this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2026
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Motorcycles

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My fucking license plate fell off! (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by dingus@lemmy.world to c/motorcycles@lemmy.world
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I'm pissed af right now! Took the cover off to ride to work this morning and saw it was missing. I have no idea when it fell off.

I should have known this would happen...the plate would always get caught and slightly dislodged while putting on and taking off the cover. And the shitty thumb screws seemed like they could easily loosen with vibration. I have no idea why it doesn't have a more secure attachment point.

No idea how long it will take to get a new one either. At least I took the day off tomorrow morning so I can fuck around a bit. Looks like I can likely file for a new one at my DMV without a police report, but I might try to report it to the police anyway as per some other randoms on the internet.

When I get a new one, that fucker is getting fucking zip tied on this time. No more shitty thumb screws.

It would have been such a nice morning ride into work too.

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[–] dingus@lemmy.world 0 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Sadly my bike only has two upper mount holes and no lower mount holes. The holes are very wide and oblong too, so the thumb screws only sit tight when they are positioned just so. Not sure yet how I want to go about securing it tightly. I don't really want to Loctite it on tbh but idk.

[–] JordanZ@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

All of my bikes are the same way as far as mounting.

I have a license plate backing plate. They’re made in aluminum or thick plastic.

Since the holes on the motorcycle are usually wide as you mentioned I drill holes either to the side or below the license plate holes and attach the backing plate to the bike with locking nuts/washers(basically make this as permanent a connection as possible). If you use flat head bolts and counter sink them then the license plate should sit flush over the top. If drilling them below that means the plate will sit higher overall which may not be possible on all motorcycles. The backing plate stops the license plate from getting mangled as well as it’s much more sturdy. You could also drill a hole in the backing plate and using some wire or whatever to the bike as a backup but I’ve never needed to.

I’ve always just used four of these to attach my license plate to the backing plate. The ones with the spring help keep tension on the wing nut and kind of function similar to a lock washer. I’ve never had one of these even come loose in over 5+ years. I’m assuming this is on your Honda Rebel, off road venturing people might need something more robust. Also if you think plate theft is your concern then wing nuts probably aren’t your best option. My bikes are garage kept so that’s less of a concern.