Please note: We are a plate maker, we do not sell vehicle registration numbers.
Description
How to Fit
FAQ
Show Plates Express is a leading online provider of Motorcycle plates across the British Isles.. With a vast rage of sizes you can be sure we have what you are looking for ….
When you order your Bike plate from us you can be sure your plate is …
- Reflective compliant
- Weather proof
- Impact proof
- Abrasive resistent
- Bend stable
Our unit is fitted with the latest state of the art plate making machinery and manufactured to the highest standard means we are the people to print, assemble and handcraft your Motorbike plate …
Our bike plates are the desirable black backed design type meaning they look great on your motorcycle.
With over two decades of bike plate making experience we are the go to experts in the industry.
Choose us for the best quality plates, made by arguably the most experienced team of plate technicians.
Your grand spanking new, gleaming number plate will be dispatched fast … We aim for same day dispatch through out the working week if you place your order before 3PM…
Type in your chosen design above and sort your new bike plate now … You know you want to 🙂 It will be with you before you know it …
There are two easy methods for fitting your plates. View the video’s below
and decide which one is best for you
METHOD 1 – FITTING USING STICKY PADS
TOOLS NEEDED
- Three Sticky Pads from fitting kit
- A Phillips Screwdriver
HOW TO FIT
- Remove the caps on your existing plate.
- Unscrew the screws affixing the old plates
- Now your old plate has been removed, take the three sticky pads from your fitting kit and stick to your new number plate in three equally spaced positions – one at each end and one in the middle.
- Carefully align where you want your new plates to go on your vehicle.
- Then carefully remove the second lot of backing from the stickers so the adhesive pads are tacky and ready to be affixed. Then press the plate firmly to the vehicle to stick.
METHOD 2 – FITTING USING SCREWS
TOOLS NEEDED
- A Drill
- A Phillips Screwdriver
HOW TO FIT
- Remove the caps on your existing plate.
- Unscrew the screws affixing the old plates.
- Place the old number plate on top of your new one and use it as a guide to measure where the holes need to be drilled (into the new plate). Then lay the new plates face down and the old ones on top – drill through the holes and into your new plates.
- Fix the plate to your vehicle using the screws – tighten to secure the plate securely.
- Place the caps over the screws and press firmly. Remember to colour code your caps – so if where you have drilled is yellow, use the yellow caps, if it’s black, then use the black caps. This will make your numberplate looks untouched and cover up any of the marks made by drilling the plate.
Are your motorcycle number plates road legal?
In order to ensure your plate is legal on UK roads, please select ‘bike’ from the plate maker and under plate type select, ‘legal plate’.
Read: Motorcycle Number Plate Laws and Legalities
Can you use a motorcycle number plate on a car?
Most car number plates in the UK are a standard oblong shape, however, some
vehicles like 4x4s and vans have square plates. Motorcycles also have square
plates which are usually smaller than those used on a car. They have to follow the
same font regulations as cars but with their own designated character size and
spacing. They are permitted to be on two lines due to the square shape of the plate
and you could transfer a motorcycle plate from a bike to a car.
Read more here
What size are motorcycle number plates?
This is a grey area and if you go online to search for square motorcycle plates, you
can be offered a range of sizes. At the end of the day, providing the characters
displayed are the correct height and width and with the requisite spacing then the
square that surrounds them can be as small or as large as you want. There is no
official ruling on the actual plate size but commonly this is 229mm x 178mm or 9”x7”
in imperial measurements.
How to fit a motorcycle number plate?
You can affix your motorcycle number plate with either sticky pads or screws. You
can see how to do this on our number plate fitting guide.
You can affix your motorcycle number plate with either sticky pads or screws. You can see how to do this on our number plate fitting guide.
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Motorcycle Number Plate Buying Guide
+ Intro
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With our efficient motorcycle number plate maker, you can enter your specification, and we can have your motorcycle number plate dispatched same day.
With motorcycle number plates looking identical since 2001, will see a batch of new plates introduced later this year in 2021. Electric bikes and scooters will be given the option to display green number plates for zero-emission vehicles, which will mirror the plates we see today, with the only difference being a green band across the left of the plate.
+ How they differ from car number plates?
