F$%#$%#$ day today!!!!!

[Jim mac]

Ive got the week off so I decided to take the new to me 350X over to dmv to get a bonded title on it. I checked the VIN on aztheft.gov. Well guys that sight is not 100%, when I ran the vin, it came up NOT stolen, I take it over to motor vehicle, they check the vin to do the bonded title, well it turns out it has been stolen. 23 YEARS ago. So my 350X is now in the impound lot awaiting the detectives to try and get ahold of the owner that reported it stolen 23 YEARS ago! The policeman I dealt with was really nice about the whole issue, I give them kudos for the whole thing, heck he tried talking his supervisor into letting me just keep the trike while they sorted it out. But the higher ups wanted it impounded, I was told the city may pay for the impound because the detective ordered the impound. So we'll see.
At this point im just expecting the worst, (losing the trike) and hoping for the best (getting it back). Hopefully in the next 2 weeks I'll be posting up either way on how that turns out.
In the mean time, Im ready to sell my other trikes just because im POed at trikes in general.
Im not upset at the folks I bought it from, The way I look at buying something without a title is I have nobody to blame buy myself. If I dont get it back, im looking at it as a expensive lesson learned. If I do get it back, I may just title the thing and sell it for what I have into it and move on to my next project. I feel the trike is cursed now.
Finally on this long rant (sorry) the worst part is to have to tell the wife the trikes gone along with the cash I paid for it! Thats the worst! and she is making sure I know it! jim

[Grizzlypeg]

That's really lousy to discover. I had the same thing happen to me with a Jeep body. I sent in the VIN number to motor vehicles and they told me it was insurance salvage. I bought the jeep tub, and then got a visit from police detectives. Insurance salvage turned out to mean that it was stolen, the owner was paid out, and it now belonged to the insurer as salvage, if ever found. So I lost it and my money.

I hope you fare better. Why can't you go after the person you bought it from? Is it not implied that they had the right to sell it? How can they sell stolen goods and keep the money? In my case, the "chop shop" it came from packed up and split town.

[RiJiD-WILL]

I hate Hall monitors!!! gp online check the statute of limitations on stolen property then shove it up that coppers butt... Also find the original owner and I would take him to court or have him testify to how he got the trike or expect a knock at the door real soon from the hall monitors...

sorry about the whole ordeal, My motto is anytime you do things the right way you get screwed. be the one doing the screwing and you will get ahead, just look ask anyone who works in our legal system...

[NINJA]

Sorry to hear about your run of bad luck. Hope it all works out for you in the end.

[haggard 2hundie]

sorry for your bad luck thas got me worried , some ohv tracks and such require the machine be registered , id hate to find out my trike was stolen at some point over the years , do " they " check that stuff when you register your ride for an ohv park ?

[Jim mac]

The folks I bought it from picked it up in trade, decided to sell it. I dont think there is much recourse, the apartment they lived in didnt look like they were rolling in money. The lady gave me a reciept with a DL number etc. If I was really worried about the money I was paying for it, I would have not bought it without a title. I figure it was purchased as is. Ive gone the bonded title route 4 or 5 times and never had a issue, it was bound to happen. jim

[whyzee]

wow , what a f'king huge bummer. They had no choice but to take it from you , can't even imagine how you are feeling. What about a bill of sale , you should be able to have the police get your money back. they were in posseion of stolen goods and sold them to you. You should be off the hook and get all of your money back. Unfortunatly, that bike is not coming home. Call the police ASAP and tell them what happned. Your best bet is to work with the State Police. They do not mess around.
Just had the nearly the same thing happen to me and they shook the seller up enough to where he gave me my money back.
Don't give up!!!! Call the police ASAP. you will get your $$ back

[MyMistress86R]

That's why I always call the local Sheriff to run the VIN and just say I'm looking into buying it. The inTerWeb is great, but point in case, less than perfect.

[whyzee]

That's why I always call the local Sheriff to run the VIN and just say I'm looking into buying it. The inTerWeb is great, but point in case, less than perfect.

wow, thats great advice! never even thought about doing that because we have no legal place to ride here in CT, so there is no point in registering them

[Jim mac]

I showed the reciept to the officer dealing with my case. He told me to call the police department in case I didnt hear back by the middle of the week, I'll ask about what I can do about the money I paid for the trike then. jim

[whyzee]

call the state police. if that bike was stolen from out of state those people who sold it to you could be in a heap of trouble, numerous felonies! . Get it while they still may have your money. Call the Staties and have them pay a visit to the sellers.
Which officers are working on it? the DMV police or the local police dept? what a bummer and a freaking nail biter. It is enough to make you hate your bikes. but trust me, the system may just help you. It is thier job to protect AND serve.
keep us posted. Where was the bike reported stolen from?

