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Hey gang. Thought I would post this up to help any of my fellow DIY types that wanted to get rid of that God aweful I beam that holds the license plate.
This took me all of about 3 hours to build but most of that time was spent building a template and I do have a wide array of tools at my disposal so cutting and sanding went quickly. I used the factory light.
This is what it looks like:
![20150512_184812.jpg]()
![20150512_183151.jpg]()
![20150512_183310.jpg]()
![20150512_183151.jpg]()
![20150512_183310.jpg]()
so what you will need:
I used 22 gauge steel sheet 8x 18...
two m8 1.25 x 20 mm bolts
15 minute epoxy
Matt black spray paint.
double sided tape...I use "carpet tape..it's VERY STICKY.
a jig saw or a hack saw and a love for pain.
Disclaimer...
this is sized for US plates.. Oregon plates to be specific. I'm sure it will fit the hideously large euro plates but if you want, size the holding plate accordingly.
Also.. yes, the template is not perfectly symmetrical. My thought was.. I'm not building a lunar module and most of the plate is under the bike.
There is some flexing and bending involved to make it sit nicely under the bike. The hole measurements are close enough to make instalation easy, I did drill them a little larger than needed so i coukd adjust evrything so it was square. 22 gauge steel was a good mix of strength and flexibility. Feel free to make it out of what ever you desire.
Here is the template
![20150512_184812.jpg]()
that is an 8 x 11 sheet of paper. If you download the picture and print it out, use the two reference measurements to make sure it came out to the correct size. Enlarge or reduce as neccessary. If you find the correct corrections, someone please post them.
Taking off the I beam is straight forward. Unclip the light and pull it through the stock plate.
1. Print the template and cut along the INSIDE of the lines.
2. Transfer those measurements to the piece of steel. If your paper is flimsy you can tape it in one or two spots and spray paint along the edges... walla.. template transfered.
3. Cutting the sheet out is the hardest part. I used a scroll saw but you can use a jigsaw. A very handy trick is to use the carpet tape to secure the steel to a small piece of this plywood then cut it out. This will prevent it from lifting and being a pain in the ass in general.
4. Transfer the hole locations and drill the holes... I can't remember what size bit I used..I have faith that you can figure it out.
5. Give it a test fIt. Mount the forward bolts first! And push the plate to follow the contours of the fender. Screw the second set of mounting bolts.. leave a little loose.
6. Now you have to bend the end of the plate to both allow clearance for the light and to hold the plate at the correct angle.
7. Now the light... in order to make things tuck up nicely I cut the mounting tabs off the light. After turning the light on and making sure of the alignment I mixed some 15 minute epoxy.. waited till it started to set up a little and glued the light to the underside of the fender.
8. While that is curing, sand and file and clean the steel off with something to remove any oil or residue. Paint it.
9. I removed the seat and pulled the wore up into that compartment. Then I loosened the forward most (lower) set of four bolts on the plastic splash guard and pulled the wire down through towards the swing arm. I ended up with a loop of excess wire under the seat. plug it back in and there is an existing cable run on the right side that you can zip tie the wire to.
10. When the paint is dry, install the plate. I used the carpet tape to mount my license plate.
That's about all there is too it really. Pretty simple stuff. All told I spent about $15 on the steel and paint. So I saved over $100 and dropped about 7-8 pounds of metal and plastic from the bike
Cheers
This took me all of about 3 hours to build but most of that time was spent building a template and I do have a wide array of tools at my disposal so cutting and sanding went quickly. I used the factory light.
This is what it looks like:
so what you will need:
I used 22 gauge steel sheet 8x 18...
two m8 1.25 x 20 mm bolts
15 minute epoxy
Matt black spray paint.
double sided tape...I use "carpet tape..it's VERY STICKY.
a jig saw or a hack saw and a love for pain.
Disclaimer...
this is sized for US plates.. Oregon plates to be specific. I'm sure it will fit the hideously large euro plates but if you want, size the holding plate accordingly.
Also.. yes, the template is not perfectly symmetrical. My thought was.. I'm not building a lunar module and most of the plate is under the bike.
There is some flexing and bending involved to make it sit nicely under the bike. The hole measurements are close enough to make instalation easy, I did drill them a little larger than needed so i coukd adjust evrything so it was square. 22 gauge steel was a good mix of strength and flexibility. Feel free to make it out of what ever you desire.
Here is the template
that is an 8 x 11 sheet of paper. If you download the picture and print it out, use the two reference measurements to make sure it came out to the correct size. Enlarge or reduce as neccessary. If you find the correct corrections, someone please post them.
Taking off the I beam is straight forward. Unclip the light and pull it through the stock plate.
1. Print the template and cut along the INSIDE of the lines.
2. Transfer those measurements to the piece of steel. If your paper is flimsy you can tape it in one or two spots and spray paint along the edges... walla.. template transfered.
3. Cutting the sheet out is the hardest part. I used a scroll saw but you can use a jigsaw. A very handy trick is to use the carpet tape to secure the steel to a small piece of this plywood then cut it out. This will prevent it from lifting and being a pain in the ass in general.
4. Transfer the hole locations and drill the holes... I can't remember what size bit I used..I have faith that you can figure it out.
5. Give it a test fIt. Mount the forward bolts first! And push the plate to follow the contours of the fender. Screw the second set of mounting bolts.. leave a little loose.
6. Now you have to bend the end of the plate to both allow clearance for the light and to hold the plate at the correct angle.
7. Now the light... in order to make things tuck up nicely I cut the mounting tabs off the light. After turning the light on and making sure of the alignment I mixed some 15 minute epoxy.. waited till it started to set up a little and glued the light to the underside of the fender.
8. While that is curing, sand and file and clean the steel off with something to remove any oil or residue. Paint it.
9. I removed the seat and pulled the wore up into that compartment. Then I loosened the forward most (lower) set of four bolts on the plastic splash guard and pulled the wire down through towards the swing arm. I ended up with a loop of excess wire under the seat. plug it back in and there is an existing cable run on the right side that you can zip tie the wire to.
10. When the paint is dry, install the plate. I used the carpet tape to mount my license plate.
That's about all there is too it really. Pretty simple stuff. All told I spent about $15 on the steel and paint. So I saved over $100 and dropped about 7-8 pounds of metal and plastic from the bike
Cheers
