I’m not sure if this is the right forum, so please move if needed.
The story:
In 2002, I had some extra cash, and the mechanic who worked on my motorcycle needed some money, so he was selling his CBR600 fully race prepped motorcycle. It was a complete race build, with no VIN, completely NOT street legal in any way shape or form. In fact, the bike had been used by a different racer to win the CCS Southeast championship a couple of years earlier. His son Spencer had been racing it in FL. I made an arrangement to give him $1800 of the $2500 he was asking for it, and he said he would keep it in his garage still and maintain it for me (I lived in a condo at the time and had nowhere to store it). I paid the remaining balance a few weeks later, and got a bill of sale(no title is available for this bike).
A couple of months later, he told me that it had been stolen out of his garage a few weeks prior. He didn’t call the police(which I found odd). I called one, but he said with no VIN it would be impossible to prove ownership. In a colossal lapse of judgement, I did not file a police report.
Fast forward to last night. The bike appeared on a website for sale. The lister says that he is selling it for “a friend”. I emailed him, asking for the previous owners name, or the current owner, since I am familiar with many of the racers in this area and wondered who had used it. All this time, I would periodically check various websites and forums for the bike, just on the odd chance it would pop up.
When responding to the question about who had raced it, he said the name"Spencer" is on the bike(stickered). I know it is the same bike. I even managed to find the bill of sale.
I really don’t know what to do now. IF the bike was legitimately stolen, then I could attempt to track down the mechanic and I’m sure he would help me take possession. IF he was blowing smoke up my ass and sold it twice to make extra money, then I would be tipping him off to my plans.
I guess my questions are several- Legally, with no police report, and no VIN, how could I prove ownership? The mechanic had several pictures of both himself and his son racing it on various tracks. I also have an owner of a very large independant local motorcycle dealership who could vouch that the two bikes are one and the same(the mechanic worked for that dealership when I bought the bike from him).
Also…what SHOULD I do? I don’t want to tip my hand too early if the mechanic is screwing me, but I probably need him if it really was stolen to help prove ownership.
edit-this is in FL. Also, I still have several spare parts for the bike I’ve held onto over the years, including a complete second set of race fairings. It’s not like the dealer sold CBR600s, in that every black one looks alike. It was a completely white CBR 600 F2 with a built F3 motor, so it’s pretty much one of a kind.