[TrailerRider]

That is terrible news. When I get a trike I always get a bill of sale with Drivers license numbers, phone, address etc.. The DMV here in CA are complete idiots and want you to know the complete history on the bike. Yeah Like I am going to know where the hell the bike started it's life and why it was sold back then till now and why it was never titled. I hope you get it back.

[Jim mac]

tucson police dept is handling it, the person that originally reported it stolen lives in south tucson (1 square mile town inside of tucson).
I dont know if the person that reported it stolen all those years ago are still into trikes, but if they are, it would make a great story for them wouldnt it? I know if I had a trike or car stolen 20 years ago, id sure want it back.
I will give the dmv folks kudos for the way they handled it, the lady who's the big supervisor really seemed to feel for me. jim

[DixiePlowboy]

Good Lord....this story is a real downer. I know it's worse for you, Jim mac. Every one of us (I imagine) is feeling for you on this.

We don't register ATV's down here, titles are pretty much non-existant, and Bills Of Sale are optional....though obviously a good idea as your experience demonstrates.

[Cannonball]

OK, first off, sorry to hear what happened, It sucks, but it's something we all know could happen buying 25 year old machines. Second, while law enforcement would be able to charge the people you bought it from with selling stolen property, they can't make them give you your money back. That is a civil issue, and you could sue them if you were so inclined. Calling the State Police will not do anything for you, they will tell you to report it to your local law enforcement. There is a good chance you will get to keep it, as the original owner already got paid by insurance (if it was insured), and if they live a long ways away, probably won't want to pay for shipping. Good luck, hope it works out for ya.

RiJiD-WILL - you sir are an idiot, that is not how it works. There is no statute of limitations on stolen property, only on charging someone with theft. And how are you going to take the original owner to court, you gonna sue him?? For what? Plus, if the VIN comes back stolen, he obviously had a title for it, therefore obtained it legally..... Can't wait to hear your attitude when it is your stuff getting stolen, I hope your local "hall monitors" as you call them tell you to pound sand....

[Jim mac]

No need to get upset with each other here. If one of us got a trike stolen 23 years ago and heard from the pd that they recovered it, anyone of us would be stoked! Im not going to bother calling the folks I bought the trike from, or maybe I will call them and give them a heads up. Like I said there is no hard feeling torwards them, I know if I sold a trike and it came up stolen i would feel bad.
On to some better news! I own a 71 camaro that I bought a 6-71 blower for awhile back, I just got into a funk and quit the install after bolting the blower down. I figured with the stuff happening today, I needed a pick me up (I dont drink or do drugs). So I went and finished up the install and lit her off!!!!!!
something about a classic camaro with a big jimmy sticking out of the hood! I still need to mount and wire the electric fans then I can take it for a test drive. Jim

[DixiePlowboy]

If one of us got a trike stolen 23 years ago and heard from the pd that they recovered it, anyone of us would be stoked!

I did have one stolen from me nearly 25-years ago ( '85 350X in 1985) which I recovered 6-months later(stripped of it's front end). By that time though, I had an '85 250R.....so I sold what was left of the 350X(for $600) the same day I found it. I used the money for more mods since I flattracked the R almost every weekend.


I can't say how excited I would have been if 23 years had passed and it was found in good condition. Still would have sucked for the poor soul that had it and had come by it honestly. I don't know how I would have handled that.

[trikes4life]

Sorry for the loss but don't get your hopes up on getting it back. Happens all the time where i live, just delt with it last year. Buddy bought a blaster from a black kid (im not racist) but how many black kids own bikes in the boonies. Smelled hot, looked hot, and sounded hot, buddy bought it with out paper work. The kid didn't even know to start it, brought it home filled the tank and washed it. The original owner saw it on his way to work. And that was the ended, cops impounded it. We went to the house, where he got it from and the kid wasn't there. he got word of what happened and bounced out of state.

[Jim mac]

Funny thing is the guy I got it from is named Jesus, so I told my wife, i'll never buy anything from jesus again. (for you folks not familiar, mexicans pronounce it hesus and I guess its a popular name).

[whipit]

well you cannot reasonably blame the guy you got it from. Your stolen 350x has probably changed hands dozens of times in the last 23 years

[aldochina]

sorry about the predicament, but i cant feel too bad for you now!! a 71 camaro is my dream car!! (Z-28 rs/ss) obviuosly!! I dont know if i will ever be able to afford one though!!

[Jerm1179]

i work at a vocational school and in 72 Chevy donated a brand new never titled SS to the Automotive program.....111miles on it as it site right now...its been torn apart and put together a few times with a hot cam etc...but not an ounce of rust...if the school ever decides to get rid of it they have to destroy it, cant sell it or anything what a waste!

