I need another bike like I need a hole in the head...

.... so why am I looking at this auction with intent?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300524356631

I haven't even got the foggiest as to what this is.

 

You're a glutton for punishment and like battling the DMV?

On Feb-09-11 at 11:44:19 PST, seller added the following information:
Title was lost by original owner..Can be obtained and will be if required

I really, really wouldn't, even if it had a title.

 

Aaargh. Not another one with a lost title.

Reminds me of the plonker 2 hours away who had a Wrangler Sahara for
sale who called us while we were driving down there to tell us that the
title had been stolen a couple of years ago and he hadn't got around to
getting a replacement yet.

Oddly enough I wasn't too keen on buying it.

Which reminds me, I really need to get my arse in gear and get titles
for the Morinis and the BMW.

 

Practically de rigueur for Craigslist.

What really matters is having plates- when it comes time to sell it there's
always a muppet handy who's willing to buy a bike without a title...

 

It's the name, isn't it.

You just want to be able to say that you ride a 'Bighorn'.

 

Why is this such a hassle in the US? Here, lost documents are an
irritation, but they can be relatively easily and cheaply repalced.

 

According to "Sunrise to Z1", it's 350cc 2-stroke disc-valve single,
from 1969 -1971. 33bhp @6500rpm

 

PS: The colour is "rawhide".

 

Each individual state has its own policies and procedures for getting a
new title certificate issued. In my state, if you are the registered
owner, replacing a lost title is easy, you fill out a form and they
mail it to the address of record. But if you buy a bike without one,
getting the seller to cooperate after the fact can be nearly impossible
after he's got the money, so it becomes more difficult. Demanding that
the seller produce a title to a relatively cheap SOB as a condition of
sale doesn't have as much leverage as you might think, since many buyers
only want the bike for parts, or are scofflaws to whom such niceties as
registration and insurance are as familiar as quantum physics.

In fact, states vary so much on their title requirements that
businesses have sprung up based on getting title to a bike in one state,
then transferring it to the buyer's state of residence.

There can also be considerable leeway and uncertainty in the process
when you are basically at the mercy of the clerk who you happen to draw,
some are willing to smooth things over and others are sticklers and make
the process as difficult as possible. Chasing down previous owners for
signatures can be hugely frustrating since they usually have no stake
in resolving any problems, they've got their money and aren't liable
anymore for whatever happens with the vehicle.

Another wrinkle revolves around engine numbers and my state's desire to
discourage trafficking in stolen bike parts. Suffice it to say that all
this does is cause untold hassle for legitimate buyers who unwittingly
buy a bike with a replaced lump, even when it is legitimately obtained,
unless there is "acceptable" documentation of the provenance of the
engine provided when transferring the title. Even worse in this case
is that the transferring clerk may not be able to tell if the engine
number provided matches the original (it's not printed on the title
cert, but is recorded at the DMV) at the time of the transfer, so the
buyer may walk away thinking all is well, while the seller pockets the
cash. Weeks pass, then the application for transfer is rejected by
letter and the hunt for the missing seller begins. The relief in the
voice of the guy who bought my ZG1000 lump when finding out I would
document the sale was palpable- he only discovered this a year after
fitting the engine, when he was selling it and his buyer's application
for title was rejected.

Generally, it's an avoidable hassle, and unless the particular bike is
very rare and desirable, it's just not worth the effort when you can
buy one with a good title. In my opinion, most of the bikes without
titles are usually neglected crap anyway, which isn't surprising given
the lack of care and attention their owners gave to the documents.

But rather than taking my word for it, the OP is in a position to answer
the question for at least one state, and I look forward to hearing from
him about the experience.

 

Made my day, that has.

Rollin', rollin', rollin'...

Keep that old SOB rollin',

RAWHIIIIDE!

 

<snip>

Thanks for that.

Good God. Utterly insane.

Here, if you ask for a registration document for a bike you acquired
without aforesaid document, they will send a letter to the last recorded
owner, and if there's silence, and assuming the relevant engine and
chassis numbers do not show up as stolen, the papers are yours.

If it's a SOB (as many are), you can simply register on a new "age
related" plate - I've done that a couple of times, re-registering early
1970s bikes for which records (especially computer records) no longer
exist. I think the government works on the assumption that nobody is
going to be silly enough to base a criminal career on making money out
of sub-£300 heaps of rust.

Backing this up, of course, is a nationwide record of stolen chassis and
engine numbers, which helps enormously, although it does not solve the
issue of 'ringing; (changing vehicle identities). But then, neither does
the US system.

 

If you're the person the bike or car is titled to, it's generally not
that big a deal, for example, in California (where said Jeep Wrangler
resided). You probably have to go down to the local DMV office (the
equivalent of the DVLA, only on a state basis) and you might have to get
the chassis number inspected, but it's not that hard. It's supposedly
also not very hard if the vehicle stays in CA, but take it out of the
state like I would have to and there's a lot of fun to be had...

Here in Nevada it's not that hard to ensure that you have a title for a
vehicle you buy simply because you have to go to the DMV to get plates
for it anyway (the PO keeps the plates and driving around without plates
gets you introduced to people in uniform quickly if you don't have a
permit taped to the windscreen, and you need a title for that, too), but
in CA and some other states you can just jump in a car that you bought
and drive off as the plates stay on the car...

And that's before we get into fun parts like states that don't issue
titles for vehicles that are over 25 years old and similar rubbish.

Oh, and did I mention that the equivalent of an HPI isn't always that
reliable either?

 

Describes the contents of your garage nicely, does that

Oh, and bollocks. Our vineyard purchase has fallen through - no water
rights. That's why it was attractively priced...

 

Commis - but have you thought of a borehole? Not sure how you go about
doing it where(ever) your vinyard is but it isn't nearly so expensive to
have the actual thing installed as you might think.

 

Wotcha

Not forgetting the Super Rat.

Hmm - I rather like the sound of the BSA Bullfrog ;-)

 

I've seen at least one Road Toad for sale around here a few months
back.

 

Oi! I resemble that remark. At least 50% of the contents of the garage
is running.

Now that blows, sorry to hear that.

 

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/dak/mcy/2192175400.html

Just say the word and it's yours.

 

"the fine print"

What about the original plan and the wooden Chateau?

 

Um, Chile has very complicated legislation regarding wells and
boreholes, and you can't just sink one where you feel like it.

There's whole textbooks about 'legal' and 'illegal' wells and the rights
thereof, apparently.