Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Call the police and report it stolen if she refuses to return it. Possession is not, as old wives-tales would have you believe, 9/10ths of the law, particularly when it comes to an asset such as a motorcycle which is titled through (in this case) Michgan DMV. Have the title, registration with you to show ownership.

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Nick, most likely the facts don't amount either to theft or extortion. Rather, it sounds more like a non-criminal, civil wrong - a tort - called "conversion." Conversion is a kind of aggravated trespass to personal property, in which the bad guy - the prospective defendant - wrongly treats someone else's property as though it were his own, for a significant period of time or to a significant extent, and thus seriously interferes with the owner's property interests.

In a successful lawsuit for conversion, the plaintiff's damages are the full value the property had at the highest value during its improper detention, plus reimbursement for your time and money spent pursuing your property (but excluding attorney fees), and if the conversion is done with malice, the jury may award punitive damages.

I would suggest telling the lady you will be retaining an attorney immediately on arrival in California for the purpose of preparing and filing a complaint for the conversion of the bike, and asking its full market value plus costs and punitive damages.

If she doesn't cough it up, follow through on your threat.

The simple way to deal with it is to have a cop with you when you show up. Most police depts will arrange for a "civil standby," when someone advises them they will be going to confront someone about a non-criminal matter. If you show up with poof of ownership and a cop, chances are VERY good you will leave with the bike and the cop will tell her to sue you if she thinks she has the right.