Did I miss it or did the OP ever mention where the rest of the bike is?

 

To end the paper trail, it's implied the frame has been cut up and thrown away.

 

It sucks to have the engine and no paperwork to show a contractural agreement with a passed individual (whom likely had no authority to transfer title).
There is no way to establish dominion with only physical possession (and no title).
As mentioned, a call to the estate, one to the lien holder 15 minutes max you will know if you can "own" this piece. Not mentioned is the potential for other title issues (tax/registration) that may need cleared up.

 

This really is a moot point ... the OP ( no disrespect intended ) knew ( should have ) that he was skating on thin ice purchasing something that doesn't have clear ownership enumerated in the paperwork.

 

 

Without more details from the OP, here's the story I made up in my mind:

The original owner of the bike had the bike damaged (accident) with no insurance to fix it. he/she then started parting out the bike to recoup or make payment on what is still owed. The OP bought the engine (or was making payments on it) when the original owner died before the OP had it paid in full and there was money owed on the bike.

OP now has a motor that he doesn't own and the estate has a bike/partial bike that money is owed on (unless they had insurance coverage to pay off bike in case of death). Looks like a bad situation that the OP got hosed on. Learn from mistakes.

 

I believe the OP said he was making payments on a bike,(see post #5) not just the engine or trans. In any event, with your powers of deduction would you mind taking a look at this bump on my ankle?

 

I'm assuming this is a Mechanic's Lien. (There's a stretch, eh?) A lien is a legal process. It has to be filed and recorded (usually) at the county clerk's office.

If you don't know who filed the lien, (the "lienholder"), then you need to find out, because the first thing you need to do is: Talk. To. The. Lienholder.

It doesn't matter what the DMV or anybody else tells you, the lienholder has you by the shorthairs. Pay it off or give him back his stuff. Do NOT attempt to sell the drivetrain parts to anybody else without both informing them of the lien, and deducting the remaining payoff of the lien from the sales price.

Or this could get really ugly.

 

Well first the bike is an asset to the estate. The lein is a liability to the estate. The estate has to be settled before the heirs can inherit the assets. If the estate is healthy, has liquid assets then the lien can be settled and the bike can be sold.
Since the OP was buying the bike and making payments he has a claim on the bike that is now part of the estate, so he has a claim to part of the estate.
Depending on his paperwork, (proof of payment, contract) this will determine if the probate judge will honor it or not.
The most important part is whether the estate is healthy or not. Since the bike had a loan I would imagine the deceased was not wealthy.
In this case the assets need to be sold and then the liabilities are taken care of, sometimes cents on the dollars.
First thing I would do is go and talk to the trustees of the estate or the administrator of the will, then go and talk to the loan holder.
Chances are neither of them want the bike, they just want their money, and the estate settled.
The OP can file a claim to his part of the estate, however when he goes into probate court he is going to be surrounded by lawyers, bank, estate, and of course the judge is one also.
The probate hearing will be announced in the paper under the legal sections asking if anyone has a claim against the estate.
However like I have said several times, it would be much better to talk to the heirs and the lien holder and work out an agreement, and let them suggest it to the probate court/judge.

 

This sounds like a total mess. And I would hope, that in the end, it all gets worked out. I doubt we will ever hear how it comes out, but I would like to know.