View Full Version : 7x5 plate and the Law?
One of the downsides of working night shifts is you tend to spend a bit of time on Ebay half asleep and making questionable purchases.
My bike came with some ghey Red Dragon and letters in some extinct language on the number plate so I decided to get one of those cheap show plates off ebay.
I ordered 7" x 5" as there was a 8x6 on there before so I though, what difference is an inch either side??
Anyway it came through the post today and it looks a lot smaller than I was expecting.
So I know this plate isn't technically legal but is it worth putting on the bike? Am I likely to get pulled by every do-nut muncher I pass? Will it pass the MOT?
If I do get stopped what are the usual penalties?
Cheers.
SoulKiss
09-03-12, 03:01 PM
The only person that got pulled on AR10 was for a too small number plate.
It wont get you through an MOT
Penalties are a £60 donation to the local Police Force, and probably the inconvenience of having to produce your documents at a station.
No points tho.
If it was me i wouldn't fit it. All its going to do is draw more attention to you from plod giving them a reason to pull you over and possibly finding other things wrong with your bike
kiggles
09-03-12, 03:06 PM
i have been tempted to get the same size plate, as on certain bikes still looks legal (in my opinion). but i do agree if you have a noisey exhaust and a small number plate your asking for trouble.
so i went for the noisy exhaust only option. and everytime i pass a police officer i get the dirtiest looks you can imagine.
tigersaw
09-03-12, 03:18 PM
I have 7x5 on both trail bikes.
Pass MOT's OK.
Got pulled a while ago (for just being plain silly and using the verge as a road) and they had a good poke around and didn't mention it.
I reckon so long as it looks sensible you'll be ok.
hardhat_harry
09-03-12, 03:29 PM
My 7 x 5 plates pass MOTs and never had a problem
Well I already have the loud exhaust and normally ride with a black visor so there is plenty I can be pulled for if the copper is in a bad mood.
Just chucked it on. Here is the old one, still illegal in face probably more so as the font isn't standard and it has a honeycomb background but it's a bit larger.
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm308/mad-fish-willy/20120309_150736.jpg
And here is the new one. IMO the new one looks clearer. I'll stick with it for now. May get a standard size one if the paranoia get to me too much lol.
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm308/mad-fish-willy/20120309_152355.jpg
Oh and yes I know the back lights are rubbish and are held in place with tape! That's the next job.
Dicky Ticker
09-03-12, 04:08 PM
Your DOOMED--DOOMED I say
speedplay
09-03-12, 04:08 PM
Looks fine to me.
Rather than looking like a poof with that stupid dragon on the plate!
Luckypants
09-03-12, 04:38 PM
If you had gone for one without the border, it would look a bit bigger and be less likely to attract attention. But it looks fine to me but I ride a bike....
SoulKiss
09-03-12, 04:40 PM
Looks fine to me.
Rather than looking like a poof with that stupid dragon on the plate!
+1 - didn't say I didn't like the look :)
Tho I am sure that font you have for the second line is illegal :p
Oh and as well as being too small it doesn't have the makers details on it, so technically it isn't a number plate.
Which means that they can do you for not displaying a registration plate, ehich if you get caught a number of times, the DVLA will de-issue the number, meaning you will have to apply for a "Q" plate, which will make the bike next to impossible to sell.
SoulKiss
09-03-12, 04:44 PM
Looks fine to me.
Rather than looking like a poof with that stupid dragon on the plate!
Its "Puff the Magic Dragon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZuvq4Ziw34)", not Poof...
+1 - didn't say I didn't like the look :)
Tho I am sure that font you have for the second line is illegal :p
Oh and as well as being too small it doesn't have the makers details on it, so technically it isn't a number plate.
Which means that they can do you for not displaying a registration plate, ehich if you get caught a number of times, the DVLA will de-issue the number, meaning you will have to apply for a "Q" plate, which will make the bike next to impossible to sell.
What do you mean by makers details?
SoulKiss
09-03-12, 05:35 PM
What do you mean by makers details?
Name and postcode of the place that made the plate
Red Herring
09-03-12, 05:48 PM
Technically it's illegal but there are worse out there and it's not going to be a top priority for the copper, unless you motivate him sufficiently....
Should you be so unfortunate then it's a £60 FPN, no points. Some coppers still like to rollout the old VDRS scheme for number plates which means you have to get your bike "checked" at an MOT station and the form stamped. Technically they can't do this AND give you an FPN, but some are ignorant twerps....
Don't worry about the DVLA. Unless it's a cherished number plate that you have altered to say something it isn't they are not going to withdraw it. Even if you had it's the devils work to actually get them to do it, trust me I've tried often enough.....
And who said something about trail bikes.....don't you now they are a law unto themselves?
