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bike sale title
110K views 49 replies 28 participants last post by  Badlands-4-2 
#1 ·
I've been doing a lot of research to buy a used bike. I have always stayed away from any sale that the bike does not have a title. Is there a way to get a new title for a bike properly? I am in New Jersey.
 
#31 ·
How much is owed on the bike? Sounds like you spent a few bucks already. Is the titled owner willing to work a deal, he gets some of the money and you loose a little more. I know that is a Loose loose deal, but its worth a shot.
Not sure but you and the title holder may be able to pursue this in small claims court.
If you know a lawyer you may be able to get him to write a letter that will possibly shake a little cash out of a shady character. My guess is he has some big money problems and possibly addictions that may have taken priority over doing a honest deal. Not sure if this is a police matter, but you may want to go back to the police and see if there is anything they could help you with. The seller did misrepresent the deal.
Sorry to hear that you got such a raw deal!
 
#33 ·
Ok,so now the title owner is saying he wants to run this by his attorney,and i was told by the title owner that the guy that sold me the bike got the bike impounded and he(the title owner) went and paid for the bike to be released and gave the guy back the bike that day...wtf????? and 2 months later this guy sells me the bike..Any thoughts?
 
#41 ·
Titles & Storage Lockers

After reading several forum posts, I am assuming that If I bought a storage locker that has been abandon and put up for auction, In the storage locker were 2 fully dressed Harley Davidson's that I would not be able to have new titles issued in my name even though I am legally the owner of the storage locker and all it's contents.
If this is the case what a horrific waste of two beautiful motorcycles. Seems to me that we need some changes in the laws for our motorcycles.
 
#42 ·
After reading several forum posts, I am assuming that If I bought a storage locker that has been abandon and put up for auction, In the storage locker were 2 fully dressed Harley Davidson's that I would not be able to have new titles issued in my name even though I am legally the owner of the storage locker and all it's contents.
If this is the case what a horrific waste of two beautiful motorcycles. Seems to me that we need some changes in the laws for our motorcycles.
You actually might be able to get new titles, but it would take some fanagling with. Namely that they're in the unit, and were there prior to buying it. You should be able to go to a DMV and explain the situation, and get the bikes in your name.
 
#46 · (Edited)
That wont clear the title, they will want to see proof from the owner, my understanding is that trying to get it done as abandoned property is near impossible and very costly.
I bought a 01 KLR, the two previous owners did not title the bike, the last title holder had paid off the lien.
However the last lien holder and owner signed in the wrong places, NJ MVC would not accept the title, although one would think that how both signatures were present, the bike did not come back as stolen so that their intent was clear. NOT SO. It took me a month to track both the last title holder and lien holder down, drove to the lien holders house to have him sign a letter declaring that he longer had any ownership claim to the bike, I then had to track down the previous owner, finally found him on FB, Had to offer him $100 and hour to meet me at NJ MVC to sign the new title over to me in their presence. It cost me $200, plus back taxes to clear the title. Going forward, as if I flip a motorcycle, I will no longer buy a bike without a clear title, and only buy it from the title holder.
I use to flip the old hondas, and it was easy to title them if I didnt have one, because many were not in the system. I use to send the info and $50 to a company in New Hampshire, get a clean title and then title it in NJ, however 20 years later it is a very costly and difficult process. I would imagine that you would have to run legal notices and the such to clear the titles on bikes purchased in a storage locker. Then have to prove that they were truly abandoned, and I would imagine that the storage facility owner would have to be able to prove that it was the motorcycle owner that leased the locker and abandoned the property not some Joe Schmoe who stole the bikes and abandoned them there. I recently purchased a boat, the owner never registered the trailer as it was stored in a lake community, NJ will not register this trailer until I take it a State trailer inspector who will declare that it is not a stolen trailer, for a fee of course.
I work in banking, and anything that can potentially have a lien on it will cause everyone to slow down, dot the i's and cross their t's, as it has to be clear as day and then some that the lien has been released or never existed.
Sorry but when it comes to government, common sense just does not exist!
I like the devils advocate thing, it makes everyone think!
 
#48 ·
I'm in Massachusetts. The bike in question has been sitting in a family-owned shed in New Jersey for nearly 30 years. The bike is an early '70s 90cc Kawasaki, I believe it's a G3SS, but will have to go look at the bike to verify. I'm interested in it because:

1) it's available and it's free.
2) it's in decent shape, at least cosmetically.
3) mechanical repairs will simple to do for the single cylinder 2 stroke engine.
4) the small size will make it a useful urban commuter bike.

My father never registered the bike all the time he had it. My father passed away in 2002. The guy who gave him the bike is long dead. Since the previous owner lived in rural upstate New York, there's a chance he never registered it there either, but just rode it around his property like many folks did back when I lived there. I don't know whether this guy bought the bike new or got it used. Since he's been dead for some 30 years, I won't be able to ask him.

My point being, what about the so-called "barn find?" There's an old bike somewhere that hasn't been on the road in decades. Is there any way to circumvent the need for nonexistant registrations and titles if it can be searched to find that the bike isn't stolen?

Are there states where this sort of thing is easily done where the bike could be registered for a time then transferred to one of the "difficult" states?
 
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