charlatan
Pack Dog
I got a great deal on a '77 CB550K which I bought as parts for my '76 CB550F. The seller had no papers - his story was that it was purchased in a business deal a couple of years ago and that the bike's been standing for about 3 years. I got him to sign a letter to say that he sold it to me, and left it at that. Hated buying something without papers, but had to act quickly as his phone was ringing almost constantly; even while I was there he got a call.
Now, on closer inspection, the parts bike looks to be in almost better condition than mine (apart from the engine being solidly seized up), so I thought I'd have a go and see if I can transfer ownership in case I can resurrect it. With the help of a friendly WD, I've traced the registered owner's address to Norris street, Rosettenville. I don't know the area, but I'm not going to ask anyone to go round there to see if he lives there, so let's assume he's "untraceable". The license expired only a few months ago (March 2012), so far so good.
OK, so the aim is to transfer it to my name and scrap it (so I can take my time on it without piling on more outstanding license fees). As I understand the process, I should get an affidavit to say that the original owner cannot be traced, then get police clearance to say it's not stolen, and then go to the traffic dept to transfer it to my name and scrap it.
However, when I phone western cape traffic, they tell me the outstanding license fees have to be paid before I can even start. When I phone Gauteng, they won't budge on the original owner having to pay the license fees. They ended by saying I must hire a private detective to find the registered owner. :eek7:
Any suggestions? Worst case, I just use it for parts (original exhaust is worth what I paid for it already!), but it seems such a shame to let this go to waste:
Now, on closer inspection, the parts bike looks to be in almost better condition than mine (apart from the engine being solidly seized up), so I thought I'd have a go and see if I can transfer ownership in case I can resurrect it. With the help of a friendly WD, I've traced the registered owner's address to Norris street, Rosettenville. I don't know the area, but I'm not going to ask anyone to go round there to see if he lives there, so let's assume he's "untraceable". The license expired only a few months ago (March 2012), so far so good.
OK, so the aim is to transfer it to my name and scrap it (so I can take my time on it without piling on more outstanding license fees). As I understand the process, I should get an affidavit to say that the original owner cannot be traced, then get police clearance to say it's not stolen, and then go to the traffic dept to transfer it to my name and scrap it.
However, when I phone western cape traffic, they tell me the outstanding license fees have to be paid before I can even start. When I phone Gauteng, they won't budge on the original owner having to pay the license fees. They ended by saying I must hire a private detective to find the registered owner. :eek7:
Any suggestions? Worst case, I just use it for parts (original exhaust is worth what I paid for it already!), but it seems such a shame to let this go to waste:
