South West Bikers | Motorcycle Forum

When I moved to the South Lincs Badlands nearly three years ago I took my 990 SD for an MoT and they failed it on account of the small plate that had passed the two previous MoTs when I lived in Newbury - I don't know if the Lincs plod were particularly hard on plate sizes but I had to replace it with a full-sized one to pass the test. Similarly, a tester in Trowbridge failed Chicky's CRF230 for a slightly under-sized plate. Maybe it's luck of the draw, depending on where you live and the attitudes of law enforcement and VOSA.
A number of years ago in the heyday of the Wiltshire Bikers forum there was a notorious copper in the Trowbridge area (PC Wilkinson I believe) who tugged one of the girls on the site, got his ruler out and gave her a ticket for having characters on the plate undersized by 10mm - proper crime of the century, and he always tried to mitigate a stop with "I'm a biker as well you know".

It is a pain to have a nice tail tidy and then hang a billboard-sized plate on it, but I'm happy to not get a needless tug and fine when I'm out.

I used to run a 5x6 on my bandit had it on for years never got a tug for it got a 7 x5 on the 1290 doesn’t look out of place like the standard sail does.

Happy with mine. the XR is standard but the 675 is smaller but doesn't look tiny or anything silly, think the digits are legal size. As it was sold to me by Jack Lillys.
Happy to run anything clear and easily readable. If it looks deliberately teeny tiny, reckon that's drawing attention to yourself in the yes of the law...

I'm still flip flopping on which size to order.. it's either gonna be 8x6 or 7x5 but at this point, who knows.

Jug_Inspector wrote: ↑May 9th, '20, 12:09 I'm still flip flopping on which size to order.. it's either gonna be 8x6 or 7x5 but at this point, who knows.

Cut a bit cardboard to the sizes you narrowed down offer it up to the bike and see wich you like the look of I ordered mine purely on what size fit well on my tail tidy

Yup.. I'm taking my bike out of it's winter cover this afternoon so will do the mock up test.

toss a coin, then you'll know which one you want because you'll be happy with which ever way the coin lands or wish it was the other way. Only then will you truly know which one you want to have

Always have a legal size ready once a year ;)

Don't need it, my tourer has a plate that is 7x5 and my trail bike one is 6x4.
Both pass each year but this year the 6x4 did receive a raised eye brow and comment that's I'd get in trouble for that if stopped.

Jug_Inspector wrote: ↑May 11th, '20, 10:15 Don't need it, my tourer has a plate that is 7x5 and my trail bike one is 6x4.
Both pass each year but this year the 6x4 did receive a raised eye brow and comment that's I'd get in trouble for that if stopped.

cover it in mud, they won't touch it then ;)

What did you go with in the end ?

billinom8s wrote: ↑May 11th, '20, 12:58 cover it in mud, they won't touch it then ;)

Last time I was out properly..., by the end of the day there was only 1/3 of the plate left!
It was also covered in mud so I didn't clean it as would of just high lighted that fact that most of the plate wasn't there anymore.

Streetmann wrote: ↑May 11th, '20, 15:13 What did you go with in the end ?

Went with the slightly larger 8x6 size as that is the least likely to attract attention.

Standard on the cb but ordered a 7x5 for blandit...bit small me thinks

Even if it was correct size plod can do you for your quote at the bottom. Only garage or plate makers name, and in days of old EU stars can legally be shown. With nothing else for them to do at present I'm sure they'd even do a bike for that.