Getting rid of the ugly license plate bracket.

[furious_blue_imp]

wait, do you keep your bikes in your living room!?

Doesn't everybody?

Doesn't everybody?
This bike and this forum has brought together the *real* motorcycle nuts. I love it ! I consider myself a life long motorcycle enthusiast, but clearly there are those that take it to a level way beyond me (and it's great to see).

Modifying the license plate location to 'show some fender' looks great, and the original part is kept unmolested. I think I'll do this too !

 

[ChipBeck_imp]

wait, do you keep your bikes in your living room!?

Phat Ham,

Not all of them, but right now two of them. I love motorcycles, airplanes, boats, cars, and the people who are passionate about them, work on them, build them, race them, and write about them. I was 14 years old and an avid dirt biker in the Arizona deserts when "On Any Sunday" came out. It filled me with lust for a Husqvarna like the ones Steve McQueen and Malcom Smith rode in that movie. I'm sure many of you who are close to my age had the same desire. Remember how you felt standing in the Husky dealership looking at those red and chrome Swedish bikes that were way beyond our financial reach? I saved my summer job earnings for two years and in 1973 I bought a brand new '73 Husqvarna 250WR. I rode it all through high school and it was still in perfect condition when I sold it to a friend who promptly trashed it. I always regretted selling it so I found an old '73 250WR that was beat up but complete and commissioned Husky Restorations in New York to rebuild it to brand new right down to the last locknut. It's beyond beautiful and everyday when I walk by it in my trophy room it makes me feel like that 14 year old boy again. My modern dirt bikes take me across the desert much faster, but that Husky takes me back in time. So yeah, I keep a 40 year old dirt bike in my home. This is one of the advantages of being single!! The H-D Road King is 15 years old and I brought it in after washing it so I could wax it in a nice air conditioned place instead of the 100+ degree AZ heat outside. The H-D normally resides in my garage with some other fun stablemates. I'm probably making a mistake putting up pictures of a trophy room and will get blasted by those who don't like it. I dig hunting in Africa too. Cheers bro.

Chip



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[Greg_imp]

I did this a few weeks ago. The new bracket is folded up from 1/16" steel plate. I looked at curved license plate frames but they were clunky and costly, so I just curved the plate by itself and painted the border black. (I edited this post to show pics inline instead a thumbnail link)

 

[Lord Popgun]

Greg,

Yeah, yeah, the bikes are nice and all But what I want to know is what rifle and caliber you use in Africa.

 

[ChipBeck_imp]

Greg,

Yeah, yeah, the bikes are nice and all But what I want to know is what rifle and caliber you use in Africa.

Elephant, Hippo, Cape Buffalo, .470 Nitro Express Kreighoff double barreled rifle.
Lion, Leopard, Eland, Kudu, Waterbuck, .375 H&H bolt action.
Everything else in Africa or anywhere else, 7mm Weatherby Magnum bolt action.

Chip

 

[jmc1100_imp]

Great idea Thanks..Did It. Looks great!!!

 

[CB4ME_imp]

Great idea Thanks..Did It. Looks great!!!

Same here. Simple inexpensive modification that improves the bike's looks.

 

[BuffaloBill_imp]

Chip - awesome job and I'm going to shamelessly duplicate it!

Good! That's why I put the info and photos up bro. A couple cold beers makes the whole project faster and more fun.

Chip

Me too! Without the shame... Very nice! Thanks for the "show how" pics! Well done Chip!

 

[wildezt_imp]

Gentlemen,

The designers of the CB1100 went to great lengths to make it a beautiful bike that incorporated many features of the early CB's. One of them are the cool chrome fenders. Unfortunately you can't see much of the rear one as it's completely covered by the ridiculously huge license plate bracket that is festooned with 3 reflectors, is far too wide, sticks way out from the fender, and has the license plate hanging down so low you can't even see the bottom of the rear fender. It's like a big wart on the tip of a beautiful girl's nose. I'm sure it satisfy's a lot of regulatory requirements but beauty is not one of them. So I fixed it with a simpler, lighter, and sturdier bracket I built myself and thought I'd post photos for other members who want to give their CB's a better looking butt. First, here's the original bracket.