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Car and motorcycle number plates are privy to almost identical regulations, which makes them incredibly similar to the eye, except they have a slightly different font style to regular car plates. The structure of the registration is the same, so you can transfer a car number plate onto a bike, and vice versa, providing it isn’t a one-line plate. Motorbike number plates should be spread over two lines, as opposed to a long plate as we see on standard-issue car number plates, with two geographical registration area letters, two numbers as the age identifier, and the three random letters making up the plate, with the latter three letters sitting below the former four on the bottom line.
+ Motorcycle Number Plate Sizing in the UK
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It’s an age-old question, likened to asking the length of a piece of string. How small is too small? There is no definitive guidance on this, but guaranteeing you’re within the parameters of the law is simple. Ensuring your characters are 64mm high, 44mm wide, with a stroke of 10mm, with a distance of 10mm between each character will keep you within a legal territory, regardless of overall plate size – apart from ‘1’ or ‘I’, which is an exception to the rule. The most common motorbike number plate size is 229mm x 178mm/ 9”x7”, but if you want to catch eyes with a spacious plate, or go rogue with a mini plate, providing your characters meet DVLA regulations, you can get as creative as you please! Our sizes start from a pocket-sized 152mm x 102mm/ 6” x 4” depending on your needs, but when selecting a legal plate, we only offer the standard 9” x 7”.
+ Are my motorbike plates are road-legal?
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In order to ensure your motorcycle number plate is legal you should carry out regular maintenance to ensure it stays in road-worthy condition – which means no dirt, cracks, marks and screws altering the appearance of the lettering. Although motorcycles require plates spread over two lines, those registered before September 1st 2001 are eligible to have a triple-lined display. A one-line plate, however? Out of the question!
Differing from cars, motorcycles are only required to have a rear plate, which is recommended due to the hazard of front plates in causing injuries in collisions, known colloquially as a ‘pedestrian slicer’.
Motorcycle number plates should be fully reflective, with black lettering in the font ‘Charles Wright 2001’ on a yellow background, or a white background if you do opt for a front plate. For motorcyclists who take pride in the appearance of their bike, 3D fonts are a perfect way to add some definition to an otherwise standard plate. There is also the option of a border, with a choice of five colours available, and a badge, which has to be a pre-approved flag, with no leeway.
+ Classic Motorcycle Number Plates in the UK
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It is no secret that some motorcycles don’t sport the standard yellow rear plate, with a black and silver alternative common with dated bikes. Under UK law, motorbikes older than 40 years are exempt from a number of DVLA regulations, known as the historic vehicles class, used in an effort to preserve historic vehicles. Those which meet the specification are also exempt from getting MOTs and paying vehicle tax, providing it has been free of ‘substantial changes’ within the last 30 years, with the DVLA giving examples of a replacement ‘chassis, body, axles or engine to change the way the vehicle works’, although the vehicle does still need to be a roadworthy condition, with £2,500 and 3 points at stake if your bike is in a dangerous condition.
Being exempt from regulations is an effective way of encouraging the preservation of historic vehicles – many of which would rival contemporary bikes – with appropriate number plates which reflect the era in which it was built, such as archaic or retro plates, that won’t stick out as an eye-sore.
Other perks on offer for historic vehicles include an exemption from ‘ULEZ’ and ‘LEZ’ – London’s ultra-low and low emissions zone, which carries a hefty fee if the vehicle doesn’t meet the Euro IV emissions standard.
+ History of Motorbike Number Plates
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2001 saw the DVLA regulations as we know them introduced to roads across the UK, but legislation has been an ongoing transformation, from as early as 1903, five years after Triumph Motorcycles began manufacturing motorbikes in England, with its 1915 ‘Model H’ widely regarded as the first ‘modern’ motorcycle. From the introduction of the 1903 Motor Act up until the 1920 Roads Act, there were no dates on number plates, with separate registers for cars and motorbikes, which led to identical number plates in the same areas.
1963 saw a revamp, with dates introduced to number plates, and a centralised system with all registrations compiled, with 1984 seeing an overhaul, with the format becoming closer to what we have today, with a year of registration in the form of a letter, for example, ‘A’ for 1984, and an area code. It was 2001 when modern regulations were introduced, which reflects the guidelines we abide by today.