Modern Buddy

Posted: **Sun Mar 16, 2014 2:14 am**

So, someone 'abandoned' a HD near me this morning.

We called the authorities, who showed up, said it wasn't reported stolen, and then said they'd impound it. I figured it wasn't reported since it hadn't been missing long.

Later this evening they called and said they were full at impound, so they weren't going to grab it.

I wheeled it onto our lot and put a spare cover on it, took a picture, put it on 'lost' on the local CL.

It was sold in '11, and then apparently it sat in a garage. brake lever/master cylinder is beat up, and some scratches, but otherwise seems in good shape. Gas is liquid, spiders in the exhaust. Ignition wasn't tampered with.

I hope it finds it's home, otherwise I guess I'll do a title check and see what the deal is.

Life is strange....

Posted: **Mon Mar 17, 2014 3:23 pm**

Not a peep other than someone telling me I was a good person for posting it!

I guess I'll wait out the week and then look at starting the salvage process.

Posted: **Mon Mar 17, 2014 3:24 pm**

You've given me a t-shirt, a MB patch, and I guess I'll take the Harley as well.

Posted: **Mon Mar 17, 2014 3:53 pm**

RoaringTodd wrote:You've given me a t-shirt, a MB patch, and I guess I'll take the Harley as well.

I don;t think it will fit in my standard shipping boxes...

funny, a lot of people said "well, I would take it!"

Of course you would! Now, since I have reported it, and my name is attached to it, but it's not MINE to sell....

I also have not 1 clue what may be wrong with it. The fluids are still liquid and clear. My best guess is the previous owner bought it but didnt' register/plate it, and it did a ton of sitting.

Posted: **Mon Mar 17, 2014 11:55 pm**

There is some way to claim and take ownership of abandoned vehicles. It varies by state. You may have to take out some kind of lien.

So what kinda Harley is it? And how did you know it was abandoned?

Posted: **Tue Mar 18, 2014 12:54 pm**

ericalm wrote:There is some way to claim and take ownership of abandoned vehicles. It varies by state. You may have to take out some kind of lien.

So what kinda Harley is it? And how did you know it was abandoned?

Looking into all the details now. I'm not 100% sure it's abandoned, trying to find the owner. However it was wheeled out and discarded without being tampered with, which just seems odd to me.

It's a very stock Roasdster 1200. A decent workhorse piece of iron from reviews.

Knowing some officers, I'm going to keep working the system to see if it anyone is missing it. The local PD knows I have it. They claimed they were going to impound it, then didn't. When I called again to follow up, they were like "we'll call you if someone reports it."

I can't begin to imagine how much of a hassle it would be to claim it, but if nothing comes of it after a time I'll figure it out.

Posted: **Tue Mar 18, 2014 2:41 pm**

skully93 wrote:
ericalm wrote:It's a very stock Roasdster 1200. A decent workhorse piece of iron from reviews.
Ah, a Roadster. What year is it? IIRC there were three, make that four, versions of that bike, all with dual front disks. There was an 883R with the frame-mount motor. Then there was an 883R with the rubber-mounted motor. Then there was a 1200R with a carb and a medium-sized gas tank. Finally, there was a 1200R with the large gas tank (from the Custom, but painted with an inverted swoosh) and fuel injection. They only made the FI version for one year, 2008. That's what I had.

Posted: **Tue Mar 18, 2014 4:59 pm**

'05. it has a choke and fuel on/off so it's carbed.

Posted: **Tue Mar 18, 2014 6:46 pm**

Think it's possible the owner got pulled over/arrested and the bike left behind? Seems odd for a bike like that to just be left on the side of the road.

Posted: **Tue Mar 18, 2014 7:50 pm**

Syd wrote:Think it's possible the owner got pulled over/arrested and the bike left behind? Seems odd for a bike like that to just be left on the side of the road.

I have no idea what it is, but the police must have some standard procedure and paperwork for vehicles they cause to be abandoned by the side of the road. At the least they'd have a record of the incident: police departments live on paperwork.

Posted: **Tue Mar 18, 2014 8:10 pm**

That makes it a frame-mount 883, I think. Most of the 883Rs I've ever seen were orange plus the graphics, but I'm pretty sure they also came in black. Other than the fact that it's abandoned, does it appear to be undamaged/unmolested?

Posted: **Tue Mar 18, 2014 9:44 pm**

jrsjr wrote:That makes it a frame-mount 883, I think. Most of the 883Rs I've ever seen were orange plus the graphics, but I'm pretty sure they also came in black. Other than the fact that it's abandoned, does it appear to be undamaged/unmolested?

It's a roaster 1200 (says so by vin too).

It wasn't by the road, it was by the dumpster

.

There are some scratches, and the upper levers are a bit beat up. It wasn't laid down, but rather it looks like someone took a key or something and scratched it. The ignition and tires are fine, plugs are good, and the liquids look fairly fresh.

Otherwise I'm not sure what the exact procedure is. The CO dept of revenue says "anything that's been sitting on public/private property for 48 hours". Other sites say the police MUST impound it, and if no one claims it you can try to buy it for the fees, which would equal 3x the value of the bike after about a week.

