It could be legit .....

[Cato]

..... but no V5, VIN plate, or engine number isn't giving confidence.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Armstrong-MT ... SwSrNe8Qjw

[Wirralman]

It's the cleanest barn find I've ever seen

I wonder if anyone recognises the engine cover, new fuel tap, silencer box ?

Chances of it being legit, exceedingly low

There's an old adage ' If something looks too good to be true, it probably isn't '

No-one spends that time, effort and money on a bike, then abandons it

Has anyone had an MT500 stolen recently ?

[MTBrown]

You don't go to the trouble to grind off the engine number for any reason other than to hide the identity of a bike - I can only think of one reason for doing that

[hounddog]

Very dubious i agree. Looking at it another way , it would be incredibly stupid to try and sell a complete bike if it was stolen , too easy to recognise . More likely would be broken up and sell the bits . But some folks are very stupid...

I have been told on good authority that engines overhauled by the MoD can have a series of lines engraved into engine case making it difficult to read . But not completely erased.. Shouldnt be ground off though .

It is also near impossible to register a bike with DVLA if it has no identity , i doubt it would even get through an mot without a VIN.

Do also be aware that if you buy something that is later found to be stolen you have it seized , and police attention. And we dont want to encourage a market in suspect parts and vehicles

[Cato]

Very dubious i agree. Looking at it another way , it would be incredibly stupid to try and sell a complete bike if it was stolen , too easy to recognise . More likely would be broken up and sell the bits . But some folks are very stupid...

Recognising it is one thing, proving it would be quite another. Even with photographs that clearly showed the distinctive silencer for example, how do you prove that it's still on the original bike? With all the bits of ID removed it would be impossible to prove it was stolen unless there were data tags or something hidden to identify it with. An outside chance would be its military reg surviving on it somewhere, written onto parts when it was being worked on for example.

Other than that, if you suspected it was yours a face to face 'chat' and direct action may be your only recourse.

[Wirralman]

The address in Station Cars, Great Yarmouth, they have a website and sell second hand cars. A part-ex perhaps ? The MT isn't listed for sale

[Cato]

The address in Station Cars, Great Yarmouth, they have a website and sell second hand cars. A part-ex perhaps ? The MT isn't listed for sale

If it wasn't so far away I'd be tempted to go and have a look. As you say it's a dealer, so even a receipt from him as a private individual would prevent any blow back if it was dodgy.

As hounddog said it'd be nigh on impossible to register it, but it'd make a good source of parts for that price.

[imthetourguy]

As I understand, even if the engine number is ground off, the police can do analysis which brings up the number. When punched in, it goes deeper than just that which is visible.

If I had my MT stolen and suspected this was mine, I would present the evidence to the local police station (perhaps after consultation with my insurance company) & they could confiscate the bike to investigate it. Thats if you havent already taken the insurance compensation.

[lardmarc]

As I understand, even if the engine number is ground off, the police can do analysis which brings up the number.

Don’t believe everything you hear, their’s ways around that process. Scrotes are usually a couple of steps ahead of plod.

[Wirralman]

As I understand, even if the engine number is ground off, the police can do analysis which brings up the number. When punched in, it goes deeper than just that which is visible.

I don't know whether the MT500 plates were punched first then riveted on. If punched first there would be no trace

Even if plates were punched whilst on the frame, I doubt whether there would be much to trace.

If it were an MT350, punched into the frame itself, it would be a different matter. BUT would over-stretched police-forces really have the time for this ?