Number plates
 

Guys,

I have a hamicad tail tidy. I wish to get a smaller plate fitted. Maybe a 8"x6" or a 7"x5". Has any of you guys had any problems with the plod with either of these plates fitted. Also do you know any good sites that will make them?

Funnilly enough, I got stopped today in a random roadworthiness thing (which curiously enough was randomly stopping every bike that passed.) my slightly-wee plate with its legal size letters got me a stern telling off, luckily the Not For Road Use on the can is under the can protector and I was wearing a legal visor...

I think they would have done me if there'd been anything funtional wrong with the bike- they were right down to checking E-marks on my indicators! But it's in good nick just now, so I was merely Warned. The guy behind me with the highly dodgy 750 SRAD, on the other hand, was not just gettign warned at all, oh no.

i got done in scotland the ohter week 30 quid fine for a one line number plate,i think i would of got off with it if i wasnt doing 65 in a 40 though :shock: ...at least they were kind enough to give me a choice of being done for the plate or speeding...that would be the points free plate then please sir

good question . .

I've just taken delivery of my Hamicad tail thingybob majiggie . . na d get my new seat cowl Tuesday and I'd also like to know what we can get away with . .

what is the minimum legal size?

What can you get away with?

I'm happy to have visible / normal writing etc, but want to get rid of the big plate!

Also, what are the legal requirement for a number plate?
Apparently we need some reflector or something below the plate?

You need a reflector below the plate? I've never had a bike (admitidly this is only my second...) that had a reflector below the plate - or anywhere to put the reflectors...

Stu

:offtopic:

EEK Northwind

Hadn't thought that the non standard indicators my bike came with might not be E marked

What will plod do if they stop me an check?

Who knows? A strict MOTer can fail you for it, I think, so i guess a badtempered policeman could do the same. Most of the Motrax ons are now e-marked, which is nice- the small flushmounts have the mark now.

I doubt it'd ever even be noticed unless they want to do you for something, and can't find anything else.

My double bubble doesn't have one either. I dunno if those DVLA checks = fines? or correction notification?

try this

http://www.malplates.co.uk/law.html

Do screens need an E-mark? Neither of mine have... I think we're getting a bit paranoid :)

The original has one. Personally if something hits the windscreen hard enough to break it I'd be worrying about other matters.

Hi
I fitted my Hammicad tail last weekend (can post pics if you want a before and after).

Original plate = 9" by 7", currently fitted a 7" by 5.5" which is tastefully smaller, and with a nice slogan, from Malplates

I grind my way into central London and back everyday, and haven't had any trouble yet, despite passing lots of coppers.

If you take the p*** with a really small plate then you are asking for trouble :lol:

Mr Toad, can you post some pics please? Im thinking of getting in touch with Malplates and have a nice shadow design I want on my plate but not sure on the size of plate to go for. Dont want to take the mickey and be getting pulled every 5 mins.

Whats their service like? How quick did it arrive?

I'd recommend Craigsplates, I ordered the plates at 8pm on a saturday and got them on the monday... Despite having an unneccesarily fiddly order. Both were absolutely spot on, and came out exactly how I wanted them. They seema bit more flexible than Malplates as well, ie, they don't object at all to the legal font on a small plate, which Malplates do (at least on their website anyway)

(no offence intended mate but,)
Why would you want an illegal font in the first place? Getting it smaller to look smarter i can agree with but to mess with the rest of it is just asking for trouble. (if you can get away with it, then fine, a big :thumbsup: to you, but personally i don't see the attraction) i suppose its just me, i have never seen the attraction to have fluffy ears on your helmet...maybe i am just going sane.. :lol:

OK. I have fitted my Hamicad, and now I am sure I need a smaller plate!
I have a normal 7 digit number! How small do you reckon I can go without gettnig pulled constantly?

Anyone out there got a small plate and been pulled / not pulled for it?

You misunderstood, MALplates make a big deal on their website of not making small plates with the official, legal font, while Craigsplates are quite happy to do it- so I've got the official, legal font on a small plate. See?

