ok dumbass, know what you're talking about before you post.
if he says oh, i did some work for him that's fine, but there is a VALUE to that work, and that is what he "paid" for the bike and therefore it must be taxed.
Its just the same as if I traded cars with you and they were two 100% equal cars worth $10,000. Fine and dandy, no cash exchanged. But the law states you MUST pay sales tax on that $10,000. I hate the law but it is what it is.
Secondly, sure its hard to get busted for it, but not impossible. The auditor will mail a letter to both parties, not the notary because that'd be retarded, and both of the stories must not only be the same but they must make reasonable sense.
Reasonable as in no one in their right mind would "gift" a $7500 bike or whatever it is to some other person. A dad giving it to their son, sure maybe, but not Joe Schmoe to Dick Johnson, not really.
Just saying, it is POSSIBLE to get busted for this and you not only have to pay WHATEVER sales tax on the value the STATE decides (even if you paid $4800 for it and book value was $7k, they'd charge it based on the $7k) plus fees and potential misdemeanor charges.
The above is generally not worth it for a couple hundred in sales tax.
edit: sry that was rude of me but its been a rough day and i hate when people talk about things they know nothing about, its a pet peeve. carry on and ignore me.