abandoned hunk of metal

[Zechariah]

STATE: Louisiana

"If you've ever mowed your lawn and found a car, you might be a redneck" -- Jeff Foxworthy.

Walking along my family's property, I found an old Honda CB360 motorcycle, mid-70's model. I don't need a CARFAX to tell me the history of this bike is that it got dumped in the woods after 11,305 miles, which was sometime before my parents bought the place in 1999. It's right on the property line, so either it was always there or it got moved a few feet off our land right before we bought it.

MY FIRST QUESTION IS: how would I go about turning this hunk of metal into my hunk of metal and eventually a street-legal rolling hunk of metal?

I have the VIN's off of it, so after a) figuring out the last owner and b) figuring out exactly whose land it's on, I know I should try to contact both the last owner and the property owner (if they're not the same person).

MY SECOND QUESTION IS: What else would I have to do if I cannot contact the aforementioned people?

Zechariah Brewer

[seniorjudge]

ZB, start with the folks who issues tags. They may give you some advice. Also, look for a lawyer who handles abandoned property cases. Maybe all you need is a declaratory judgment from a court stating that it's yours.

[CraigFL]

You might want to check with the local police to see if it's stolen. They also might be able to give you the name of the owner...