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So, down to Home Depot for a strip of 2" wide, 1/8 inch thick aluminum and I cut a 6 1/2 inch piece off of the end. I then filed and sanded all of the edges smooth and sanded the entire surface to give it a brushed finish. After removing the original bracket there are two big round washers with a flat surface that provide a rock solid mounting point for my new compact bracket. Use a 1/4 inch bit to drill the holes and use a much bigger bit to countersink the holes that will attach the plate to the fender so the plate can lay flat against it. I used all stainless steel bolts, washers, and locking nuts so there will never be any corrosion. Drill the top of the plate with 2 non-countersunk 1/4 inch holes to attach the plate to. I tried both chrome and flat black license plate frames and I liked the flat black better but either would look fine. Stainless round Phillips head bolts with acorn nuts and lock washers secure the plate to the new flush mount. NOW....you can see the bottom of the rear fender, the plate is tucked up close to the fender and higher. The taillight illuminates the plate even better than before, the plate is much less obtrusive, and my CB1100 has a much prettier butt. You be the judge.

Total cost, about $10 for the strip of aluminum, $8 for my stainless hardware, $7 for the flat black license plate frame, and about 3 hours of my time. I really like the way it looks now. Cheers.

Chip

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Nice.!

I did this a few weeks ago. The new bracket is folded up from 1/16" steel plate. I looked at curved license plate frames but they were clunky and costly, so I just curved the plate by itself and painted the border black. (I edited this post to show pics inline instead a thumbnail link)

first picture, nice shot Greg..! beautiful..! photography enthusiast too..?

 

[Hytecredneck_imp]

Very nice mod and cleans up the rear fender. You were also able to preserve the original part, Thanks for sharing.

 

[BuffaloBill_imp]

ChipBeck: Thanks so much for the "Show How" and tips. I was wondering what to do about the large plate mount... I copied your implementation to the "t" and I am so happy with the way it came out. Now you can see the fender - old school style! For about $20 bucks and two hours of effort. Uda man! Thanks!

 

[Greg_imp]

Quote:first picture, nice shot Greg..! beautiful..! photography enthusiast too..?
Thanks Wildezt, I'm an industrial designer and have long used photography in my work.

 

[jimigalahad_imp]

Looks fantastic. Would buy one.

 

[Ole]

Thanks for the idea. I went to the shed inspected my scrap metal pile. Found a old bracket to make shelves in a closet? Hack sawed a chunk out, rounded off the corners on my grinding wheel, drilled four holes in it, did a test fit, then painted it rattle can black.

I thought I needed a spacer to make sure the plate does not touch the fender. Found a black plastic bolt and put an acorn nut on the outside and called it good.

done

 

[Flynbulldog_imp]

Thanks chip, I did this mod to my bike this weekend and it looks great!

Bikes in the house? - of course!



Dead animals? not so much... :-/

 

[the Ferret]

Thanks chip, I did this mod to my bike this weekend and it looks great!

Bikes in the house? - of course!



Dead animals? not so much... :-/

Do we have a drooling emoticon? Dayum, very nice bulldog!

 

[ChipBeck_imp]

Flyn',

Yeah baby. That's frigging awesome!! How long have you been divorced?

Chip

 

[Flynbulldog_imp]

Flyn',

Yeah baby. That's frigging awesome!! How long have you been divorced?

Chip

haha, My wife loves it! She helps me work on the bikes and in fact we just got back from a 200 mile ride together this afternoon.

 

[oldgoat01_imp]

Thanks chip, I did this mod to my bike this weekend and it looks great!

Bikes in the house? - of course!



Dead animals? not so much... :-/

I would not want that... I mean, takes up too much space, 'd be stubbing my toe bumping in them all the time, the glare from all that shiny stuff blinding you, and of course all the stains..not the oil stains but the blood from my lifeless body draped over a bike in the middle of the room (yes, I am married)

 

[ChipBeck_imp]

Flyn',

Yeah baby. That's frigging awesome!! How long have you been divorced?

Chip

haha, My wife loves it! She helps me work on the bikes and in fact we just got back from a 200 mile ride together this afternoon.

That, my friend, is even better than your bikes.

Chip