Old style legal sized number plate

[mobile chicane22]

So I have a 1200 triumph scrambler of the 2019 vintage.

If I put a legal sized silver on black metal number plate on it what's the chances the fuzz will be bothered ?

I don't ride in large towns city's and the bike does look kinda old to the un educated, the only give away is the plate it self.

I'd like to do it for purely aesthetic reasons but not if its going to cause me hassle.

Anyone done it, had any issues ?

[s p a c e m a n]

Think it'll be area of the country dependent, if you put a cheap old private plate on it you'll never get any hassle though.

[mobile chicane22]

hmmm just found they do stamped metal ones in yellow black ground with black letters this may be a better solution, the stock acrylic one is beginning to de laminate anyway so that's probably the more sensible route

[trickywoo]

You’ll almost certainly not have any bother but you do need to make sure everything else is ok as a grumpy plod could use it as a jumping off point for a nit picking exercise.

[mobile chicane22]

trickywoo said:

You ll almost certainly not have any bother but you do need to make sure everything else is ok as a grumpy plod could use it as a jumping off point for a nit picking exercise.

the bike is stock so shouldn't be an issue tbh I think I'll go down the yellow black stamped plate route

[PorkInsider]

Don't. Just don't.

[MrWideFit]

I also had this thought for my Triumph 900 but decided against it,

I think black on yellow stamped metal is the best compromise

[markymarkthree]

Keep the old one. As according to "a friend" you may need it once a year for MOT time.

[mobile chicane22]

MrWideFit said:

I also had this thought for my Triumph 900 but decided against it,

I think black on yellow stamped metal is the best compromise

TBH I think that's my plan now, it wont need changing come MOT time and being as I'll be ordering a road legal one it will be fit and forget.

The BIB haven't felt my collar for 25+ years mostly due to all my bikes having non offensive exhausts and legal size + font plates I also tend to open the taps away from the madding crowd so that probably helps to

[black-k1]

I can't comment on an "old style" number plate but I've been using slightly smaller than legal numberplates since about 2013 and have not had any plod issues. I change back to full size for MoTs but that's it. I suspect it would just be something to add to the mix if you were pulled for something else.

[Steve_H80]

Well you know it's illegal so you're just assessing the risks.
I would guess the chances of a random pull by the police is small. It could be picked by any numberplate recognition system but whether any of those things actually on that I don't know.
Personally I just find out what the fine could be and decide whether it was worth the risk based on that.

[J__Wood]

Steve_H80 said:

Well you know it's illegal so you're just assessing the risks.
I would guess the chances of a random pull by the police is small. It could be picked by any numberplate recognition system but whether any of those things actually on that I don't know.
Personally I just find out what the fine could be and decide whether it was worth the risk based on that.

I think since the changes in April 2025 and with it the ANPR 'enhancements' we're living on borrowed time for any plate changes. From a random source "Non-compliant modifications including altered spacing, non-standard fonts, obscured characters, and plates that fail reflectivity standards. When these systems flag a vehicle, enforcement officers receive immediate alerts with photographic evidence, making roadside stops more targeted and penalties harder to contest".

£1000 for repeat offenders.

I've had a small plates on two of my 70/80s bikes since the 80s.
In early years I was stopped fairly frequently but passed MOTs, then later failed MOTs but fewer traffic cars etc so never stopped, now they're both MOT exempt and do less than 500 miles a year on not too ANPRey roads.
With my newer bikes I can't be arsed to stand out and cover 8-10k per year so run standard plates.

Random source https://numberplateclinic.co.uk/what-the-2025-dvla...

[gareth_r]

Well, their information on motorcycle plates is utter bks, so...

https://numberplateclinic.co.uk/motorcycle-number-...

(I think someone just copied/pasted the car info.)

[underwhelmist]

gareth_r said:

Well, their information on motorcycle plates is utter bks, so...

https://numberplateclinic.co.uk/motorcycle-number-...

(I think someone just copied/pasted the car info.)

numberplateclinic.co.uk said:

The characters must be black on a white reflective background for a rear motorcycle plate...Plates with a yellow rear background, as used on cars, are not the correct specification for motorcycles.

Eh? I mean, what?

[gareth_r]

numberplateclinic.co.uk said:

The characters must be black on a white reflective background for a rear motorcycle plate...Plates with a yellow rear background, as used on cars, are not the correct specification for motorcycles.

underwhelmist said:

Eh? I mean, what?

I stopped reading at "Characters on a motorcycle plate must be 79mm tall and 50mm wide".

The most amusing part of the clampdown is that the reason for the clampdown is that ANPR cannot read illegal plates, but the clampdown will use ANPR to identify illegal plates and inform the police, who will contact the vehicles' owners.

[Biker 1]

Why not just take off your plate completely, thus avoiding speed cameras & ANPR??