I was told at the Yamaha dealer when I picked mine up, (keep in mind, this is their story, not mine) that the reason they do not come with a vin # is for two reasons. one being that Yamaha is selling a part, and not a titled motorized vehicle. two, it would make it too easy to make a stolen bike a legitimate unit. both make sense to me, is it the real reason, well that would be any ones guess.