Flying_Flannel_89
New Member
First of all, I'll apologize for the long-winded story that follows. This is the story of how I came to own my CB450. For those who just want the moral of the story, here's a few things I learned from the process.
1. Every motorcycle sold in PA has a title, wheter it came with the bike or not.
2. If you don't have the title, you DO NOT own the bike.
3. If you have the bike but not the title, you CAN get a title, it just takes lots of time, money, and patience.
4. Research local laws regarding title/registration procedures BEFORE any cash leaves your hand. Better yet, make sure you have a title in your hand before you break out the benjamins.
SO anyway, I'd been looking for the "right" bike for a while when I came across a Craigslist posting for a clean, low-milage '73 Honda CB450 in ridable condition. The ad mentioned the lack of a title, but also assured that it was simple to obtain one from Broadway or International Title Service. So I called the number and made an appointment to go check out the bike. The following saturday I drove 70 miles to the guys house, and he shows me the bike, I like it, and we make a deal. He drops the bike off at my house later that day and tells me he'll mail the neccessary forms so I can get a title for it. A week or so goes by with no contact from the seller, so I started researching title and registration laws on the ITS and DMV websites. I come to find out you need a notarized bill of sale from the last REGISTERED owner to obtain a title from a title service like ITS or Broadway. SO I call the guy I bought the bike from and tell him I need a Notarized bill of sale from him, and he says, "why? I never owned the bike, it wouldn't do you any good to have a bill of sale from me". At this point all kinds of negative thoughts start racing through my brain. Did I just buy a stolen bike? Did I just spend good money on a 495 pound paperweight? After I calmed down a little I called my local tag agencey and asked them what I should do. They said that I could possibly track down the last registered owner if he bought/registered the bike in PA by doing a search on the VIN number. So I wrote down the VIN on a piece of paper and hauled ass to the notary before they closed. A VIN search costs $20 in PA, wheter it turns up any results or not. Luckily for me, the search yeilded a previous registered owner in PA, and also showd that the bike was not stolen and had no leins. So now my focus switched to tracking down the previous ACTUAL owner. I used information to get a phone number, but when I called the line was apparently disconnected. The operator tells me there are 2 listings for that name, a Senior and a Junior. the "junior" was listed at age 66, the senior really was a senior at age 93. I gave the "sr."'s number a try and a female voice answered, telling me the sr. was eating supper and couln't come to the phone. When I explained the situation, she told me the Sr was her father, and the Jr, the one who previously owned my bike, passed away 5 years ago. Another seemingly dead end, no pun intended. However, she referred me to the executer of his estate, a cousin, who may have the paperwork for the bike. I tried calling him only to get a voice mailbox, so I left a message explaining the whole situation. 2 days later he calls me back with good news. He has the title, and he'd be happy to send it to me. Now in order to transfer the title of a vehicle in case of death, you need the title, a copy of the death certificate, and form MV-39. The cousin/executor knew all that, having a background in law, so he very helpfully took time out of his schedule to get to a notary and have the title opened so it could be transferred to me. He then mailed it to my house, and from there I was able to get the bike registered. Finally.
So what did I learn from this ordeal? for one thing, I learned I must have some Irish blood in me because I got damn lucky to track down the right people, and those people were extroadinarily helpful through the entire process. But mainly, I learned if you're gonna buy a bike, MAKE SURE it has a clean title in the name of the person you're buying it from.
So that's the story, maybe some of you will find the information here helpful. If not, I hope you enjoyed hearing all about my blind ambition and stupidity. I encourage anyone who is thinking about buying a motorcycle without a title to think seriously about what they want to do with the bike, as you may not be as lucky as I was and will be forced to get bonded title ($$$$), or just customize the f*ck out of it and title it as a custom-assembled vehicle (even more $$).
1. Every motorcycle sold in PA has a title, wheter it came with the bike or not.
2. If you don't have the title, you DO NOT own the bike.
3. If you have the bike but not the title, you CAN get a title, it just takes lots of time, money, and patience.
4. Research local laws regarding title/registration procedures BEFORE any cash leaves your hand. Better yet, make sure you have a title in your hand before you break out the benjamins.
SO anyway, I'd been looking for the "right" bike for a while when I came across a Craigslist posting for a clean, low-milage '73 Honda CB450 in ridable condition. The ad mentioned the lack of a title, but also assured that it was simple to obtain one from Broadway or International Title Service. So I called the number and made an appointment to go check out the bike. The following saturday I drove 70 miles to the guys house, and he shows me the bike, I like it, and we make a deal. He drops the bike off at my house later that day and tells me he'll mail the neccessary forms so I can get a title for it. A week or so goes by with no contact from the seller, so I started researching title and registration laws on the ITS and DMV websites. I come to find out you need a notarized bill of sale from the last REGISTERED owner to obtain a title from a title service like ITS or Broadway. SO I call the guy I bought the bike from and tell him I need a Notarized bill of sale from him, and he says, "why? I never owned the bike, it wouldn't do you any good to have a bill of sale from me". At this point all kinds of negative thoughts start racing through my brain. Did I just buy a stolen bike? Did I just spend good money on a 495 pound paperweight? After I calmed down a little I called my local tag agencey and asked them what I should do. They said that I could possibly track down the last registered owner if he bought/registered the bike in PA by doing a search on the VIN number. So I wrote down the VIN on a piece of paper and hauled ass to the notary before they closed. A VIN search costs $20 in PA, wheter it turns up any results or not. Luckily for me, the search yeilded a previous registered owner in PA, and also showd that the bike was not stolen and had no leins. So now my focus switched to tracking down the previous ACTUAL owner. I used information to get a phone number, but when I called the line was apparently disconnected. The operator tells me there are 2 listings for that name, a Senior and a Junior. the "junior" was listed at age 66, the senior really was a senior at age 93. I gave the "sr."'s number a try and a female voice answered, telling me the sr. was eating supper and couln't come to the phone. When I explained the situation, she told me the Sr was her father, and the Jr, the one who previously owned my bike, passed away 5 years ago. Another seemingly dead end, no pun intended. However, she referred me to the executer of his estate, a cousin, who may have the paperwork for the bike. I tried calling him only to get a voice mailbox, so I left a message explaining the whole situation. 2 days later he calls me back with good news. He has the title, and he'd be happy to send it to me. Now in order to transfer the title of a vehicle in case of death, you need the title, a copy of the death certificate, and form MV-39. The cousin/executor knew all that, having a background in law, so he very helpfully took time out of his schedule to get to a notary and have the title opened so it could be transferred to me. He then mailed it to my house, and from there I was able to get the bike registered. Finally.
So what did I learn from this ordeal? for one thing, I learned I must have some Irish blood in me because I got damn lucky to track down the right people, and those people were extroadinarily helpful through the entire process. But mainly, I learned if you're gonna buy a bike, MAKE SURE it has a clean title in the name of the person you're buying it from.
So that's the story, maybe some of you will find the information here helpful. If not, I hope you enjoyed hearing all about my blind ambition and stupidity. I encourage anyone who is thinking about buying a motorcycle without a title to think seriously about what they want to do with the bike, as you may not be as lucky as I was and will be forced to get bonded title ($$$$), or just customize the f*ck out of it and title it as a custom-assembled vehicle (even more $$).