p-plate placement

[shunoski]

definitely man... Not all bikes have long rear fender where the plate can rest on and shielded from most of the wind when moving. Two screws at the end of flimsy plastic is not ideal in terms of leverage.

[squarebox]

I bought the sticker type.

I paste on

front: left leg fairing

back: on mud guard below no. plate.(fell off after 11 months) weathering takes it's toll on the tape.

[swiftee]

you could put a box on your bike and stick p plate on the box

 

for my xl2 there was a bit of fender thingy behind made of softer plastic, i poked 2 holes in it and tied the 2 plates on with cable ties. held for quite a while, until the plastic degraded and cracked

not sure if theres anything similar on the back of tw2 though...

[scubasimon]

you could put a box on your bike and stick p plate on the box

 

for my xl2 there was a bit of fender thingy behind made of softer plastic, i poked 2 holes in it and tied the 2 plates on with cable ties. held for quite a while, until the plastic degraded and cracked

not sure if theres anything similar on the back of tw2 though...

 

i did something that, hopefully, will make the p-plate hold well even after the plastic degrades at the joint. basically, i used cable ties to tie the plate from the top to the bike. then punched a hole in the p-plate about 2cm down into the inverted triangles on each side, cable tie through this hole and through the original hole. so if the plastic degrades and tears, the bottom part is held to the top part by the 2nd cable tie. wonder if it will work. anyway, we'll see!

[blazingleaf]

at first i bought the normal plate one. the front one was behind my windshield, but everytime it vibrates the thing slants left and right. and it anyhow moves even more each time, i think cos the velcro not as good as new.

 

the back one somehow fitted in, but nvr screw or wat...

 

i thought it was secured but i was wrong, the back one i think drop or wat.

 

now i use the sticker one. cheaper and better =D

[scubasimon]

i was informed that the sticker type may not be legal...anyway...quite a number of people are using them. i'll stick with the plastic ones though.

 

i know the description i wrote in my earlier post about using cable tie can be a little confusing. so here are pictures to explain.

 

as you know, the plates tend to break at this place.

http://simonnunis.smugmug.com/photos/616868545_Gb98w-L.jpg

 

so, a simple way to prevent the bottom part from disappearing completely, is to use cable ties to secure the top part (that remains after the tear) to the bottom part. this is what i did.

http://simonnunis.smugmug.com/photos/651293788_rEWQF-L.jpg

 

note that this is a path to take only if you don't have any other way to secure it to your bike. in my case, the number plate screws for this bike was so difficult to access, i decided to use the cable tie method. if you can access the screws, this picture below shows a better solution.

http://simonnunis.smugmug.com/photos/625407138_XLw2m-L.jpg

 

ok. enough talk about p-plates from me

[Acalanatha]

...i wrote to the traffic police requesting for clarification on the plates. from what they wrote back (which is rather ambiguous), it would seem that the only place for the rear p-plate is above or below the number plate. this means that what i did (i.e. pasting it on the saddlebag) isn't legal, technically. even though i passed a road block and wasn't told anything at that time, its best to change the position...

 

This was the replied of RICHARD QUEK from the traffic police :

 

The display of probationary plates for class 2B riders is provided under rule 5 (2)(a) of the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Rules which is appended below for your easy reference.

 

ROAD TRAFFIC (NEW DRIVERS) RULES

5(2) A distinguishing mark shall be securely affixed —

(a) in the case of a Class 2B motor vehicle — (i) directly above or below the headlamp; and (ii) directly above or below the rear licence plate;

Please see below for the specifications of the p-plate.

 

http://media8.dropshots.com/photos/434030/20090922/123236.jpg

 

All dimensions are in millimetres and the corners shall be radiused.

The p-plate should be made of :

a) Durable flourescent yellow-green wide angle prismatic retro-reflective sheeting

b) Durable flourescent orange wide angle prismatic retro-reflective sheeting

c) White plate of semi-rigid thermoplastic material which is thermoformed into shape as indicated with a general thickness of not more than 1 millimetre

[scubasimon]

i got this reply as well. this looks like a standard answer. however, you can see that it does not address some of the concerns that were raised in this thread. i have since requested for a further look into how to either (1) make the rules relating to the physical appearance of the plate clearer, or (2) ensure the manufacturers' specs are tighter to prevent the plates from snapping off.

 

he apparently did a survey of the driving centres and also talked to class 2a and class 2 students to see if they faced similar issues (e.g. plate tearing off). apparently, the students did not encounter their plates tearing off. while i cannot believe this is true, it is what was reported back to me.

 

so as of now, expect no change to the rules nor improvement in the quality of the plates.