Ask The Editors: Help Decode my ATV’s VIN Number
Dear ATVC:
I was wondering if ATV VIN numbers work the same as cars and motorcycles? Like could you glance at the VIN and know when a quad was made and if it was stolen and so on? Thanks.
Absolutely. All motorized vehicles manufactured after 1978 contain a 17-digit VIN number. It is made up of a combination of letters and numbers, but the letter “O” is never used; it should be entered and considered a zero.
An ATV’s VIN number will be stamped on the frame, usually on the left hand side, on the frame rail under the engine. It can be located elsewhere based on the make and model in question including on other frame spars, on its own metal tag welded to the frame and so on. However the number that stamped on the motor, that is generally the motor serial number and has nothing to do with the ATV’s VIN number.
1st represents the country in which it was made. 1 or 4 is reserved for the US, 2 is for Canada, J is for Japan, K is for Korea, T for Taiwan and so on.
2nd digit represents the manufacturer. H for Honda, S is for Suzuki etc.
3rd digit is usually reserved for the vehicle type or manufacturing division.
4th to 8th digits represent vehicle attributes such as body style and engine type.
9th digit is a security check.
10th digit should determine the vehicle’s year of manufacture.
11th digit usually refers to which plant assembled the quad.
12th-17th are genuinely production number digits. As in 0001 – 5000 in a production run of 5,000 units.
Lastly, while ATVs yet lack a convenient all-in-one vehicle history source such as CARFAX, the net is littered with various free VIN decoders such as this one here that can shed some light on a particular vehicle’s past.