*passes northwind the shovel* :lol:

:wink:

Just playing wiv ya :lol:

The legal sizes for 7 digit plates are 9.5 x 6.5 inches... (quoted from MALplates)

Off the record, it depends alot on the copper that pulls you, alot probably have no idea what the sizes should be, unless it is ridiculously small and all the digits are all on one line....if its a traffic bod or a biker then you could expect them to take the ruler out and measure it (no funny comments please). at the end of the day you take the risk, if you can get away with it then so beit, if you don't hold your hands up (fair cop)

Hey Northwind, what size are your plates then?

I don't want a massive reduction in size, possibly just an inch narrower should do it. Its just if I don't fit a smaller plate, it either has to sit too low, or it cover my indicators ever so slightly?

What did Craigs Plates do? Just keep the lettering closer together?
I figure, if I simply eliminate the borders and get the writing a tiny bit closer together the fit should be perfect!

The wee one (which just says SV650.org on, with a ghost image and a slogan) is 6x4, which is prety damn small... IMHO it actually looks too small on a bike, just looks a bit odd. (one line plates always look totally weird to me as well)

The one I use day to day is 7 x 5 1/2. I reckon that's a good balance, not so tiny that it looks like I'm trying to make it hard to read, but small enough to look good on the bike. Keeps the right proportions as well.

The text is around 4/5s of the normal size, to keep it in proportion to the plate, and retained the slogan, border, and my modified nationality tag (SCO, of course, a little saltire and the North Wind symbol from a mah jong set). I think he said they could put the text on full size, but that it would look very crowded and lose all the other details.

Tastefully small :) have some images:

http://server5.uploadit.org/files/no...d-svsplate.jpg

(6x4 plate)

http://server5.uploadit.org/files/no...-fromerear.jpg

(rather crap picture of the other plate)

If you want small number plates, you could always move to Belgium :P

oops

Hi, I'll post images tonight when I get home :roll:
Malplates produced the goods within the week, ie. ordered from their website on monday am, plate arrived friday morning. Service could be a bit improved - ie. I called them on the Weds to see if they'd got my order as I hadn't got a reply by email, but they had & it was all proceding OK.
I'm not sure what the font is, but it looks pretty much like the legal one, so I'm happy. The slogan at the bottom looks great as well :lol:

I initially scaled down the standard plate by 1/3, ie. converted 9*7 to be 6*4.5, thinking that this would be a reasonable reduction. WOW - when it turned up it was tiddly :shock:
So I ordered another at 7.5*5.5, and it looks great :lol:

I see people with 6*4.5 quite a lot around London (I believe Rictus has one this size :wink: , oh, er, fnar, fnar, etc), and also one liners - I would assume they don't get stopped too often or they would change plates, given the comparatively large numbers of coppers about in town.

From the DVLA website:
MOTORCYCLES AND TRICYCLES

* Motorcycles and tricycles registered after 1.9.2001 must only display a number plate at the rear of the vehicle.
* Motorcycles and tricycles registered before 1.9.2001 can display a number plate at the front but are not required to.
* The characters may be smaller e.g.

Character Height 64mm
Character Width 44mm
Character Stroke 10mm
Space between characters 10mm
Space between groups 30mm
Top, side & bottom margin 11mm
Space between vertical lines 13mm

* Motorcycles registered on or after 1 September 2001 must display a two-line number plate number plate. Motorcycles registered prior to the 1 September 2001 may display a three-line plate, but one-line plates are illegal, irrespective of the date of registration of the motorcycle.

Now that bit in bold means that I can have 3 lines..
Like:
SV
650
S
As me sv was reg'd on April 2001 as if I place the standard size plate on mine you can see my indicators (its just a little bit smaller than norm, need to get a ruler out to check). And it will work as a bit of a mud guard.. Looking at it though there is no requirement on the size of your plate just that it needs to be 2 lines with the correct spacing and size of the letters, this controls the plates size.

I think I'm maybe going to keep my snowplough on over the winter but am still not sure.

