Any interest in an ALTA Redshift Registry ? (POLL)

[leeo45]

The topic has come up a couple of times in the past, but there has never been any follow-up. It was briefly discussed HERE and I am polling for interest.

If you own an ALTA Redshift would you be interested in participating in an informal registry of our bikes?

This is a common practice for classic cars and collector vehicles. It helps the community understand how many vehicles are out there with owners and can also be a big help if any vehicles are stolen. Something like this only provides value if there is a reasonable level of interest and participation so let’s see what people think.

In its most basic form it will include the owner’s screen name, the model, and the last three numbers of the VIN. We could also agree to include other relevant info for each bike such as error codes experienced, modifications, dealer and prior owners, a thumbnail link to a picture of the bike, or whatever else the community feels will be useful.

If we decide to move ahead I will create a new thread and keep the latest version in the first post. Owners can send me updates via PM or by posting in the thread. Please vote and also provide any thoughts about content or concerns about the idea. Thanks!

 

[Redwolf]

Sure, I'll contribute

 

[Philip]

I am curious how having a registry could help in case of a theft?

 

[C5tor]

We actually have a Lost/Found/Stolen section already.

Lost/Found/Stolen (altaownersforum.com)

 

[bluefxstc]

I am curious how having a registry could help in case of a theft?

It would give a place that you could check vin numbers if you were buying a bike to see the history and if it was stolen, maybe? Probably especially important if you don't have a title. I think I have seen MX bikes for sale here with a certificate of manufacture/origin or something like that. You wouldn't know if the bike was stolen unless you went to transfer the title and pay your taxes, which you may not do if it was strictly an off road bike.

 

[leeo45]

It would give a place that you could check vin numbers if you were buying a bike to see the history and if it was stolen, maybe? Probably especially important if you don't have a title. I think I have seen MX bikes for sale here with a certificate of manufacture/origin or something like that. You wouldn't know if the bike was stolen unless you went to transfer the title and pay your taxes, which you may not do if it was strictly an off road bike.

Exactly. It would provide a simpler reference for prospective buyers to check for all known stolen VINs. Much easier than trying to go through the incomplete lost/stolen forum; which as an example doesn't even include Honcho's bikes. If there is reasonably good participation it can also provide a bit of a deterrent to theft by making the bikes hard to sell. I suspect a number of us who detest thievery would check the list whenever we see a bike come up for sale even if we weren't looking to buy.

And of course even if someone isn't in the registry, we can add the bike and the stolen status if that unfortunate situation arises.

 

[Philip]

Much easier than trying to go through the incomplete lost/stolen forum; which as an example doesn't even include Honcho's bikes.

OOPS! I meant to move the Honcho's thread there, while also keeping a link to it in "General Discussion" for all to see, but I forgot. Now it is filed properly.

 

[snydes]

There is already a handful of vehicle data buried in the code 36 threads, plus I have a few I've noted myself and I believe there are a few others who have been privately keeping track so I think we'd have something to start with. We could ditch the lost/stolen sub forum then as well. And maybe if we go ahead with this we should keep this data limited to well known members (if that's possible)?

 

[Philip]

And maybe if we go ahead with this we should keep this data limited to well known members (if that's possible)?

Yes, this is possible. But for the purposes of reporting stolen bikes, preventing their sales, and possibly recovering them, wouldn't you want to keep this info visible to the entire internet?

So, if we want to keep a confidential ownership registry, I think it should be kept separate from the stolen bike registry.

 

[C5tor]

Just stepping back a bit on the privacy thing. The Alta VINs have all been published in a number of places including multitool, so if someone wanted to use this for a VIN cloning scam, it is easy enough to find for all of the bikes. Same with VIN history lookups.

A registry that ties a 3 digit VIN to a forum user name is also not super valuable to a scammer by itself. There just isn’t enough sensitive data to use for nefarious purposes that isn’t already available elsewhere.

Of course, a dedicated hacker could use all of these pieces, along with all of our other social media to do almost anything they want to do. Even folks that stay off the internet are vulnerable to breaches like the Equifax hack that essentially revealed almost everyone’s sensitive data in one fell swoop. Not much we can do about that.

So I personally have no objection to a registry on the grounds of privacy concerns.

 

[snydes]

Yes, this is possible. But for the purposes of reporting stolen bikes, preventing their sales, and possibly recovering them, wouldn't you want to keep this info visible to the entire internet?

So, if we want to keep a confidential ownership registry, I think it should be kept separate from the stolen bike registry.

Personally I feel that having the VINs of the stolen bikes publicly accessible is sort of a double edged sword. If a person who is in possession of a stolen VIN knows it, they are not going to list it online unless they are really, really stupid. Having that data in a format that is only accessible to well known forum members helps negate that.

 

[Motophyllic]

I don’t have any worries about members on here having my VIN, but a major concern is the vetting of us members. If somebody was looking to steal one of our prized bikes, they could join the forum, find out where members live by various means, and go for the easy targets (people without security systems remote areas etc.) by the photos and information we share on here. Many of us have been communicating for years and feel comfortable amongst one another, but how many members are lurking around who never comment and are just gathering information on us. You just never know.

 

[Jayfox911]

I don’t have any worries about members on here having my VIN, but a major concern is the vetting of us members. If somebody was looking to steal one of our prized bikes, they could join the forum, find out where members live by various means, and go for the easy targets (people without security systems remote areas etc.) by the photos and information we share on here. Many of us have been communicating for years and feel comfortable amongst one another, but how many members are lurking around who never comment and are just gathering information on us. You just never know.

Is there an area of the forum that can be locked down to inly
Logged in members or “well known members”

 

[Philip]

Is there an area of the forum that can be locked down to inly
Logged in members or “well known members”

We can make a sub-forum visible to well-known logged members. Should we?

 

[evh1]

Was just our riding my Alta yesterday and thought, gee I hope this thing lasts forever. So fun
Yeah, I’m for this

 

[snydes]

We can make a sub-forum visible to well-known logged members. Should we?

Might as well, as long as it’s not a big PITA on your end.

 

[Philip]

Might as well, as long as it’s not a big PITA on your end.

Done. If you are a well-known member, currently defined as someone with at least 50 likes, you can now find a private sub-forum on the front page.

 

[TeslaRaptor]

Done. If you are a well-known member, currently defined as someone with at least 50 likes, you can now find a private sub-forum on the front page.

Here is hoping you folks like me. Hehe.

 

[Redwolf]

Here is hoping you folks like me. Hehe.

But then we'll move the goal...

 

[TeslaRaptor]

But then we'll move the goal...

hehe. Totally deserved that!