my buddy just got arrested...

[m0n1]

heres the story:

about 3 weeks ago, my friend calls me and tells me a story of how there is this motorcycle siting in a parking structure in Beverly hills for about 14 months. he goes to tell me the manager of the structure said to take it and do a lien sale cause if he tells the owner, the owner will do the lien sale on it and the owner is a prick. he asks me if he can store it in my garage until the lien sale goes through, what ever i have the room. he picks it up, brings it over and I'm looking over the bike, 2003 Honda 900. no major damage, steering is locked, so there was once a key...cobwebs and leaky forks. as were moving the bike i look at the tires and you can see where its been sitting, plus the dust all over.

so today, he picks it up, takes it to a local dealer, they take the ignition off he takes it to get a key made. about 3PM i pull into my driveway, and he's there trying to put the ignition back on. we're talking, and he tells me the bike runs good, and he took it around the block. NO HELMET, NO SHIRT! i tell him he is a jackass and that at least wear a helmet, wasn't going to loan him mine though. anyway, he tells me the clutch lever feels weird so i adjust it a little and asks him how it feels. he tries it out and wants to take it out again. I'm standing there trying to convince him that the way it feels now is how its gonna be when its on the road and to just put the bike away. doesn't listen and starts to roll the bike into the street..NO HELMET NO SHIRT... i hear the bike zoom up and down the street and I'm waiting for him to come back. 15 mins pass so fuck it I'm going inside too damn hot to wait. about 5 mins after that, i hear voices and i look out the window to see my neighbor and 4 cops standing in MY driveway. WTF i run out through my garage and stand there trying to figure out whats going on.
officer 1: "you know the owner of this truck?" as he looks past me into my garage at my bikes.
officer 2: "you gonna run the plates on those two bikes.
me: "yeah i know him, those are mine, want the registration?"
officer 1: "nah, I'll just run the plates" walking into my garage.

whatever, i know my shit is not stolen. i didn't say anything about him going in cause my buddy probably told them that it was being kept there and the police aren't hassling me about storing stolen property. we try to tell him what we know and show him the lien sale paperwork, but they don't care. all they know is that the bike has been reported stolen and my friend was on it.

I'm just glad they let me switch out my boots he had on for his tennis shoes.
we were talking about gear and what he should look at getting, offered to let him walk in my boots to see how they feel. ICON FTW!

530PM bail is 35000.00
detectives wont look at the paperwork till Monday.

[NONE_too_SOFT]

So how is it legal to just take somebody elses bike then?

[m0n1]

if its not stolen, then he can process a lien sale for the cost of storage and such. process takes about 30 days and if no one disputes or pays the lien, then its his. legally. it was going to be about 2500.00 for storage.

oh, a licensed lien sale company came out and did the paperwork a few days after the bike was put in my garage.

[NONE_too_SOFT]

okay i see. still dont quite understand.

[WARputer]

So now what...bike goes back to the original prick ? This is a screwed up situation.

[azoomm]

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/howto/htvr8.htm

So, your buddy owns the storage place? If not, he doesn't have legal right to it....

Oh, and who called it in stolen?

[Mr Lefty]

I think the issue is, the only way you can do a lien is if you notify the owner first (if you can get a hold of them) if not... the 30 days is for any disputes... but during that time you can't move or take the bike... let alone ride it on the street.

I did one for a 4 Runner in AK... the owner took it to a shop and left it there couldn't pay the bill for the work done on it... so I paid the price of the work and did a lien on it... I was informed that I had to attempt to contact the owner at the last known address (which I had to put on the lien paperwork)... if he had moved (which he hadn't) then a 30 day dispute hold would be put on it.

sorry... but I think your friend is fucked. you might be also for holding it... :idk: depends on how far the owner wants to go with it.

[JoJoYZF]

Wouldnt there have been some other way to do this other than just taking it and hoping for the best?

[6doublefive321]

heres the story:

about 3 weeks ago, my friend calls me and tells me a story of how there is this motorcycle siting in a parking structure in Beverly hills for about 14 months. he goes to tell me the manager of the structure said to take it and do a lien sale cause if he tells the owner, the owner will do the lien sale on it and the owner is a prick.

Ok. If I read this correctly, the manager nor your friend had any right touching the bike. Only the owner of the structure, and only if the bike was "abandoned". If the bike was reported stolen that quickly, it probably belonged to someone who intentionally had the bike parked there. If my understanding is correct, your buddy is pretty damn stupid for taking the bike. You'll be lucky if you don't get dragged into it somehow. Good luck.

[JoJoYZF]

Ok. If I read this correctly, the manager nor your friend had any right touching the bike. Only the owner of the structure, and only if the bike was "abandoned". If the bike was reported stolen that quickly, it probably belonged to someone who intentionally had the bike parked there. If my understanding is correct, your buddy is pretty damn stupid for taking the bike. You'll be lucky if you don't get dragged into it somehow. Good luck.

That about covers it. Like ebbs said, maybe if you tried and no one disputed it in the 30 days youd be alright but you cant just go take a random bike and start riding it around. Sounds like youre buddy is gonna be locked up for a little while. Hopefully you wont end up in there too.

[m0n1]

So now what...bike goes back to the original prick ? This is a screwed up situation.
its impounded now, not sure and don't care what happens with it now. told him not to ride it. especially without a helmet.



Oh, and who called it in stolen?

no idea. tried to tell the cops what i know, but they didnt care, all they know is that the bike was reported stolen and he was on it.