Are the characters legal sizing or did you scale them as well?
Whats the Spacing between the Character and bewtween the lines?
Is they much of a gap between the characters and the edge of the plate?

Here's the pics -

BEFORE


http://premium.uploadit.org/MrToad/Before.jpg




AFTER


http://premium.uploadit.org/MrToad/After.jpg

I have disguised the numberplate :roll:
You can't quite make out the slogan on the After pic, but it says MR TOAD in blue :lol:
I've just measured it and it is definately 7.5 by 5.5 :D

I think it looks much better - no point having that designer rear end, and then spoilign it with a huge shapeless lump of plastic. Removing the snowshovel has resulted in muck from the road spraying up and onto the pillion seat - noticably 'gritty' after the appalling weather last week, which included motorway and round town riding. But I have to say I haven't noticed it hitting me, so don't believe it's going to be a problem throughout the rest of the winter - it can't get any worse :lol:

I've got some smaller Motrax indicators, but ran out of time last weekend, so will hopefully fit them this coming weekend - they have spade connectors, so I guess I'll have to solder them to the Suzuki connectors.

Next month - the can gets the chop 8)

Yep - looks miles better. Will be the next mod I think, along with removing the pillion seat and grabrail.

Yep, Seat Cowl is on order as we speak

(I'm not sure what costs more - the bike, or Mrs Toad + 3 kids :shock: )

The question isnt what costs more, thats obvious, but what gives you more pleasure :?: :wink:

Mr Toad,

I must say that i do like the rear end after the mod (leave myself wide open...oops there i go again..oh and again.. :oops: )

Anyhow, what is it and how easy it is to fit and most importantly how much is it?


On a small point, you need to fit a reflector...thats all your missing.


Regards

Fraser :D

It's a Hamicad - see www.Hamicad.co.uk

I got it as a deal that included radiator covers - whole lot was £105
If you check out the main page of the site, I think they give a discount to forum members (I found out too late :cry: )
I've got the reflector - I'm going to fix it to the bottom of the plate as soon as i can get some of that Sikaflex stuff.
It's quite easy to fit - comes with decent instructions, although I did find a few extra poppers that needed to come out, and you have to bend/struggle with the undertray a bit - my hugger was getting in the way
It needs a bit of silicon sealant between it and the undertray to make it waterproof, and it helps if you connect the indicators correctly . . . :oops: . . . as I eventually did :lol:

If you're going on Viney's end of season rideout you can check it out

Thankyou Mr Toad, your a gent :wink:

I bought an 8x6 from http://www.impactshowplates.co.uk for a tenner. Ordered Saturday, delivered Tuesday. Font is almost identical to legal font - I think one of the letters was ever so slightly different but only noticed because I was specifically checking the typeface.

8x6 looks fine to me and fits the Hamicad perfectly (right up between the indicators). Looks tiny when held next to the original!

http://www.fleagle.f2s.com/externall...amicad_8x6.jpg

warning
 

just been informed you now need a full size legal one for the MOT. Rules changed in august this year. got to take whole back end to bits to get the 9 x 7 sail back on mine....
thanks

Re: warning
 

AFAIK there is no legal requirements on the plate size - just rules about the character size/font and spacing around them. This usually results in a 9x7 or 7.5 plate. Other requirements are plate suppliers postcode printed on plate and a reflector permanently fixed below the plate perpendicular to road (ie vertical).

Saying that, I probably gleaned this info from this forum, or USENET, or perhaps just imagined it. Anyway, as long as you fit the original plate for the MOT test you'll probably find the MOT centre will gladly fix a cheapo stick-on reflector and not worry about it.

This is what I was thinking of...

http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?hl...hd.demon.co.uk

Bit dated though. Rules updated huh?

You lucky git and I get done for 79 in a 50mph five lane section of motorway!!! :shock:

Perhaps I should invest in an illegal plate!!!

You haven't seen Wigan's plate either, it's about the size of a packet of cigars :)

I emailed Craigs Plates on Weds & they STILL havent replied yet :(