Legal lic. plate mounting on DS.

[hypersthenos]

The bike I bought has the lic. plate mounted sideways (lengthwise) on the top surface of the fender, just behind the stock tail light. Though I have a special lense with a small strip of clear an its base to illuminate the plate I'm worried that this setup may not be legal. I live in WA. I'm prepared to buy an aftermarket setup if necessary but was wondering if its necessary as I don't feel like spending $70 on something that will likely break. Any input?

[Pro_Marinero]

Run it til you get a fix-it ticket. The chopper guys seem to get away with it.

[450X22]

I was remounting my license plate for the HP2 and looked up CA DMV, it stated to be clearly visible and readable from the rear of the bike...NOW there police officers that will ticket you for anything that is not installed in the OEM holder/position...I had a CHP officer warn me the other night driving home to seat on the seat when riding my HP2, I explained to him that style of riding is done for Paris to Dakar and a great way to stretch out, the rear brake lever on that bike is quick adjustable (there is 2 ends) and made for that reason, he just felt I would have better control seating, and CHP officer doesn't even ride bikes, bottom line they are the MAN out on the streets....

[Rannoch]

Mines zip tied to my back fender. The XR fender points downwards a bit, so its easily visible from a cop cruiser when I'm sitting on the bike. I havent been pulled over for it yet ?

I'll get some screws one of these days.

[ImEazy]

I saw a few mounted sideways on here and Adv. Rider. I decided I liked the look and mounted mine sideways as well. Have been in front of a few cop cruiser over the last month or so without any problems. Or at least they didn't stop me. I'm in Ohio though.

Pics...

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/garage.php?do=viewmod&mid=28472

[JohnnyAirtime]

I've done all the above and never had issues...

Even mounted it here for a long period and thought for sure I'd be pulled all day long, and never was (except when the officer thought it was pure dirt, and no plate). and considering the bike it was on... amazing.

If ya had all the tell-tale signs it was a converted dirt bike... then I'd be concerned. However, if your worried... think more about the amount of NON DOT parts you have. Tires, lenses, bulbs, blinkers, mirror(s), ..etc If your all about being "legal", than it's best to be DOT all around.

Than you might as well own a XR650L (not knockin' it... just think it's a big heavy pig!)

?

[hypersthenos]

Holy smackies! A plated CR500! And you never got a ticket? Must have some kind of top secret invisible camo or something. That's badass. I think I'd get shot on sight if I showed up in town on that. Very cool.

[JohnnyAirtime]

Holy smackies! A plated CR500! And you never got a ticket? Must have some kind of top secret invisible camo or something. That's badass. I think I'd get shot on sight if I showed up in town on that. Very cool.

Thanks man... you have no idea how fun it was....

Ride it to work, go out at lunch and have some fun. I think I was pulled over more by onlookers asking questions than I was even looked at by the coppers. They'd smell the Castor 927 from miles back on the freeway and catch up to me... just in awe

Best story (sorry.. just gotta tell it)... got a walking cop (Sargeant) in Downtown San Diego who pulled me over as I putted by (ping ping ping... piiing..piiing...ping went the motor, as it loaded up) and said, "Get that thing off my street!". Huh? I stopped, shut it off... and he again, looked at me like I'm an idiot. I pointed to the plate... and he laughed. As well two other bike cops. As he shrugged and sent me on my way. Smokin' out the crowd that started to gather with again.. the wonderful perfume of castor pre-mix!! So great it was!! I was at the time riding with all the crotch rockets on a hoppin' downtown San Diego weekend night... So fun. ...ahhhh, the memories!

A guy now owns it in San Fran (Bay Area)... not sure if he still has it, as he wanted to sell it a couple years ago.

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[Pro_Marinero]

Thanks dude. I sold my plated CR5 a couple months ago. I had just gotten over it and now you had to post those pics. ?

[tp3dxf]

The bike I bought has the lic. plate mounted sideways (lengthwise) on the top surface of the fender, just behind the stock tail light. Though I have a special lense with a small strip of clear an its base to illuminate the plate I'm worried that this setup may not be legal. I live in WA. I'm prepared to buy an aftermarket setup if necessary but was wondering if its necessary as I don't feel like spending $70 on something that will likely break. Any input?

I would keep the plate mounted the way it is. It will stand up to crashes better that way.

[bcs]

Scotts Performance makes a nice aluminum bracket for some bikes like my WR (and I recall some others, probably the CR) and it was only about $19 bucks.

[hypersthenos]

Just talked to a buddy who has the plate mounted on top of fender like mine. Got pulled over & warned about the lic plt location. I will be buying the BD LED tail light/plate mtg bracket this week. Added bonus of having 2 tail lights/brake lights for more visibility.

[johnnyjeep]

I like my BD bracket, however, your plate will still probably be verticle rather thatn horizontal

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n273/johnnyjeep/60723001.jpg

John in Vegas

[JohnnyAirtime]

I like mine Horizontal... but that's just a personal "likeness".

Here's a pic;

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/johnnyairtime/2005%20CRF%20450%20X%20-%202X/tail%20light%20CODE3/DSC02572.jpg

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[hypersthenos]

I'm diggin' that tail light setup. Just read your other thread about that one. If I had the extra dosh I'd do it this weekend. As it stands I'm gonna buy the BD LED tailight setup as there's one in stock at a local dealer. I will run it in conjunction with my stock tailight with the 1157 bulb. I'm kind of a gadget geek myself. I like the idea of a custom taillight that's not available through just any old MC catalog. There are several guys here in town with plated XR650Rs. We've all ended up with nearly identical mods. Would be kind of cool to show up with something different. I was considering going with LED replacement bulbs in my stock BD signal housings but I've heard that resistors need to be placed to allow the flasher unit to function properly. Got any experience with this one?

[JohnnyAirtime]

I sure do...

Check out this page on my site;

http://www.johnnyairtime.org/project-XR650.html

I attemped to use the 1157 style LED bulbs, and they always broke apart on me from vibration. I've also had problems on AC powered bikes/lights where some LEDs won't work. I've got a couple other LED flashers I tried that worked, but didn't offer steady burn. They are on Ebay now (under my TT user name).

... good luck, it's costly do to the LED... but worth it in my experience.