Mike, good advise. Have an old 60's black California plate I will use as the bike was originally sold in SF (Indian Dist) so bike is home. Thx Mark
US License Plate Mounting
- Thread starter Mark Stephenson
- Start date
Terrific, Mark. I wasn't sure if you have the same DMV (Dept. of Motor Vehicles) laws in CA as in OR. We can register original age-related license plates as special interest* license plates on our bikes. So, I have an original 1951 Oregon license plate on my '51 Rapide. The plates might be expensive to buy, but once you have registered them as special interest at DMV for your bike, you never have to pay for tags again!
* the expectation is that the bike is only being ridden for club events or test riding and my rides are a continuous test ride
Mike, * for the time being!
For us in the UK this is a stark reminder of what may be in the offing, restrictions on transport is comming the " Build back better" guys are smuggeling all sorts of restrictions on road travel in under the cloak of Covid and as part of that I am sure us 'victims' of the free road tax and no MOT lures that got us in the historc vehicle trap will hear it snap shut soon. support the BMF and the FBHVC* the expectation is that the bike is only being ridden for club events or test riding and my rides are a continuous test ride
I have already told the Wife, I need 7 Bikes, To get round that problem ! .
.
In Michigan the restriction on original year plates is you can not use the vehicle for daily transportation. So that means I don't ride/drive same vehicle to work daily, I alternate. Not that this year I've been going to work, been working from home since late February. Going over to a friend's house, out to lunch, section meetings, or to the VFW are all special occasions to me.
For the month of August every year that all goes by the way side, you can use an original year plate as a daily driver for the month.
For the month of August every year that all goes by the way side, you can use an original year plate as a daily driver for the month.
Interesting practice in Michigan. Isnt it interesting, how great it is to get out and on a ride and esp in lockdown. Best to you Mark
I wanted to mount a British-style plate with the original UK registration numbers and mount the US plate on top but be easily removable for special occasions. There were two holes in the mounting plate which (of course) didn't line up with the US plate. The holes in the US plate were too far apart for the UK one. I took two 1/4" bolts pointed in opposite directions and welded the heads together to create an offset. One end then fit into the existing holes in the Series D number plate, leaving the other end pointing outward. In this way, I was able to mount the UK plate with the inward-pointing bolts and the US plate with the outward ones. The offset allowed me to adjust for the different widths by small rotations.
I realize that this isn't exactly the problem mentioned here, but something similar could work. An inward-facing bolt could be welded to a small steel bar which in turn would be welded to an outward-facing one; the bars of appropriate length to line up with the US plate holes on one side and the existing holes on the other.
Crazy, right? What we put ourselves through when we could just drill a pair of small holes.
I realize that this isn't exactly the problem mentioned here, but something similar could work. An inward-facing bolt could be welded to a small steel bar which in turn would be welded to an outward-facing one; the bars of appropriate length to line up with the US plate holes on one side and the existing holes on the other.
Crazy, right? What we put ourselves through when we could just drill a pair of small holes.
TouringGodet
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In California, you cannot use a 60s plate on a 50s bike, unless that plate was originally issued to that bike back in 1963, the last time every vehicle in CA was issued a new plate, AND the registration has been renewed continuously ever since. If you obtain a 50s plate, along with the correct year tag to match the model year on the title, then you can retro fit the old plate onto the bike. CA calls this the “year of manufacture” option, but it is really the model year option, whatever model year CA has assigned to the bike, or often, whatever year the bike was first sold. The Shadow I have is titled as a 54, since it was first purchased in Oct 1954, despite being built in late 1952, and being shipped from the factory in 1953.
In CA, there are no usage restrictions to retro fitting an old plate onto the vehicle. And in CA, you will still pay yearly registration fees, plus a small fee on top for the privilege of having the special plate.
In CA, there are no usage restrictions to retro fitting an old plate onto the vehicle. And in CA, you will still pay yearly registration fees, plus a small fee on top for the privilege of having the special plate.
TouringGodet
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I understand the reluctance to drill more holes in the PRnn whatever mounting plate, but as a Californian, it wouldn’t be too out of place, since a Vincent purchased in CA back in the 50s had one size plate and mounting hole pattern, then in 1963 when everyone had to turn in their existing plates for new ones, those where a different size and hole pattern.