A neighbor kid found a scooter, a mini-bike, in the woods. He called
the police to report it, but and a patrol car came out soon after, but
the cop said that since it didn't have a VIN, they weren't really
interested, implied he could have it, and left without it. I offered
to help him fix it up.

Does anyone here have experience with a 50cc or so scooter?

1) Is the VIN under a panel somewhere? The bike is street-legal but
without a VIN it will be harder to get plates.

2) Will it start without a battery?

3) How hard is it to remove the gas cap without a drill. (It's a
locking gas cap, can you believe it?)

4) Where is the Engine Stop switch.

5) Do I want a lead acid battery or sealed lead acid? The latter is
a gel, that doesn't have the output, right?

6) In what way does it have neutral gear? The owner's manual** or
something refers to neutral gear, but there is no gear shift. Perhaps
there is something internal that puts it in neutral when the engine is
at idle. Get this: it has an automatic transmission.

So, the instructions say to keep one's hand on the brake when starting
it. Is that only because something not standard might make the engine
race, which would put it in gear?

**(The reapir manual is very good, but it's sort of a composite of
past, present and future models. For example, the manual also refers
in the schematic to an Emergency Stop Switch but in the sketch of
where the parts are, there's no reference to such a switch, and all
the switches are accounted for.)