7×5 Motorcycle Number Plates!
The 7×5 motorcycle number plate, a common size requested by many bikers which is sometimes misconceived as being road legal.
Many bikers in the UK long to have the smallest possible motorcycle number plate on the rear of their pride and joy whether it is legal or not. At JDM Plates we are fully transparent and try to inform customers’ of what is legal and what is not legal with regards to all motorcycle number plates. We will explain in the following sections as to why 7×5 motorcycle number plates are in fact illegal and what we can provide for you.
7×5 Motorcycle Number Plates & Character Sizes
As the surface area of 7×5 Motorcycle number plates are significantly smaller than legal number plates; the dimensions of the 7×5 motorcycle number plate characters are subsequently altered and scaled in order to fit the smaller plate and to make plate look relatively uniform.
The character dimensions of all legal motorcycle number plates are 64mm high and 44mm wide except for 1’s and I’s which are 64mm high and 10mm wide. However, the letters on 7×5 motorcycle number plates will be smaller than this when scaling the registration number down to fit a smaller plate. Not only are the character sizes altered to fit a 7×5 motorcycle number plate, but the margins and spacing are too!
Why not read our article explaining the smallest legal motorcycle number plates?
However, with regards to motorcycle number plates, the following must be complied with:-
- Character Height – 64mm
- Character Width – 44mm (except for 1 or I)
- Character Stroke – 10mm
- Vertical Spacing – 13mm
- Horizontal Spacing – 10mm
- Margins – 10mm (top)
- Margins – 13mm (bottom)
- Margins – 11mm (sides)
With regards to the above dimensions, it can be quickly calculated that the smallest legal height needs to be 164mm high.
- Character Height x 2 – 128mm
- Vertical Spacing x 1 – 13mm
- Bottom Margin – 13mm
- Top Margin – 10mm
Total – 164mm
A 7×5 motorcycle number plate has a height of 127mm which is 37mm too small than the legal minimum. This subsequently requires the letters, spacing and margins to be adjusted and scaled accordingly…
Layout of Marks & Registration Number:-
The layout of marks and the registration number for motorcycles must be over 2 lines (2 rows). The second row must start at the subsequent letter after the space indicated on the DVLA documentation; whether this be the V5C, V778 etc…
For example, if the registration number of a motorcycle is VV57 VSC, the second row must only have the VSC letters.
Legal Markings & British Standard (BS Code):-
All legal number plates require the Company Name, Postcode and British Standard Number (BS No.) to be displayed along the bottom of the number plate within the bottom margin. The company name and postcode is there to see which RNPS company manufactured the number plates and the BSau 145d number is there to prove the correct procedure has taken place; to prove the ordering, manufacturing and recording process has been complied with.
Typically, no legal information will be displayed on the bottom of 7×5 motorcycle number plates due to the minimum legal sizes being breached resulting in the RNPS number plate manufacturer not wanting to display their details!
What We Can Offer:-
JDM Plates can supply and provide high quality 7×5 motorcycle number plates. However, as previously explained, they WILL NOT be road legal. JDM Plates can offer these as show plates which are not suitable for road use. To eliminate number plate cloning; we would still require proof of ownership and proof of ID to be provided when making an order! You can order your motorcycle number plate show plates.
Alternatively, JDM Plates can also offer THE smallest legal motorcycle number plates for UK riders in a range of sizes and styles; we have an article explaining the smallest legal sizes we offer although we can offer the smallest legal sizes for any vehicle. Fancy reading our article explaining our general niche and market audience or the smallest legal sizes we offer?
Required Documentation:-
In order to comply with the Vehicle Crimes Act (2001), we need to see and record proof of ownership as well as proof of ID. Typically, customers’ provide the V5C & driving license when making an order. However, for a full list of accepted documents; please visit our FAQ section here! Or visit our article explaining what documentation we accept!
All of our number plates use BS AU145d compliant materials and are fully UV protected. The carefully specified materials are UV stable; weather and abrasive resistant; humidity, chemically and corrosion resistant and have a class 1 fire rating. Not only this, but our number plates are impact and bend stable and have been tested to British Standards Institution (BSI) specifications; we can assure this as we source our materials from British Number Plate Manufacturers Association (BNMA) registered suppliers! The materials consist of very high tack values therefore our shorter number plates are also not prone to peeling over time. As we use a high quality materials and have a solid plastic surface; there will be no surface bubble unlike cheaper laminated plates. FACT.
For all short legal number plate enquires, please feel free to contact us on 01493 230023 or alternatively email us using contacts forms on the website.
What about 8×6 and 6×4 motorbike number plates?
8’x6’ number plates aswell as 6’x4’ number plates are governed by the same legislation as 7’x5’ and all other number plates within the UK.
Due to this, 8×6 number plates would also not be road legal due to the fact that 8’ wide equates to 203mm which would actually be legally wide enough for a 7 digit with number 1 whereby the smallest legal size is 194mm wide. However, the problem and illegal aspect relates to the height of the number plate. 6’ high equates to 152mm which would infact be legal for an imported vehicle but due to the 13mm required spacing in the middle of a motorcycle plate it need to be a minimum of 164mm high which is 6.45 inches high. In order to print a registration number on this size plate, the digits needs to be made smaller which then renders the 8×6 number plate illegal.
The above can also be applied to 6×4 number plates. However, with 6×4 number plates, the registration number would need to be printed even smaller which can result in a higher chance of being pulled over by a law enforcement officer.
