I found a dirt cheap 'parts' bike with no title.  Looks like it is definitely a fixeruper but am wondering about what expense is involved in getting a title for it?  I  live in PA

First, run the VIN to make sure it's clean. Then try to get hold of the original owner and see if they will transfer the title (they will probably have to apply for a lost title first). If the original owner is no help for whatever reason, you can try to get a mechanics lien on it. Basically you take the bike to a shop, don't pay the bill, and they get a new title for the bike, then sell it back to you.

Could cost you anywhere from $100 to quite a bit more.

Get a bill of sale (CYA) for it. Like Rich said check the vin- see if you can find the last owner of it and try and get a title that way (Maybe buy them a steak dinner for their troubles on top  of paying for the replacement title). If that fails  you can file for an abandoned vehicle title...(dunno whats involved in PA..only in MD-lots of hoops, forms and fees). Mechanics lien if you know someone at a shop that can do it for you ( You may have to have an actual business to do that.....?).

Or Buy a titled frame and swap it all over.

Like others have said, first you would need to get a notarized bill of sale from the seller.  That can help protect you if the bike turns out to be stolen.  Then you will want to check with PennDOT and the local state police. The state police will tell you if the vehicle has been stolen and PennDOT can tell you whether or not the vehicle has a title in the state. If the vehicle has a title in the state and was sold legally the task is simple. You just have to track down the title holder and get the owner to sign it over to you. That is assuming the original owner still has it. If not you will have to have the original owner request a duplicate version from the Department of Transportation. It is at least good etiquette if nothing else to pay the fees involved.

However, if no title is found and it turns out not to be stolen after all the process is complicated and PennDOT happens to be picky about the paper work being filled out correctly. Even if the vehicle is brand new, you will have to apply for a Reconstructed title. It costs $22.30 and you should have the bill of sale along with the receipts for any parts you may have purchased for it. It may be necessary to obtain a statement from the prothonotary in your county that recognizes you as the legitimate legal owner of the vehicle. Once that is done and you have the proper inspection, send the paperwork in through a notary or if possible, through your state representative who can expedite the process.

If you would rather not do the legal paperwork yourself there are Internet companies that can obtain a title for you but the price can range anwyhere from 100 to 300 dollars.

Hope that helps   

-Jessie

I'd just buy it and part it out. Dealing with AAA or Penndot is a nightmare haha. My wife picked up 2 mopeds for us 2 years ago. They're easy to get titles for if you have a bill of sale from ohio because people don't need titles for them there. She went to AAA twice, did the same thing, her title showed up 2 months later, but they kept screwing with me on mine. Even though I paid them $99 to do it for me, they kept trying to get more stuff from me, and having me push it to mechanics to have mechanics fill out VIN identification forms, papers kept coming back from harrisburg. Eventually they noticed they overcharged me for a motorcycle registration, so that's what harrisburg was confused about, they refused to answer their phone or return any of the million messages I left, then they'd send ME a letter saying I haven't responded to their attempts to contact me and they're giving up. I'm about ready to smash their window. 

I wish I lived in a state where all you had to do was hand someone cash and have them sign the title over to you right there and you can go on your ways.

This is a cheap place to run the VIN for $3.50:
http://www.checkthatvin.com/stc/

There is a national insurance VIN site that is free. Though it only tells you if it is stolen or reported as a total loss, it does help. It is mentioned somewhere on this site or on PNWriders.com

Find other places by googling FREE VIN REPORT

Check the VIN then you can decide what direction to go.

PS: Most places do ANY VIN - car, bike or whatever. A VIN is a VIN is a VIN. Enter the VIN and most say they do have a report on that VIN before you pay the fee or they don't charge you if they have no report on that VIN.

A bike without a title is just a collection of parts that happen to be fastened together, and should be priced that way. Unless you are buying an older bike from a state that doesn't issue titles for vehicles over a certain age. I just bought a 79 GS750 from a guy in New Hampshire, where they don't issue titles for vehicles over 15 years old. The local title bureau told me what I would need before I went to pick it up. If the bike should have a title, I wouldn't deal with it unless the seller was going to price it to compensate me for the hassles of dealing with his inability to put his title where he can find it.