[Jim mac]

this is what I worked on when I went home. I still need to fix a thermostat leak, then pull the fan shroud and install a pair of fans on the radiator. Jim

[Jim mac]

I called the police to see if anything was happening, Turns out the town the trike was originally stolen from doesnt even have a record of it anymore. But tucson has a record of it, go figure. So the detective said they are going to try and track down the person who reported it stolen. Then if they do find the person, theres a mediation type hearing where I may have to pay the person some cash to get the title from them, if they want to hassle with it. If they want to keep it, well I guess Im sol. If they cant find the person, then I can go pick the trike up and get the bonded title. Since the trike was impounded by the cops, and not a towing company, there is no impound or towing fees if I get it back. The officer did say it could take 3-4 weeks, Im calling them on tuesday. I'll keep posted. jim

[whyzee]

thanks for the update. I there is some good news in there. How much work are they going to do to try and track the person down?
hang in there

[200XMichigan]

That's a drag. Its hard because buying something that old that was stolen so long ago. Hope you get it back. At least the guy still lives in town. Maybe you can work something out with him? Can you get his name? Google him, call him, tell him the story, offer him a little cash, maybe you can keep the trike. Or maybe he'll be so happy to get his trike back he'll give you a reward. Just trying to be optimistic. It sucks when someone else is rubbing your face in something when you already know it sucks. But don't hate the trikes. Go rip sh-t on one of the trikes you have and forget about the trike thats gone for now. You still got a hell of a good collection, and you might still get it back.

[Jim mac]

thanks for the encouragement. I guess I need to update my sig. The revolving garage door is down to 3 trikes now. a 82 atc70, 85 atc70 and a 83 185S that my nieghbor my buy saturday. On the bright side I did take the camaro out for a drive the other day. Something about a blower on a motor does make for some gawking drivers. jim

[200XMichigan]

Yeah the Camaro is awesome, maybe the 350X getting impounded was the kick in the @ss to finish the Camaro. That thing will scream. Man I miss the southwest and its lack of rust. Stuff lasts forever out there. You could always take the 185 out for a good rip. My 200X isn't the fastest but after a bad day nothing compare with a whole lot of throttle.

[ceaserthethird]

Funny thing is the guy I got it from is named Jesus, so I told my wife, i'll never buy anything from jesus again. (for you folks not familiar, mexicans pronounce it hesus and I guess its a popular name).


:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

I have a Feeling everythings going to work out, :)

[jonathandexter]

Ouch! I heard That! I guess its true, Opinions are like @$$holes and everybody has one. Some times they really stink too!!!

[Dirtcrasher]

NICE RIDE GEARHEAD!!!!!!! That car looks really nice, I know your passionate about your cars/motors :beer

Sorry to hear about that, be glad you didn't have 1500$ into the motor and 3000$ into the rest; It can and does happen to people!

There ought to be a way to run the VIN and be sure without alerting the police. At that point I'd contact the person I got it from and ask him what he'd like to do about it. And I ALWAYS get the motor and frame VIN on my bills of sale. The problem is, these things sit, then change hands ten times. Then the frame gets swapped and hell, some crate motors might be reported stolen!! Who knows......

It's also tough to get titles for such old machinmes that get traded for blowers, guitars and crack. Unbeknown to us!!

I feel bad for the guy that lost it, it was probably prestine back then. I imagine this is why guys really like to have a title with a frame, but you still have the engine to worry about unless it's listed on the title...... I'd rather- nevermind, I won't say what I'd do :lol:

Best of luck to you Jim, whats impound - 30$ a day?? You may have mentioned it and I just skimmed the thread.

What came up as stolen? Frame, motor or both??

[Jim mac]

motor isnt on the title on trikes. the frame number came up stolen. I checked on the aztheft.gov site which is a site where you can punch in the vin or plate number to see if its stolen and it came up clean. Turns out it was stolen in the city of south tucson which has since erased it from their records, but it came up in the tucson records as stolen. If I get it back there is no impound fees since the city has it and not the tow company. jim

[RiJiD-WILL]

OK, first off, sorry to hear what happened, It sucks, but it's something we all know could happen buying 25 year old machines. Second, while law enforcement would be able to charge the people you bought it from with selling stolen property, they can't make them give you your money back. That is a civil issue, and you could sue them if you were so inclined. Calling the State Police will not do anything for you, they will tell you to report it to your local law enforcement. There is a good chance you will get to keep it, as the original owner already got paid by insurance (if it was insured), and if they live a long ways away, probably won't want to pay for shipping. Good luck, hope it works out for ya.

