The parts stash actually included two of the pipes, one correct and one later version. The kicker - it was take the whole stash (Three roller frames w/o titles, 6-7 big plastic bins of parts, a pile of pipes and tanks, and a bunch of other related stuff. A good price was negotiated, and my truck and trailer were filled to the brim with parts.
The other kicker was NO TITLES on any of the rollers. What to do? Called my buddy in Law Enforcement who ran all of my untitled Hodaka frames to assure they were not listed anywhere (NCIC) as stolen which they weren't. The Wombat, however, had been titled in Washington (my state) and he got me the contact info of the last registered owner. A search on Google and Facebook yielded the fellow who is now retired in Idaho, and he was more than happy to sign off on a lost title transfer! Woo Hoo!
But it gets better! When he sold the bike it had a holed piston. It also was licensed as a collector bike here. So at the DMV, all I had was a small excise tax, transfer fees and a new plate fee and I will have a collector plate probably next week! Amazing. Because it was already in collector status, I didn't have to pay the usual first year registration before converting to collector! I don't often leave the DMV smiling and still have money in the checking account!
The motor has already been done with all new bearings and seals, new fresh bore, new piston, renewed ignition, and I should have that back in hand in the next week. I'll post up build documentation when I get moving forward on it.
Victor
Rock and a hard place for sure!