Bike title

[rman]

Bike title,

I am having a problem getting my bike titled. The PO had signed in the wrong place and the state will not accept it. Now I am unable to contact the PO, How can I get the title transferred?

[mason79]

write a letter indicating the scenario, in that letter reference all documentation you have from po, have a contact info sheet on the po,

have a notary execute a jurat ; an affrimation and your sworn statement to these facts and go back to the dmw, see if that works....


they ( the dmv) should be able to tell you what they need , this aint the first time and aint gonna be the last.

[HobbyMan]

from my personal experience you need an affadavite of fact. That was Texas rules. What a PITA it was to get all the stuff for that bike. That was not the only thing we had to do

[fredintoon]

Forgery?

Hi Rman,
have an artistic friend carefully copy the signature in the right place. Try again at a different DMV branch.
Fred Hill, S'toon.

[HobbyMan]

shhh.... don't give away any secrets. Also, big brother may be watching

On a side note: it is easy to pick up a signature with a scanner and reprint it anywhere you need with some photoshop skills. I do not endorse this.

[rman]

DMV = PITA

I got the bike through ebay. The seller was not the owner but had the title signed by the PO. The PO had signed in the location that a dealer would sign instead of private owner. I can not see how it makes a difference but the DMV is hard @$$ that every T is crossed and i is dotted.

No, I too would not endorse any illegal methods but it is interesting to discuss the possibilities.


I am trying very hard to locate the PO.

[HobbyMan]

In TX all you would need is an affodavite of fact from the owner(not seller). If in fact the owner cannot be reached, then you need to ge creative. Speaking from perosnal experience

[prometheus578]

Here's the deal in WA.
Go back to the DMV. Have them do a registration search based on the serial number. This will give you the name and last address of the owner. DMV has a form they will give you.
They will highlight all the areas that the owner has to sign.
This form you send to the owner via certified mail(along with a note from you stating how you got the bike and that you'd like to make it legal or whatever. He must sign for the letter from the post office, then sign the form, have it notorized and mail it back.( I include a statement that I'll send him a check for $20 for his troubles) If he does this, you're good.

Now then... suppose he doesn't live there any longer.
After the post office tries to deliver the certified letter three times, they send it back to you. DO NOT OPEN THIS LETTER, but hold on to it for the DMV.
Oh, but then there's the hassle of getting the bike inspected by the state police. They will do everything in their power to harrass you into confessing that you stole the bike. Once they're done intimidating you and are satified that the records don't show that it's been stolen, they nicely fill out a form that you take back to the DMV, along with the unopen certified letter.
The legal owner can't be found, and as the bike has not been reported stolen, they issue you the registration and a temporary title. If the legal owner doesn't step forward within three years, you get the full title. (You can ride the bike during this time, and even sell it if you wish.... the provisional title will follow it till the three years is up)
Hassle... yes. Luckily, I live near a military base, and legal owners move away quite frequently.
I've done this twice for XS's.
Have another where the registered owner has moved and the legal owner was a car dealership that is no longer in business, so I'll deal with that one when I have time.
Have another XS something or other where the owner moved away, but still owes the finance company $900, but they'd release the bike to me fer $100.
It's a game, that's all it is.

[LoHo]

Prom, I thought you were out of the chop-shop business...;^}

[prometheus578]

Let's just say I've slowed down a bit over the years.

[rockjok]

I had a similar problem last summer with a sidecar rig I bought off ebay. Fortunately the seller was local but....

He signed in the dealer slot and the notary didn't sign the title correctly or emboss with her seal and no longer lived in Montana. That makes 3 trips to the dmv and two affidavits that required a notary seal.

Then the DMV discovered the rig belonged to a trust and thus required a wifes and a sons signature. Two more trips-two more notarized affidavits. Not to mention the fact that our DMV "take a number" system typically starts at 4 digits -HA.

The seller was hours away from leaving on a trip to Alaska, his wife was 1000 miles away in California, and his son was somewhere back east in college.

I suspect that his new accountant/notary got creative tho' since he managed to make his flight to Alaska and I got registration papers for the rig. Decided not to ask any questions, just went riding.

Rob

[Tdog]

Wow, lot o' hoops to jump thru to do it right. I feel lucky to have gotten away with "Liquid Paper"
tdog

[rman]

joy in mudville

Happy day, I located the PO. Title is now signed

Thanks to all for your support.