If I lived within 250 miles of you I'd offer you $400 as is & come get it. It looks like it would be good for a project I have in mind.

Sadly, it is way too far away for me. :'(

So after a few setbacks, I was finally able to pick up the bike before the scrappers got to it. The pictures, as promised:

http://imgur.com/a/fd80G#JJUJfq9

After a lot of legwork today, I figured out that the bike is not stolen, it was never wrecked and it hasn't been registered for over 5 years, therefore no record of it exists at DMV. I was told by my mechanic that if I can get it running and worthy of a rebuild, I should take it to to Vermont  (about an hour from me) and request a title and registration there, as the laws are not nearly as strict as NY.

As you can see, the bike is in fair-poor condition, but everything vital is there. After a surface inspection, I know that the front caliper is seized, there is small blotches of rust on the inside of the tank, petcock is permanently frozen in prime, there is still oil in the pan (a little under half of the window when held at 90), kickstand is bent in an odd position and lots of other things you would expect from a bike sitting outside for many years. On the plus side, the bike was stored behind two large brick buildings in a corner, which I think might have prevented the damage from being worse. Anywho, there's a lot on my plate.

So there it is, my friends. Where should I start?

Hey PJ she's a weather worn stock bike but still FREE!

I'd say before anything else just get her running to see if she's worth starting as a full on project or possibly just a parts/donor bike.  Drain the oil and check it for any water or anything winky, if that looks ok then I would pull the carb and clean it out and hook up a temporary gas tank/can just to feed the carb and hook the battery up from your other scoot check for spark and then try to start her  

Before I put much time in the tank, as long as theyre not so bad that theyd choke up a filter. get it running,,

I'm no mechanic and the oil level check should be done with warm oil, however, you do have oil there. If you do fire it up don't add more than about half a US pint, you will soon be draining it anyway. As far as the tank goes, I suggest removing the tank and petcock, sealing up the petcock outlet putting in about a gallon of petrol and shaking the tank vigorously. Hopefully this will dissolve the crud. You can the drain the tank and filter the petrol into a suitable container and re use it to repeat the process several times. This may not be ideal but you do mention budgetary considerations.

TheSavagePJ wrote on 06/05/13 at 07:19:57:

We can move this to the RSD if you like... or you can start a new one,.. your choice... ...