Modern Vespa

I need a better way to mount my US license plate on this odd Super that I rebuilt. Currently, in the usual spot, I've kept the vintage overseas plate, which is from Bali, and I like it there.

I have a hokey temporary setup now for my VT plate, where it's attached via wire through the rear seat rack. I'm unsatisfied, tho.

I am curious if anyone wanting to keep an early foreign plate on their scoot has made or bought a customized mount that would hold the US plate vertically and off to the (left?) side?

I searched the forum but didn't see any such custom side mounts, while the motorcycle ones for sale on online seem to fasten onto an axle or something that wouldn't work so well on old Vespas. So... if you got one, please share your solutions or fabrications. Thanks!

Not sure about US law, but it would cause confusion to have two license plates showing and would certainly not be legal where I'm from. Having said that, looks cool so far...

There's a lammy in the new bosstones video that has it's old UK plate with the US one underneath it!

Thanks bluefoam and cliffy. I'll keep playing around with mount options. I like the clip of the Lambretta and how it looks. I just wish I had more bolt thread left through the original plate at the bottom there to be able to attach the US plate. The lil' fasteners actually are buried underneath and so don't appear to be of much use. The shiny black ID part looks to be an adhesive and a bit brittle, so I'm trying to not disturb it much either.

I could imagine some authorities being confused about the 2 plates and maybe making an issue out of it. It might be just luck but I haven't had probs with the PoPo over the last couple of years with light riding. Cops in town even followed me a while this week but totally left me alone. New England can be live free or die, unless you really blow it.

I recently made a bracket for my new license plate using 1,5mm thick aluminium plate. It works well for the purpose and is easy to work with a pair of sheet metal shears, vise and a hammer.

Hey Stuggi! Well done. Nice shape to that bracket. Did you heat up the aluminum to be able to bend that bottom portion? Amazing that you can trim that with sheet metal shears. Thanks for sharing that.

Just cold bent in a wise using gloves and my IT-guy fingers.
I think I used a hammer once to get a bit tighter bend. 1,5mm aluminium bends very easily. I have the luxury of a pair of pneumatic metal shears but a pair of hand shears or an angle grinder will work equally well. Other than that I just used a couple of files and a flap disc on an angle grinder. The corners radiuses are done with a 16 mm socket as a curve guide, just trace the curve off the socket to get a line and then cut it down at a 45 degree with the shears and then file/grind it to the line.

It doesn't show very well on the picture, but the lower bracket is actually shaped like an upside down U, that was done using a hydraulic hole punch to get the inside curve in the center, and then cut out using the shears before bending.

My top tip is to get the plate cut as you like it before bending, then bending it and then and only then drill the holes, as everything will move slightly when bending stuff. Hole locations are easily done using a piece of cardboard taped to the license plate, then insert bolts into the holes in the scooter and tighten them up, if you have thick enough cardboard then you can use the bolts sticking out as punches to get very exact holes in the cardboard.

Thank you Stuggi for the aluminum-spiration! I liked your clean design, and the color and softness of aluminum, so I made a plate holder to mount at the back of the rear seat rack with a single bolt. It's different than yours because it's a higher on the bike, above the brake lamp.

I kept it very simple - it's just some cuts with an angle grinder, soften up the edges, and ransack the old hardware trays for bolts. I'll try it out for a few rides this week -- who knows, I may need to add some rubber buffers if there's vibration back there. Cheers

Try under the parcel tray instead of on top. May look more natural.

I hear ya, but I like the 150 Super emblem to be visible and this allows that while dangling it lower would pretty much cover it. I'll try it for a bit.

Trying to keep it different

Nice utilitarian mod there Roliver! I like different!

The aftermarket crowd for Harleys offers some nice options. My favorite was one that allowed you to move the plate 90 degrees so that cameras don't pick it up. Just reach back and flip it before running through toll collection.

I worked for the state at the time and we ended up sending a cease and desist letter because the toll collectors in CA's Bay Area were losing money. The two-wheel guy in me was sad.