I have some feelers out with some law enforcement peeps, so we'll see.

Posted: **Wed Mar 19, 2014 12:43 am**

skully93 wrote:
jrsjr wrote:That makes it a frame-mount 883, I think. Most of the 883Rs I've ever seen were orange plus the graphics, but I'm pretty sure they also came in black. Other than the fact that it's abandoned, does it appear to be undamaged/unmolested?
It's a roaster 1200 (says so by vin too).

It wasn't by the road, it was by the dumpster .

There are some scratches, and the upper levers are a bit beat up. It wasn't laid down, but rather it looks like someone took a key or something and scratched it. The ignition and tires are fine, plugs are good, and the liquids look fairly fresh.

Otherwise I'm not sure what the exact procedure is. The CO dept of revenue says "anything that's been sitting on public/private property for 48 hours". Other sites say the police MUST impound it, and if no one claims it you can try to buy it for the fees, which would equal 3x the value of the bike after about a week.

I have some feelers out with some law enforcement peeps, so we'll see.

My bad! I thought they didn't start making the 1200 Roadster until 2006. Sorry about that. From your description of the paint, it sounds like somebody vandalized it intentionally. So, it has the "banner" style paint job on the tank like the photo below, right?

Posted: **Wed Mar 19, 2014 1:47 pm**

Yep! It's black and white.

Uploaded for your viewing pleasure....

Posted: **Wed Mar 19, 2014 3:13 pm**

skully93 wrote:Yep! It's black and white.

Uploaded for your viewing pleasure....

awww... did she find you or did you find her?

Posted: **Wed Mar 19, 2014 3:21 pm**

doesn't show the dumpster to the right

. The entrance to our 'lot' is to the left.

I have to plate both my hondas today, I'll inquire if they know anything about abandoned vehicles.

Posted: **Thu Mar 20, 2014 1:11 am**

My first guess was that this bike was stolen from someone's storage unit or seasonal home. They don't know it's gone. I'm surprised the police have not been able to determine who it belongs to. It shouldn't have to be 'reported stolen' for them to be able to determine who owns it. I hope you will be able to return it to its owner.
Just a thought, but if the police don't care, your friendly local HD dealer might be able to help determine if the bike has an owner in their system.

Posted: **Thu Mar 20, 2014 12:43 pm**

pattio wrote:My first guess was that this bike was stolen from someone's storage unit or seasonal home. They don't know it's gone. I'm surprised the police have not been able to determine who it belongs to. It shouldn't have to be 'reported stolen' for them to be able to determine who owns it. I hope you will be able to return it to its owner.
Just a thought, but if the police don't care, your friendly local HD dealer might be able to help determine if the bike has an owner in their system.

I'm actually working on contacting the original owner, to see if they would be willing to share who it was sold to. If I can get a name maybe I can find them. Paperwork might also be under the seat but I don't have the key to get into it.

Posted: **Thu Mar 20, 2014 2:48 pm**

skully93 wrote:
pattio wrote:My first guess was that this bike was stolen from someone's storage unit or seasonal home. They don't know it's gone. I'm surprised the police have not been able to determine who it belongs to. It shouldn't have to be 'reported stolen' for them to be able to determine who owns it. I hope you will be able to return it to its owner.
Just a thought, but if the police don't care, your friendly local HD dealer might be able to help determine if the bike has an owner in their system.
I'm actually working on contacting the original owner, to see if they would be willing to share who it was sold to. If I can get a name maybe I can find them. Paperwork might also be under the seat but I don't have the key to get into it.

Shouldn't DPD have run the plate and contacted the registered owner?

Posted: **Thu Mar 20, 2014 6:14 pm**

ravenlore wrote:
Shouldn't DPD have run the plate and contacted the registered owner?

It seems this person bought it and never registered/plated it, so the last known info was from the previous owner.

Posted: **Fri Mar 21, 2014 7:27 am**

You have the most interesting things happen to you.

Nice of you to go to all the effort to try to find who owns it. Most people would not have bothered.

Posted: **Fri Mar 21, 2014 8:48 am**

This is like those old stories of the abandoned baby at the doorstep. Who ever dropped it off was probably hoping you could find a good home for the 'orphaned child'. Too bad your so far away, that would be one sweet adoption.

On the lighter side I did find a quarter the other day

.

Posted: **Fri Mar 21, 2014 5:44 pm**

agrogod wrote:This is like those old stories of the abandoned baby at the doorstep. Who ever dropped it off was probably hoping you could find a good home for the 'orphaned child'. Too bad your so far away, that would be one sweet adoption.

Maybe if you moved to CO instead of NM you could work something out?

Posted: **Tue Apr 01, 2014 10:34 pm**

skully93 wrote:
jrsjr wrote:
It wasn't by the road, it was by the dumpster .

Hey now, I had to abandon my Buddy by a dumpster when the engine blew. Of course, I was back that night with the truck...

Eh, maybe a Harley rider just decided to stop being a sheep.

Modern Buddy

[NBR]Free Harley...

[NBR]Free Harley...