Free printable · Identify your machine
Where is the VIN on a Chinese scooter?
A search checklist for the VIN, frame number, engine number and emission label — including the places people look last and should look first.
Layout preview of page one. The PDF itself is typeset text, not an image.
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3 pages. No account, no sign-up, no newsletter. Print it, copy it, hand it to somebody else.
Version v1.0 · September 2026. Opens in your browser's PDF viewer, where you can print directly.
The problem it solves
People give up on identifying a machine because they looked in two places and found nothing. On imported powersports vehicles the numbers are rarely where a car owner would expect them, and the emission label — the single most useful one — is usually hidden inside the bodywork where it never gets seen.
Who it is for
- Anyone whose VIN lookup came back empty
- Buyers checking a machine over before handing money across
- Owners filling in a title or registration application from scratch
What is on it
- A location-by-location search checklist for scooters, ATVs, UTVs and go-karts
- The tell-tale signs of a restamped or ground-off number
- What to do when a number is unreadable
- A transcription block so the numbers leave the garage with you
How to use it
- 01Print it, take it to the machine, and tick locations off as you rule them out.
- 02Do it with a torch. Almost every number on these machines is in shadow.
- 03If you find nothing at all after working through the whole sheet, that is itself worth knowing — record it and treat the machine with caution.
Use it with the registry
Other sheets you may want
- What scooter do I actually have?A one-sheet record of every number that identifies your machine — badge, VIN, engine number, engine family and factory. Fill it in once, photograph it, and never hunt for it again.
- Used Chinese scooter inspection checklistWhat to check before handing over money, in the order you can check it, including the paperwork problems specific to these machines.
- GY6 engine identification chart and worksheetThe measurements and observations that tell you which engine you have when the label is gone — recorded in the order a parts supplier will ask for them.
Free to print, copy, and share — including in forums, clubs and workshops. If you find a mistake on one of these sheets, tell us and it gets corrected. Every sheet carries a version so you can tell which one you have. All printables.