I did the same as you for my curvy and got a 7x5 thinking it'd be fine. As soon as it arrived in the post I ordered an 8x6! 7x5 looked obviously smaller than standard, whereas my 8x6 seems to be ok and has passed MOTs with it on. Incidentally I bought a 8x6 off ebay that was advertised as being road legal including the makers details etc. when it turned up it did have the makers details bs number and postcode etc, BUT also printed on the bottom of it was the words "Not to be used as a numberplate" Go figure that one :confused:
Dicky Ticker
09-03-12, 06:13 PM
Someone has yet to show me a law or rule that defines the outer dimensions of a number plate --- The part legally defined is font and spacing plus reflective quality and the name of who manufactured it --- so if it meets those criteria your in
Think of the numberplate they fit to a Rover 75 it fills in the whole space on the boot but it is legal
With regard to size there is an old car that ran about Muswell Hill and Hornsey with the reg no. H 1 and you had to have a double take to see the number plate
it was so small but was legal
Red Herring
09-03-12, 06:17 PM
Someone has yet to show me a law or rule that defines the outer dimensions of a number plate --- The part legally defined is font and spacing plus reflective quality and the name of who manufactured it --- so if it meets those criteria your in
Think of the numberplate they fit to a Rover 75 it fills in the whole space on the boot but it is legal
With regard to size there is an old car that ran about Muswell Hill and Hornsey with the reg no. H 1 and you had to have a double take to see the number plate
it was so small but was legal
So true, but I bet you can't fit the OP's numbers and letters legally onto a 7x5....
Don't think I have ever had a car or bike with the makers name and postcode on it it's normally just the dealer's name or blank.
dan9878
09-03-12, 07:49 PM
I have had a 7x5 since July 2010 and never been stopped. Attended a biksafe course and it wasn't mentioned so I doubt they were bothered.
Tell a lie, just looked on my car and there it is. Never noticed that before I obviously don't clean it enough!
andrewsmith
09-03-12, 08:57 PM
To put this in as a question/ what I've been told by a plate maker.
I've got a reduced size plate made and it works you to be 6.8x6.5 and is still legal through the plate sequence (*411 C*R).
Red Herring
09-03-12, 09:02 PM
Here are the figures, you do the maths. Remember it has to be on two lines.
Character Height 64 mm
Character Width (except the figure 1 or letter I) 44 mm
Character stroke 10 mm
Space between characters 10 mm
Space between groups 30 mm
Top, bottom, and side margins (minimum) 11 mm
Space between vertical lines 13 mm
andrewsmith
09-03-12, 09:07 PM
Yep
Mine's perfectly legal according to that RH
Red Herring
09-03-12, 09:17 PM
Slightly oversize actually.....
andrewsmith
09-03-12, 09:20 PM
touche
Shame the last 3 wern't CRF, it would be worth something
After fitting LED indys, I felt the standard sized plate slightly obscured my turn signal from a car drivers point of view. So I thought that, although not strictly legal, I'd go for a smaller sized plate (7x5.5) to make sure the indicator could be seen better. Can always swap back for MOT time.
Before
http://forums.sv650.org/picture.php?albumid=921&pictureid=5982
after
http://forums.sv650.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=10461&stc=1&d=1331334227
The Essex traffic love number plates.Got a £60 slap on the wrist for no post code.
Not me driving it (car) Xmas ,and an MIB one .
Dicky Ticker
10-03-12, 08:56 AM
I have had a slightly smaller plate for donkeys years and never had a problem but I will add it only has six digits.
the thing they got confused on with mine was the MIB read it as M 113 ????plonkers
Here are the figures, you do the maths. Remember it has to be on two lines.
Character Height 64 mm
Character Width (except the figure 1 or letter I) 44 mm
Character stroke 10 mm
Space between characters 10 mm
Space between groups 30 mm
Top, bottom, and side margins (minimum) 11 mm
Space between vertical lines 13 mm
3. A registration plate obviously displaying a honeycomb or similar effect background.
A registration plate with a. characters width, stroke width, not of equal width along their entire length or incorrectly spaced
b. a character not correctly formed, sloping, or likely to be misread
c. any feature that has the effect of changing the appearance or legibility of any of the characters, so that the true identity of the vehicle is less easily established
d. characters formed using a font which is not substantially similar to the prescribed font e. characters formed using broken or multiple strokes
f. characters laid out in an incorrect format
g. a margin obviously less than the minimum requirement
h. a non-reflective border obviously wider than permitted or positioned too close to the characters
Thats the complete law as it stands at the moment.
I doubt Most traffic will know it that well.
-Ralph-
10-03-12, 09:26 AM
As said it's not the plate size but the letter size, font and spacing. With that in mind and the amount of space the dragon and flags were taking up on your 8x5 plate, I'd say that one was illegal anyway, so you are no worse off.
I have a plate similar to your original (no silly dragons, just a Euro GB plate) on my XT600 bought before my Portugal trip last year, and the MOT tester just said that technically it was a fail, but he could read it clearly from a distance so he wasn't going to worry about it.
Obviously up to you if you want to take the risk, but IMHO, it's not a big risk.
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