Black and silver numberplate. Should I or shouldnt I ?

[Charliecharlcomb]

My CB500 was registered in 1976 so is a P reg. It currently has a yellow and black rear numberplate. I've recently seen a company supplying nice looking black and silver plates and am considering a change. Checking the regs. it looks like any pre 1980 machine qualifies.

Would it look silly?

[Bryanj]

Not in my opinion

[Skoti]

My CB500 was registered in 1976 so is a P reg. It currently has a yellow and black rear numberplate. I've recently seen a company supplying nice looking black and silver plates and am considering a change. Checking the regs. it looks like any pre 1980 machine qualifies.

Would it look silly?

Got one from Jessops for my old Norton, their website also states pre 1980 is ok.

https://www.jepsonandco.com/ready-made-plates/vintage-classic-plates/


But I've kept the original plastifilm one on my CB750F1 for period originality.

Those of you who worked in the trade back in the seventies may remember sticking the numbers and letters onto a blank yellow aluminium plate.
Some times finished off with a coat of clear varnish to prevent the black stick on digits from peeling off.

Oh and whoever made up my plate up must have run out of letter 'C' because a zero has been used instead with a notch cut from it so it reads 'C'.

Tricks of the trade...

[Seabeowner]

Up to you. For originality my Oct 1972 (L reg) Triumph that I bought new was my first with a black/yellow plate.

[Nurse Julie]

I have a black and silver pressed plate fitted to my 1973 500K1. Grahams 1976 K6 750 still has the original yellow pressed plate that was fitted at the dealership.

Personally, I think bikes look strange with the wrong colour after about N reg, it doesn't sit well on the eye for some reason.

[Charliecharlcomb]

Agreed. For Pre 74 bikes only. Great feedback, thank you.

[Oddjob]

Get a reverse engraved black and silver Perspex plate, best of both worlds.

[Bryanj]

I think i got mine from a place in Jersey, even cheap postage

[beardylondon]

If you watch old TV shows from the 70s, you never see late 70s bikes or cars with black and silver plates. This is because yellow and black were seen as modern at the time, and black and silver old fashioned. I’m not that old, but imagine being 17 in 1976 and having a motorbike, and your parents had a 10 year old car with black and silver plates, you’d want yellow and black ones to look up to date.

Hence my 1976 on a P and came with black and silver plates (installed circa 2021 by last owner) , and I immediately got Jepsons to make period correct yellow and black plates. They use the correct font, not the post 2001 Charles Wright font you see on later yellow and black plastic plates examples, the cheaper eBay kind.

[Oddjob]

Lot of truth there, the yellow and black perspex plates were also easier to keep clean, didn’t suffer from letters falling out like the pressed plates could do and as you say looked more modern.

However a few years later I opted for a black and silver reverse engraved plate, the main reason was it wasn’t as easy to see in the dark, as a lot of the time I was being chased by Panda cars for going to quick, I really didn’t like to give them any help at all. Same would apply these days with anpr and cameras. Don’t help them prosecute you 😆😆😆

[Bryanj]

Very true Ken, also being a geriatric old fart the silver on black looks better to me on an "old" bike and being honest most of the bikes on here are OLD

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I'm swayed by the safety aspect of a yellow rear plate.

Even in daylight the colour yellow works.

[beardylondon]

Very good point!

I'm swayed by the safety aspect of a yellow rear plate.

Even in daylight the colour yellow works.

[florence]

My original yellow aluminium plate fell apart after it got bent wheeling the bike out of the workshop. The section with the P on it fell off.  I replaced it with a black plate from Tippers.  My bike looks older than it is anyway, oily rag condition and has a Lucas headlight and no indicators so it goes very well with the look.  As far as safety goes, visibility is important.  Hi-vis is very important these days.

[Athame57]

Go for it! It certainly looks different, less offensive for some and gets the right kind of attention too. Here is my CB400F2 with one.....