-auction records — no US source publishes those for motorcycles.

How to decode a motorcycle VIN

Every street bike sold in the US since 1981 carries a 17-character VIN, stamped on the steering head and usually repeated on a plate on the frame downtube. The title and the insurance card list it too — all three should match.

Positions 1–3 are the World Manufacturer Identifier: JH2 (Honda, Japan), 1HF (Honda, USA), JYA (Yamaha), JS1 (Suzuki), JKA (Kawasaki), 1HD and 5HD (Harley-Davidson), SMT (Triumph), VBK (KTM), WB1 (BMW Motorrad). Positions 4–8 describe the model, position 9 is the check digit, position 10 is the model year, position 11 is the assembly plant.

The fastest check is the decoder at the top of this page. It runs the VIN through NHTSA vPIC and shows you immediately when the seller’s story and the frame disagree.

What is a motorcycle VIN?

A motorcycle VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) is a 17-character code assigned to every road-legal bike built since 1981. It follows the same ISO 3779 standard as cars and trucks, so the first three characters identify the manufacturer (WMI), the next six describe the model and engine, and the last eight pin down the production year, plant and serial number. Two motorcycles can share a model name and a paint scheme, but only one VIN.

Steering-head tube (frame)

The primary VIN is stamped into the right or left side of the steering-head tube, just below the handlebars. On most bikes it is visible without removing any panels — turn the bars full lock and look at the front of the headstock.

Engine case

A secondary number is cast or stamped into the engine block, usually on the crankcase near the cylinder base. This is the engine number, not the full VIN — but the WMI prefix and serial sequence should be consistent with the frame number.

Registration document

The full 17-character VIN is printed on the title or registration certificate (V5C in the UK, certificat d'immatriculation in France, Fahrzeugschein in Germany, NMVTIS title in the US). It must match the frame stamping character-for-character.

Common motorcycle manufacturer codes (WMI)

WMI code	Manufacturer
JH2	Honda Motorcycles (Japan)
JH5	Honda ATV / quad (Japan)
1HF	Honda Motorcycles (USA)
JYA	Yamaha Motorcycles (Japan)
JYE	Yamaha scooters (Japan)
9C6	Yamaha (Brazil)
JS1	Suzuki Motorcycles (Japan)
VTT	Suzuki Motos Espana (Spain)
JKA	Kawasaki Heavy Industries (Japan)
JKB	Kawasaki Motorcycles (Japan)
1HD	Harley-Davidson (USA)
5HD	Harley-Davidson (USA, post-2007)
ZDM	Ducati Motor Holding (Italy)
ZD4	Aprilia (Italy)
ZGU	Moto Guzzi (Italy)
ZCG	MV Agusta (Italy)
ZAP	Piaggio / Vespa (Italy)
RFB	Piaggio (Vietnam)
SMT	Triumph Motorcycles (UK)
VBK	KTM Sportmotorcycle (Austria)
VBM	KTM (Austria, off-road)
WB1	BMW Motorrad (Germany)
WB4	Husqvarna Motorcycles (Austria, post-2013)
ZKH	Husqvarna Motorcycles (Italy, pre-2013)
ZD3	Beta Motor (Italy)
VG5	Sherco (France)
VTH	Gas Gas (Spain)
56K	Indian Motorcycle (USA, Polaris)
ME1	Royal Enfield (India)
L2B	SYM (Taiwan)
RFG	Kymco (Taiwan)

NHTSA Recalls & Complaints

Every safety recall and consumer complaint filed with the US government, matched against make, model and year.

vPIC Vehicle Specs

Manufacturer-reported VIN decode — make, model, year, body, engine, transmission.

1.

Locate the VIN stamped on the steering-head tube and read all 17 characters under good light. Photograph it.

2.

Compare the frame VIN to the VIN on the registration document — every character must match. A re-stamped or filed-down area is a red flag.

3.

Check the engine number on the crankcase. On a numbers-matching bike, the manufacturer's records will tie that engine to that frame.

4.

Run the VIN through a free recalls database (NHTSA in the US, KBA in Germany, Rappel Conso in France) and a stolen-bike check before paying.

Is a motorcycle VIN check different from a car VIN check?

The VIN itself is identical: 17 characters, same WMI and model-year positions. What differs is the data behind it. NHTSA recalls and NMVTIS title brands both cover motorcycles, but there is no US equivalent of the insurance and repair-shop records that feed car history reports, so a bike report is thinner by design. Theft matters more too — motorcycles are stolen at a far higher rate per registered vehicle than cars.

Can I check motorcycle recalls for free?

Yes. NHTSA’s recall lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls covers motorcycles and works by VIN. Automano runs the same NHTSA recall data plus ODI complaint records for your VIN, free and without an account — the decoder on this page does both.

What year is my motorcycle by VIN?

Read the 10th character. Since 1981 every US street bike follows the same 30-year cycle: Y = 2000, digits 1–9 = 2001–2009, A = 2010 and so on. Manufacturers occasionally build a bike the calendar year before its model year, so the VIN — not the first-sale date — is the authoritative model year.

Do motorcycles have accident history?

Not in any official US registry. Car history reports lean on insurance-claim, repair-shop and auction data that is overwhelmingly car-oriented; NMVTIS records title brands (salvage, flood, junk) but attaches them to the paperwork, not to a crash log. Automano shows claim and damage records where a source actually has them and reports nothing where it does not — which is why a frame inspection and a title-brand check matter more on a bike than on a car. Buying a European import instead? See our European motorcycle VIN guide (verifier-vin-moto) and the accident-history check for Europe.

What does the $6.90 report include?

Vehicle identification from NHTSA vPIC, open safety recalls, ODI complaint records for the VIN, and a market-value range for that exact model and mileage. Dedicated motorcycle-history services typically charge around $25 per report, and mainstream car-report rivals (CarVertical, CARFAX) charge three to five times our car price. Accident and salvage-auction records are not part of it — no US source publishes those for motorcycles.

Motorcycle VIN check by brand

Honda Yamaha Suzuki Kawasaki Harley-Davidson Ducati BMW Motorrad KTM

Title-brand check — salvage, rebuilt, flood and lemon records

Theft check — actively-reported-stolen status

Market value — the current retail range for this exact bike

Open recalls — NHTSA and manufacturer campaigns

All in one PDF, for a fraction of the ~$25 dedicated motorcycle history services charge.

Need a deeper check on this motorcycle?

Get the full report