used 'cycle, title questions

[telamon]

Okay, so here's the deal,
i bought an old 1975 motorcycle to restore from a guy in my city... He had the title which was important as i would like to ride the bike i restore one day...

i'm 25 have never bought a used vehicle, i thought i just needed the title to be signed by him, which i was sure to have done, so i now have the bike and the signed title but its not notarized

so I went to the bank to get it notarized (i thought that was the procedure) and the lady said im sorry i can't notarize unless that guy is here too...

...so i go back home and am in process of contacting this guy, on email he just told me "i wouldn't mess with the title until the bike is running"
which just sounds suspicious or maybe simply ignorant...
but here's where i'm afraid my real problem is, this guy said he bought it from his ex wife's brother or something, like 30 years ago (last registered in 1981) i checked the title, he did sign it but the name on the title is JIM and i SWEAR TO GOD he told me his name was terry.....

so what are my options here? i'm still trying to contact him asking if he will sign this in front of a notary...
im afraid he may have been trying to screw me, so what can i do?
all i really care about is to just get the paperwork squared so i can keep restoring this bike and not be afraid i wont ever b able to ride legally

if he never had the title transferred 30 years ago from whoever, what then?
should i call the dmv for oklahoma and see if the bike was reported stolen???
if he does not have the title in his name, and i can't get ahold of the original title-owner "jim", then is this bike impossible to get registered???
this was my first bike to buy, first vehicle to buy on my own, any advice would be helpful, please tell me i can get this squared away and ride it legally....

 

[telamon]

my question to terry:
did you never get the title transferred from who you bought it from to your name??

his answer:
No I didn't I was going to wait until I got it on the road before I did anything to the title. I didn't want to get it in my name and have to buy a tag and get insurance on it when it wasn't running. There is no date on the title when it was sold. If nneded you can put that in when you are ready to get in put in your name. My name is not on the title. My ex wife uncle and aunt name in on it so I can not be there when you get it notarized. Just ask the notary what needs to be done. But do not say anything about you bought the bike.
I never did have to have the seller present when I had any title notarized. Of course things change.

 

[army judge]

Okay, so here's the deal,
i bought an old 1975 motorcycle to restore from a guy in my city... He had the title which was important as i would like to ride the bike i restore one day...

i'm 25 have never bought a used vehicle, i thought i just needed the title to be signed by him, which i was sure to have done, so i now have the bike and the signed title but its not notarized

so I went to the bank to get it notarized (i thought that was the procedure) and the lady said im sorry i can't notarize unless that guy is here too...

...so i go back home and am in process of contacting this guy, on email he just told me "i wouldn't mess with the title until the bike is running"
which just sounds suspicious or maybe simply ignorant...
but here's where i'm afraid my real problem is, this guy said he bought it from his ex wife's brother or something, like 30 years ago (last registered in 1981) i checked the title, he did sign it but the name on the title is JIM and i SWEAR TO GOD he told me his name was terry.....

so what are my options here? i'm still trying to contact him asking if he will sign this in front of a notary...
im afraid he may have been trying to screw me, so what can i do?
all i really care about is to just get the paperwork squared so i can keep restoring this bike and not be afraid i wont ever b able to ride legally

if he never had the title transferred 30 years ago from whoever, what then?
should i call the dmv for oklahoma and see if the bike was reported stolen???
if he does not have the title in his name, and i can't get ahold of the original title-owner "jim", then is this bike impossible to get registered???
this was my first bike to buy, first vehicle to buy on my own, any advice would be helpful, please tell me i can get this squared away and ride it legally....

You might have been had.
Had or not, I'd ask for my money back.
You probably won't get it.
You've learned a lesson, buying from private sellers can be risky.

How much did this guy rip you off for a bike that isn't operable?

I think he's stolen the bike from his relatives.
He's probably a tweaker or crack addict and is gonna use the money from the sale of someone's bike to fund his drug habit.

 

[telamon]

180$ for the bike, missing the carburetors as well
i bought it as a restoring project im going through a bad breakup and it is supposed to keep me busy...
im not going to ask my money back im going to get this damn bike titled in my name i dont know how im going to do it, but im not gonna get one cent back from the guy so the only interactions im gonna have with him is to track his relatives down (have the names already), get the story and perhaps i'll b able to title it legally that way, but im gonna file a police report on his ass for selling stolen goods and signing a bogus signature IF its just impossible to get this thing titled to me

*grumbles*

 

[army judge]

180$ for the bike, missing the carburetors as well
i bought it as a restoring project im going through a bad breakup and it is supposed to keep me busy...
im not going to ask my money back im going to get this damn bike titled in my name i dont know how im going to do it, but im not gonna get one cent back from the guy so the only interactions im gonna have with him is to track his relatives down (have the names already), get the story and perhaps i'll b able to title it legally that way, but im gonna file a police report on his ass for selling stolen goods and signing a bogus signature IF its just impossible to get this thing titled to me

*grumbles*

The police would have been my next suggestion.
You're one step ahead of me.
You're not out of much money, but I'd file the police report anyway.
I don't blame you for grumbling.

 

[telamon]

okay i talked with some friends and co workers and one person had an idea, he said he had a similar situation once, but with a truck,

he said you could place a mechanics lien on the vehicle, and the state will track down the original title holder and send them official letters notifying that they need to pay or else lose the vehicle, and after the time expires the paperwork can be filed and the vehicle can be re-titled to the mechanic...

So i've looked through some of the questions and statutes, i dont see any legal reason why me doing this is explicitly forbidden... so from where I am standing this is a legal course of action to get my bike titled to me
(although it WILL TAKE A YEAR!! and cost some fees)

unless there is a process i overlooked in which the state asks for evidence that the lien placer owns a mechanic's business i think this is good, there was even a provision for a LABORER to place a lien as opposed to a general contractor under the 'homeowner' area of the law.
unless i can get myself into any serious trouble this may be my course of action after some consideration