Show Plates

[thanatu55]

Is anyone getting away with show / small number plates for everyday use and if so what size and where from?

I've searched high and low for small sizes, the only road legal plate I can find with the absolute minimum measurements is from fourdotdesignerplates.com however they only sell in pairs at £75 a pair. I only want the front and don't want to spend that much.

I can get a show plate from GBShowplates.co.uk slightly smaller than legal but with correctly spaced letters for £16.99 but is it worth the risk? Obviously being a show plate it doesn't come with the plate manufacturer details along the bottom.

 

[Kieran_Z4]

I didn’t have a front reg plate on my cars for 3 years & never got done once. I had a tinted rear plate with 3D resin filled & had police behind me all the time & never got pulled for that neither. I think it’s all about if u get a police officer who’s a nob basically imo

 

[Jembo]

If ur willing to do the crime, don’t moan if you then do time...

As above, you can always play the odds, though be aware if ever pulled it’s standard practice for Rozzers to check everything

 

[thanatu55]

I'd love to go plateless but knowing my luck all the nob police are in my vicinity. (Nob police sounds like an entirely different profession altogether)

I decided to order one of the show plates from GBShowplates, but as I'm still a bit twitchy I've gone for legal letter size and spacing on a shorter plate so I don't stand out like a sore thumb. I've basically just chopped the ends off and trimmed a bit off the top and bottom! I've also added a little Z4-Forum.com to the bottom as a sort of decoy plate manufacturer.

Oh and I'm keeping the rear one standard.

 

[Nictrix]

I had a 6x4 plate on the rear of my bike for a day.
It was just after they introduced the £60 fixed penalty for illegal plates.
I was paranoid running around with it and removed it as its just not worth the hassle or the fine just for a small plate.
A friend was fined for a small plate, his was on one line on the rear of his bike.
Im sure the fine is now £100, is it really worth the risk?

 

[Silverzedtom]

I’ve got a small plate on this summer and haven’t had any issues. I haven’t got a tape measure to hand but will post a size asap. I got them from plates for cars. Proper reflective and font specs, just smaller.

 

[thanatu55]

I had a 6x4 plate on the rear of my bike for a day.
It was just after they introduced the £60 fixed penalty for illegal plates.
I was paranoid running around with it and removed it as its just not worth the hassle or the fine just for a small plate.
A friend was fined for a small plate, his was on one line on the rear of his bike.
Im sure the fine is now £100, is it really worth the risk?

I'm sure once I swap it over I'll be overly paranoid about it too and probably end up swapping it back... I suppose even losing the German style plate surround will make a big difference... I'm just starting to find it all too bulky

I’ve got a small late on this summer and haven’t had any issues. I haven’t got a measure but will post a size asap

C134BB93-7620-4B88-BF64-E9D691DD4BF5.jpeg

That looks like the kind of thing, nothing too daft, just neat and tidy.

 

[Worcester_spoon]

I’ve had a shortened plate, no makers mark and with incorrect spacing (but the right size letters) plate on for 3 years. Never had an issue AND never failed an MOT for it either. Guess there’s a little bit if luck involved, but I’d stop worrying and enjoy driving!

 

[Mr Tidy]

I just live with standard plates these days.

20 or so years ago I got a bit carried away at a set of lights on a by-pass with a 40 mph limit that I may have exceeded (allegedly) on my Kawasaki KH500 but anyway the Met minibus some way back decided I needed a pull!

When they said I was exceeding the speed limit I asked when their bus speedo was last calibrated - they couldn't reply so they measured my rear plate which was of course under-sized - so I got a producer! :lol:

It's just more grief I don't need!

Still a new plate was cheaper than the potential fine!

Shame the photo is poor, but it's from a scan of a photo. :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

Aren’t these checked at MOT time? Or do you just put standard plates back on for that?

 

[warmasice]

..yeps, plates should be checked for legality during an MOT test.

 

[Kieran_Z4]

My mate was pulled once with his show plate, they said everything was ok with the plate but I didn’t have a BS number & a postcode of the company who made it

 

[idej_z4]

I’ve had a shortened plate, no makers mark and with incorrect spacing (but the right size letters) plate on for 3 years. Never had an issue AND never failed an MOT for it either. Guess there’s a little bit if luck involved, but I’d stop worrying and enjoy driving!

You were lucky - I had mine failed last time for just having incorrect spacing on mine.

 

[Nictrix]

My mate was pulled once with his show plate, they said everything was ok with the plate but I didn’t have a BS number & a postcode of the company who made it

Gone are the days when you could buy a blank plate and stick on letters and numbers and make your own
I wonder how people get on nowadays who used to borrow trailers and write the reg on the back?

 

[Darkangelv2]

I've gone for pressed plates. They look really smart and have the BS number and post code etc.

Also, because they're aluminium, you can bend them to follow the contour of the front bumper and get rid of the plastic plinth.

 

[dans6490]

My car passed the last MOT without a front plate. I asked before hand, as I had the plate in the boot but the tester said it wasn’t needed

 

[thanatu55]

I'll keep hold of the original plate for MOT's anyway. A pressed plate doesn't sound like a bad idea but I've already ordered the show plate now. Only cost me £20 anyway incl. delivery so not a big loss if it doesn't work out.

 

[mjennings23]

I've gone for pressed plates. They look really smart and have the BS number and post code etc.

Also, because they're aluminium, you can bend them to follow the contour of the front bumper and get rid of the plastic plinth.

This is something I've been considering. How did you stick the plates on? Also I assume drilling out the rivets leaves a few holes, did you just stick the plate over these covering them up or fill and respray?

 

[Darkangelv2]

I've gone for pressed plates. They look really smart and have the BS number and post code etc.

Also, because they're aluminium, you can bend them to follow the contour of the front bumper and get rid of the plastic plinth.

This is something I've been considering. How did you stick the plates on? Also I assume drilling out the rivets leaves a few holes, did you just stick the plate over these covering them up or fill and respray?

I used some uber sticky foam tape i bought off Amazon. All holes should be covered with a standard sized plate.

 

[thanatu55]

I've gone for pressed plates. They look really smart and have the BS number and post code etc.

Also, because they're aluminium, you can bend them to follow the contour of the front bumper and get rid of the plastic plinth.

This is something I've been considering. How did you stick the plates on? Also I assume drilling out the rivets leaves a few holes, did you just stick the plate over these covering them up or fill and respray?

That's my worry with a smaller plate... the screw holes in the bumper. I found this site called bumperplugs.com that sell little colour coded plugs but you're paying over $50 in the end to get them here, the mark up on those things is ridiculous! ($27 for two).