Modern Vespa

Where do you stick your front L plate? front bumper or main body?

i dont i passed my test 10 years ago

Didn't read the title then?

The "L" plate.
This should be taken up here in the US.

I would love a fair warning.

Mine was on the front mudguard. If you do a whole set of cuts that run from the edge, almost to the centre (1 inch apart at the edge) you'll be able to get it to stick on, following the contours without big creases, just slight overlap of the wedges.

Or buy a white scooter and just cut out the L and use that.

In my toolbox

Mine is on the horn casing, much to my disgust, as I want a chrome casing, but don't want the L Plate on the front bumper.

Does anyone have one on the rear?, I don't, and never have.

I have a rear L plate. It dangles below the number plate.

Rear is below number plate front is on leg shield dont like them but apparently 2 points on your licence and I presume a fine fro each one not on the bike.

You are risking a £60 fine and three points.

naughty

Mine was cut from a weeties box the morning of my test, and was put in the bin that afternoon.

Some pictures of mine (though i plan on doing the A1 soon to remove them and for motorway riding!)

Edit: sorry for the rather large image size

I never knew it was worth 3pts. Did get stopped once by a very friendly policeman who "advised" me to put one on. But in 12yrs of having my ET4 I have never had one on the rear. Perhaps the police in my area appreciate Vespas more

Hi all - first post!

I bought a rubber mudflap which has an L-plate printed on it, from a shop on eBay.

Here's the shop -
http://bit.ly/16VYClV

Good quality first post!. I might have to invest in one of those, just to keep the 3pts away from my licence.

Had mine on the front mudguard. It's now stuck to the side of the wheelie bin.

Mine is on the legshield, parallel to the horncast panel and slightly cut at the top and bottom right hand corners so it fits.
I know you're not allowed to cut them but there's no place big enough for it on a GTS and Mr Plod has [so far] turned a blind eye.
The rear one is drilled in to the bottom of my number plate acting as a mudflap.

They are there for a reason
So please use them
Thank you

Those do break. My sons went through several until I used some steel strip as vertical reinforcement.

Probably safe to assume, given US skill requirements, that a majority of new riders here are inept. I see some scary stuff from riders every day. Our MSF is so absolutely remedial.

Tell me about it! I've gone through a fair few. I'm thinking of buying that L plate mudflap from eBay or Beedspeed.com as a more durable solution. The steel strip reinforcement is a good idea, though.

The L-plate mud flap is on thick durable rubber and comes with mounting brackets too. It seems pretty sturdy so far.

I'll post pics once I work out how to....

12 years? You've been riding your luck then. With all the money you must have paid out for CBT's, (is it every two years?) you could have had lessons and taken your test. I imagine you must be a reasonably competent rider by now, so it's worth thinking about getting a couple of lessons to eradicate bad habits, which we all have, and doing it. It's worth it.

The fine for not displaying L plates is actually now £100 as well as the 3 points. The fine for all fixed penalty offences went up from £60 on the 15th August this year.

Prior to passing my test 10 years ago, I had a trimmed 'L' on the front (about 1cm from edge of 'L' all the way round) and a slightly trimmed one on rear of my seat ...

I did get spoken to by a policeperson once, but that as for parking on teh grass when I should have apparently parked on the road; clearly a busy day then for policepeeps that day ...

Yeah from the sounds of it, your MSF courses are actually less taxing than our CBT (compulsory basic training), which everyone riding on L plates over here has to not only take, but also renew every two years.

The law doesn't state they can't be cut.

It actually states that they must be 178mm by 178mm square, and that they can be rounded off at the corners.

Which is interesting, because there's nothing specific about just how rounded off they can be, so cutting the top right corner to fit the leg shield should technically be perfectly legit.

too bad you couldn't get a big blue "R" and put it on the leg shield... then you can be legal AND make a statement.

For anyone who has "rounded off the corners" of their L plate, and gets pulled over, and wants to be able to refer to the legislation, the relevant wording is found in schedule IV, part 1 of the motor vehicles (driving licences) regulations of 1999.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/2864/pdfs/uksi_19992864_en.pdf

Don't get it.

L R would be left and right I suppose.

I have a rear mudflap type thingy on the back... The front I did have one on the mudgaurd but that dissapeared a few months back.. A £100 fine and 3 points !!! Gettting myself off to buy a new one NOW!!!

My front L plate has been cut down. It is a white scooter and the dealer actually cut around the red L and stuck it on the front when I bought it. I haven't been stopped yet.

Years ago, I was doing a Bikesafe day, and one of the policemen made a point of saying that cut-down L-plates were very likely to get you pulled over.

Personally, I wouldn't see the point of doing something that would deliberately provoke the law and give them a reason to pull me over. Even if I thought it looked "cool".

The only cool L-plates are the ones you've just put in the bin because you've just passed your test. If half the kids round our way took the cash they appear to have spent on stupid mods to their 50cc scoots, and flashy helmets and clothing, and spent it on passing their test, they'd look a lot cooler. But I'm an old fart, so what do I know.

Speaking of getting rid of L plates.

Is it possible to do a Full MOPED license without having to get the Geared bike license? I know I'll only be driving vespas (fo'life!) so don't see much point wasting my time practicing on a bike i'll never have!

Trying to find info online gives me a headache.. so many classifications. Just want to ride my vespa without the Ls and carry some passengers!

Sounds like you want to do the A1. It allows you to ride without L plates, ride on the motorway and allows you to carry a pillion. And I believe it's meant to reduce your insurance premiums due to previous statistics and having more experience.

From gov website: (https://www.gov.uk/rules-motorcyclists-83-to-88/motorcycle-licence-requirements) I've found prices average around £300-£400. Something I want to do for sure.

Edit: you can also do this test on a auto or manual. Although if i remember correctly, doing this on auto - only allows you ride auto. Passing in manual allows to ride both auto and manual. I'm not 100% sure though, so you may want to double check

We need a "T" plate, for all the Tards on 2 wheels. Man they were out yesterday.

A moped licence (AM) would be useless for you - you couldn't ride your 125.

A light motorcycle licence (A1) would restrict you to 125cc bikes.

Best to go all out for the full A licence, honest.

https://www.gov.uk/ride-motorcycle-moped/bike-categories-ages-and-licence-requirements

Does anyone know if a full auto still applies??? I did read up about that test a few months back but could be out of date info