papers- beating a dead horse

[benwaechter]

I know this subject has been on here a thousand times, I am hoping someone can tell me again. I acquired a bike, 86 FZ600, no papers, the guy I bought it off has a name of a guy who has the name of the previous owner. Should I try to track him down or just treat this a bike with no known previous owner? I want to start the process now in hopes of getting it on the road this summer. Thanks again.

[stevecrout]

Hi -  best bet is to search on "lost registration" on this site and see what the members have come up with in the past.

The rule of thumb seems to be for lost BC registrations that you make a reasonable attempt to find the previous owner. if unable to you can ask to have them run a registration / lost of stolen check and if they see it has been registered in BC before (even if many years ago) and not reported stolen,  you should be able to put together something in the way of a sales receipt or stat dec to indicate who and where you bought it from. The success here might depend on the alignment of the moon and sun, weather and price of tea in China along with getting onto the good side with one of the gals at Barton Insurance.

ICBC may have to contact the previous owner to confirm it was actually sold (not necessarily to you) so be prepared for some expenses and wait times. If you get really stuck you might re-register is as a rebuilt or even as a home built but then you'll have roadworthiness tests and stuff to do.

Dennis seems to be on top of the issue and might be the best responder here.

[Dennis]

I would give your best efforts first to find who you believe is the registered owner, and then give your best efforts to have them get new registration.  If you can do this AND persuade them to sign a transfer tax form (the well known carbon copy paper we all use when transferring motor vehicles), your problem is solved.

If the above does not work, then you will need to contact ICBC in North Van with a request for the name and address of the current registered owner.   They will only give you this is you establish in a sworn statutory declaration how you became the "lawful" owner.  Note, "lawful" does not mean "registered."  "Lawful" means that you came to be in the possession of the motorcycle by purchasing it for value from a seller who purports to also be a lawful owner.

If I recall correctly, one of the issues you or a friend had some time ago was that the statutory declaration described how the bike was abandoned or something like that.  Abandonment is a whole different area of law, and having something abandoned in your possession is not the same as being a "bona fide purchaser for value."

The above are just the first step.  If you need help with the statutory declaration, come see me. 

If you pay your dues to the Club ($25), I'll notarize the statutory declaration for free.  Seeing as a notary charge is usually more than this, its a bargain.

Peace & Grease, Dennis