I should not have... But I did!!! ...Now what am I supposed to do?

I saw an ad on craigslist.org... Guy was parting out a 06 GSXR600. I contacted him to buy his GSXR wheels. Drove 20 minutes to meet him.

He had a red GSXR in his garage. The price on the wheels was fair, I was going to buy the front wheel and he was going to hold on to the rear for a coupe of weeks.

I talk with the guy about bikes for a little while, and he told me the story on the bike...

This was his first bike... He took his perfectly running GSXR to a local motorcycle shop to do his 15K mile valve job... 6 months + later he pay $1,600.0 dollars to get back his bike back... and it was not running.

The shop foock up his motor bad!!! it was not turning over... Timing was wrong...

I suggested we take his bike to my mechanic to get a diagnostic and estimate on the damage. So he could have evidence to sue the shop who screw him.

We trailer the bike on my truck and drop it off... When it was time to get it back he had no money, I told him I would pay but the front wheel was mine... He agree.

I pick up the bike and I was going to take it to his house but he was not home... I took the bike to my place... A couple days later he called me he wanted to pay me cash and pick up his bike... He was going to meet with an attorney to try to get the shop to pay him back and to pay for a new motor.

A month went by and he could not get an attorney to take his case...

It has been 4-5 months now, the guy moved and his cell phone is no good...

What am I supposed to do with this bike???

It is not stolen, I check every week, but I am getting a little paranoid about that...

My buddy tells me to make a track bike out of it... There is a 07 GSXR 600 motor for $400.00... I do not want to put any money on something that is not mine.

I just do not know what to do...

Luis

 

I would roll it outside and call the police about the abandoned bike that some one left in the street.

 

I know you can claim abandonment, but someone must still own the bike. Does it still have tags? See if you can go through the DMV to possibly get new contact information?

 

It has plates... But you know DMV gives out no information...

I do have my mechanic work order signed by the owner, paid by me...

 

Possession is 90% of the law. Sounds like you've just inherited a nice track project.

 

He knows who you are, where you live and he chose to leave without the bike and without making any arrangements. He hasn't contacted you in 5 months about the bike so it looks obvious to me.

It sounds to me like he didnt want to mess with it anymore and he purposely abandoned the bike to get rid of his headache.

 

Depending on a state you live in here is what you can do. Certain states have a DMV serive that allows buyers to run a VIN on a vehicle before they buy it. That service lets the buyer seeif there is a lien on a vehicle. I would suggest to do a little more investigation on it or just go to your local DMV and see if that service is available in your state.

Chances are in most cases noone walks away from a 2 yr old bike if they own it free and clear. Blown up or not that bike is still worth good amount. Unless the bank owns it.
Good luck.

 

Either make it a track whore or part it out. It's yours now.

 

:up:

 

I'd get in touch with the police and have them run the VIN for you. Tell them the situation and have all said documents ready. The guy sounds sketchy at best so it wouldn't be surprising if you didn't get the whole truth regarding who owns the bike. No sense in having to hassle with future litigation over a stolen bike that you didn't steal. Just my opinion.

 

I am in the middle of a situation that will probably have the same remedy as yours. Long story short: renter got put in jail in VA, stopped paying rent, we evict, have to remove all his possessions and one thing he had was a Harley Sportster.

In North Carolina, I sent off two forms to the DMV: a notice of abandoned vehicle and notice of intent to sell abandoned vehicle for storage fees. What happens is the DMV runs the VIN and searches for a lienholder. If they find one they notify the lienholder that someone is owed storage fees on the vehicle and who has it. The lienholder has the choice of paying the storage bill or forfeiting the title. Your state may have limits on how much you can charge but many times the lienholders won't pay the bill so you get a title free and clear. Also they will search records and attempt to locate the registered owner as well, but obviously the lienholder has more financial interest in this than the owner.

Check your state DMV website. These forms were in the License and Theft Bureau section in my state. Also, I would call a towing service to ask them about abandoned vehicles. I guarantee they know the protocol and forms to fill out for this situation.

 

My sentiments exactly. The bike has a lein against it and I'd bet there is a repo man looking for it right now. Maybe there is a reward:up:

 

I'm with Mongo and I bet it's got a lean. The other thing you can do to combat that is start billing the owner for storage. Once the storage bill accumulates over the course of the moths the bank will sign the title over to you because the fees for storage arent worth what the bike is. Of course this varies bike to bike, but that's what storage places, marinas and shops do all the time when something is left on the premises and accumulates bills for repair or storage like this bike.

Good luck. Try to have the DMV run the VIN and see who holds a lien, or insures the bike. Go to the bank and tell them you have the bike, and they owe you for X.XX if they want it back. More than likely they will not screw with it and they will title it over to you.

 

"mechanics lein". Basically the storage liek was mentioned as well. There are some hoops to jump through though. You have to run a newspaper ad in some states and give a reasonable amount of time for the owner to contact you about it. Then you are allowed X amount of $$ for each day of storage, and he has to pay that to get it etc. After a given amount of time, the state declares the bike yours.

I am sure specifics vary state to state. But I would NOT just assume the bike is yours. Do it the legal way, or risk having to pay back for the bike later.

 

File for lost title.

 

I would gladly take that bike off your hands...... or atleast some parts

 

File a storage lien. Save ANY paperwork that shows dates that the bike arrived at your house, even a receipt fpr the toll or gas you bouht the day you picjked it up with your truck. Calculate towing charges, too. That bike is racking up fees just sitting, and you can claim a storage lien on the bike and get a title after you follow some state guidelines. ANY other course of action is illegal and will end up with you getting prosecuted for vehicle theft eventually.

Write up a spread sheet and record each attempt to contact the guy, each day that passes, the storage charge allowed by your state, etc. Documentation makes all the difference in a case like that.

 

There are lots of things that could be going on here... Just because it does not come back stolen does NOT mean there is/are other "criminal" issues...
If you are in Pennsylvania PM me...
Ride safe,
AAron