Manufacturers used the numbers to identify the vehicles in the way they wanted until the 1980s. Yamaha wasn't an exception in this matter. Most of the manufacturers had nine months to implement this new rule on their assemblies. So if you plan to buy a bike of that year, the Yamaha VIN decoder can ask you to add a few more characters. The number was shorter, however, it can be decoded into the new VIN. If you buy a newer version of the bike, you will see a 17-characters code on the registration card that can tell you all the specs about it.
The VIN code usually starts with the letters such as JYA that refer to the world manufacturer code. The Yamaha VIN decoder will tell you that J stands for Japan, the country where it was manufactured. Y stands for Yamaha, the label of the company and A determines the type of the vehicle. We have a motorcycle in this case. If you see any other letters and the owner of the bike looks suspicious, you should definitely decode the full code to compare the bike you see with the data from the decoder.
If you wish to buy a bike, the owner tells you the year, but the Yamaha ATV VIN decoder gives you another year, don't panic. The year in the code means the model year of the motor, but not the year when it was manufactured. Of course, it will be strange if the difference is more than a year or two. You can buy a new bike of the next year in autumn or in December of this year. It's a common practice of many companies.
VIN Location
The VIN code is placed on non-removable parts of Yamaha bikes. If you see any scratches or deformations, use the Yamaha motorcycle VIN decoder to check whether this number is genuine. If you see that such a code doesn't exist, don't buy this bike even if the price is too low. Let's take a closer look at the locations of the VIN on your bike. There are three main places:
- The right part of the head pipe or the steering tube (different names for one and the same part). Here you will see a shorter code for the models produced prior to 1982 or the 17-characters code for the models produced after 1981 and later. It's stamped vertically.
- Take a look at the left part of the steering tube to find the printed card with the code and some additional information. For the Yamaha motor decoder, you will need only the VIN code and nothing more. However, the actual year of manufacture is indicated there. And yes, the code is located on the both sides of the tube.
- The third place is on the case of the motor. You can find it next to or behind the clutch cover just on the right part of the motor. It's a small pad that's looking into the sky. Yamaha XJ550 models have the code is placed left to right while on other models it's front to back. The vintage Yamaha VIN decoder will decipher any code from any location on the bike.
The Yamaha VIN decoder ATV will tell you the information about the type of the engine, its specs and the type of fuel you can use. You should compare the code on the registration card with the code on all the locations on the bike. If you see any difference, it means the bike was repaired after an accident. If the codes are the same, the bike has its genuine parts that were produced in Japan.
Yamaha Sample VIN
- JYARM06YXGA002282 — 2016 Yamaha Fz07c - (689 cc), Motorcycle - Sport
- JYAVP32EXDA003396 — 2013 Yamaha XVS1300CT CT (1300CC), Motorcycle - Cruiser
- JYARJ16E0AA020429 — 2010 Yamaha YZF-R6 - (600 cc), Motorcycle - Sport
- JYAVM01E76A087480 — 2006 Yamaha XVS650 - (650CC), Motorcycle - Cruiser
- JYAVP02E42A018410 — 2002 Yamaha XV1600 AS (1602CC), Motorcycle - Cruiser
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