Ok. If I read this correctly, the manager nor your friend had any right touching the bike. Only the owner of the structure, and only if the bike was "abandoned". If the bike was reported stolen that quickly, it probably belonged to someone who intentionally had the bike parked there. If my understanding is correct, your buddy is pretty damn stupid for taking the bike. You'll be lucky if you don't get dragged into it somehow. Good luck.

what i was told is the guy who rode it in had on full leathers, said ill be back in 10 mins and it has now been a year. the condition of the bike when i first saw it showed it has been sitting for some time, i figured the steering is locked, so whoever left it had the key.


I'm not too worried about the lien sale part...just the fact it came up stolen. the paper work processed by the lien sale company should have taken care of the contacting and notifying any parties of interest.

we called the dmv to ask about the vin and plate they said it was not coming up stolen and there is not a finance company on the registration. the only thing wrong was that it was 2 months past the renewal.

the company that came out to do the lien sale for him assessed the vehicle under 3000.00 and damaged. they are supposed to check the title and crap too.

maybe the owner got the notice and then reported it stolen so that he doesn't have to pay...who knows.

oh well, my record is clean. if anything, i might be charged as an accessory.

at least im not sitting in jail.

[Mr Lefty]

are you sure the guy that rode it didn't call it in as stolen? think about it... if he rode it there... and locked the stearing he had the key... USUALLY stolen bikes don't have keys... but there is that chance. good luck though

[m0n1]

are you sure the guy that rode it didn't call it in as stolen? think about it... if he rode it there... and locked the stearing he had the key... USUALLY stolen bikes don't have keys... but there is that chance. good luck though

yeah, i saw that the stearing was locked and thats y i agreed to it being in my garage.

thats what i'm thinking. he got the notice, and said fuck you , called the cops to report it stolen. if thats the case, hopefully the paperwork from the liensale people and the stuff they are supposed to send in to the dmv will show a date prior to the theft report...hopefully.

i got a text message from my neighbor, my friend is supposed to be released on bail soon.

[Carolina]

for 2500 storage and what it cost to replace key and other fees yall would accrue getting it really ready to ride you could have found a decent bike for 3,4 g's off of craiglist or ebay

[m0n1]

yeah, but all he has spent is about 300.00. the other 2500 is the storage fee charge to the original owner.

[Carolina]

ohh ok yeah that's a deal

[z06boy]

Ok. If I read this correctly, the manager nor your friend had any right touching the bike. Only the owner of the structure, and only if the bike was "abandoned". If the bike was reported stolen that quickly, it probably belonged to someone who intentionally had the bike parked there. If my understanding is correct, your buddy is pretty damn stupid for taking the bike. You'll be lucky if you don't get dragged into it somehow. Good luck.

Sounds about right on all accounts.

Good luck with this one.:whistle:

[Crazy]

i dont really understand this whole lien sale thing... so if I leave my bike in a parking lot for a long time somebody can just come in, take the thing and make me pay to get it back? and if i dont pay they keep the bike? what if i'm storing it over the winter or something?
or is it just if I haven't paid the parking fee?

either way sounds like too much risk/effort for a bike.

[fatburg]

that's another good point. Where did the $2500 storage fee come from? Are they charging everybody by the length of time there car is there? Your buddies logic is pretty out of wack IMO

[Rider]

As far as I'm concerned, what you guys did is bike theft.

[Captain Morgan]

i dont really understand this whole lien sale thing... so if I leave my bike in a parking lot for a long time somebody can just come in, take the thing and make me pay to get it back? and if i dont pay they keep the bike? what if i'm storing it over the winter or something?
or is it just if I haven't paid the parking fee?

either way sounds like too much risk/effort for a bike.

that's another good point. Where did the $2500 storage fee come from? Are they charging everybody by the length of time there car is there? Your buddies logic is pretty out of wack IMO


It's kinda like a tax lien sale on a property. Hell, here in Indiana, if you don't pay your sewer bill, they can put a lien on your property. If a lien isn't paid within a certain period of time, the lien holder can sell the property. Just like a tax lien. All you have to do is pay the lien and the property is yours. If you have something in storage and don't pay the storage costs, your stuff belongs to the owner. He can put a lien on your stuff and it's his if you don't pay it. He can sell the stuff for the amount of the lien, regardless of how cheap it is. However, I don't see how it's possible for some joe off the street to just come in and take the property and file lien paperwork. He needs to have a right to the property in some manner. If he's buying it from someone who has a lien on the bike, that's one thing, but if he just puts a lien on something that has been sitting... just doesn't add up.

[m0n1]

i don't really understand this whole lien sale thing... so if I leave my bike in a parking lot for a long time somebody can just come in, take the thing and make me pay to get it back? and if i don't pay they keep the bike? what if I'm storing it over the winter or something?
or is it just if I haven't paid the parking fee?

either way sounds like too much risk/effort for a bike.

usually there would be some kind of contract, for something you may be talking about. its a private structure, and what i was told is the guy rode it in there, said he'll be back in 10 mins, and never came back.

i know when i rented a public storage unit, their contract state that if the fees aren't paid they will sell off what ever is in the unit to cover the cost of unpaid fees.


that's another good point. Where did the $2500 storage fee come from? Are they charging everybody by the length of time there car is there? Your buddies logic is pretty out of wack IMO

the fees for the space it was in is 200 a month, so 2400 a year...

the guy is a recovering alcoholic/drugs, sober for over 5 years, but didnt go through the steps. i guess one of the steps that was explained to me is getting over your compulsive behaviors. he called me a few times each week, i didnt answer cause i was trying to keep him from spending money on it till the sale was done.



just wanted to share the situation. hopefully if you all come across something like this you would do more research than i did.