RiJiD-WILL - you sir are an idiot, that is not how it works. There is no statute of limitations on stolen property, only on charging someone with theft. And how are you going to take the original owner to court, you gonna sue him?? For what? Plus, if the VIN comes back stolen, he obviously had a title for it, therefore obtained it legally..... Can't wait to hear your attitude when it is your stuff getting stolen, I hope your local "hall monitors" as you call them tell you to pound sand....

Cannonball- what you just said made you look (IDK) I don't want to insult you

I guess you know AR law up there. but I said to check the statute, and only said that to make sure he doesn't get charged with receiving stolen property.
now to clarify, for you lack of understanding. by original owner I meant the person he bought it from as they were the owner as far as he knew.
I dont have any local hall monitors, and I have no need to worry about local sheriffs (I abide by the law) who are more than happy to help out, I can tell you one thing for sure if something like this happened in my town the original owner would have been found before anything was impounded.

as far as you hoping my stuff gets stolen thanks I appreciate that but I don't need to worry about that anymore.

To the original poster I am sorry for buggering up your thread I mean no disrespect, the same goes to cannonball we are all brothers as far as I am concerned and misunderstandings happen especially online. I do get passionate when this type of thing happens it really sux for everyone. jim mac you taught me lesson about how to handle this type of BS that goes on in our world.

will

[factoryX]

dude, it does not matter what you paid for it, if it is stolen and the original owner seeks to get it back even after 25 years it will be returned to him. You can settle a deal with him but and if he doesn't care fine so be it, but you have little to say as where the bikes goes from here. I hope you don't get screwed jim mac, nobody likes losing money let alone a trike.

[83ATC185S]

any update on this jim?

[Jim mac]

called the detective last tuesday. Guy said they're still working on the case and afterwards it goes to the legal department. If the trike was financed and insured back in the day, then the insurance company would own the title. If the previous owner paid cash for the trike and have paperwork after all these years, they get it back if they want it. I get the feeling its kind of in a grey area because of the time its been listed as stolen. jim

[portland250r]

that would ruin my day..
as soon as you get her back do us a favor and post pictures.

[Jim mac]

pictures posted in the pics or your 350X post

[inv3ctiv3]

There should be a law on how long it's been stolen.....20+ years is ridiculous, don't get me wrong though I'd be stoked if I got a trike back that was stolen 20 years ago....But at the same time, it was 20 years ago....

[portland250r]

There should be a law on how long it's been stolen.....20+ years is ridiculous, don't get me wrong though I'd be stoked if I got a trike back that was stolen 20 years ago....But at the same time, it was 20 years ago....

i think the trike should be returned and the guy who sold it should have to give back the money cause he was selling stolen property.
then your both happy! u have your money he has his trike.

[eyecekold1]

Stinking legal system takes forever to do anything unless you owe them money. (ticket, registration, taxes etc) I feel ya Jim. I traded a 86 Tecate hill shooter (it wasn't the nicest looking thing) for a dirt bike. Turns out it has a lean on it and they wont tell me jack at the dmv (real shame its the fastest thing I own) so I had a friend register it in state as a non resident. Hate to find the loop hole and use it but I already am $1600 into the bike and I aint loosing the money or paying someone elses debt. When it blows up its gunna get parted out. Makes me sound like a criminal but I'm not. Just tired of the nice guy finishing last. Been tossed in jail 2 times for unpaid traffic tickets (like 2 hour stays) got a brother in law who does meth on parole and what did he get . . . . nothin. System is built for the liar, least around here.
Good luck. Bet the dude is to old to even care about the bike anymore anyways, if they find him. They ever heard of google or white pages. Give me his name and state and I could find him in like 5 minutes.

[Dirtcrasher]

Don't worry Jim, JESUS always has a plan for us :lol:

If hen takes it away it's because he needed it in trike heaven :D

[Jim mac]

When I do find something out, good bad or ugly, i will post up what happens.
I did talk to a guy about a 250R last night, Im selling a muncie 4 speed. Like most of us, he'd rather trade than part with his hard earned cash. I told him I might be interested, but the trike has to have a title before I'll trade. jim

[Dammit!]

You can always call the police department with the VIN number before you buy/trade.

[3Razors]

Jim I have a feeling this will turn out good for you. Even when I have done the abandoned titles in AZ on bikes it takes about a month to put the title in my name. All they can do is try and track down the original owner on the title with last known address. Shoot 23 years the owner could be dead or such by now.

[Jim mac]

the problem is they did find the person that reported it stolen 23 years ago. now the question is did the person have insurance to finance the trike? if so then its the insurance companies. The guy had a bunch of people interested in the trike, heck a running 350X for $550 go figure. I was just the unlucky guy to be there first with the cash. I did try the AZtheft.gov site and it did come up clean. jim

[Texas 200x]

Well I think you got a fan club rooting for you Jim. I'd be upset if I lost my money.