license plate bracket questions.

alright as i posted on general discussion forum http://vfrworld.com/forums/general-vfr-discussions/39379-sooo-i-lost-my-license-plate.html i lost my license plate. so i figured i'd ask on 5th gen section how your license plate bracket is on your 5th gen? i think my bike still has the stock one which is made of plastic and the material does not seem strong at all i believe thats the reason my license plate fell off in first place even though the screws i had on it were very tight. the roads i drive on are very bumpy and that might of cause it. but back to the bracket. it does not seem durable at all. and its not just 1 small hole for screw its a big space on it that screw can fit through. i think entire thing is just a poor design i'm thinking about making my own custom one from metal. so you guys have any suggestions or have you guys changed yours at all

 

Plate brackets can be found nearly everywhere and made of all sorts of materials. Try any online MC store. Custom engravers usually have bike size brackets. Ask at one of the A list car dealers.

Best fasteners IMO are the nuts and bolts made of nylon.

 

I did not like the look of the license plate light and plate holder bracket combo so I removed the whole unit. I shaved the rear fender plastic back a bit with a dremel tool and to replace the license plate light I wired in an LED light strip. The LED light strip was purchased at Walmart for about $10 and is actually brighter than the stock license plate light and since it is bright white LED it actually makes the plate look brighter in the dark. The connection for the LED light strip was soldered into the stock wiring for the license plate light and the strip attaches to the underside of the factory rear tail light housing. To mount the license plate I lined the plate up centered on the fender and clamped it in place with a C-Clamp and drilled holes in the plastic fender to match the license plate mounting holes and attached the plate with some bolts and lock nuts.

 

Here are a few pics of the install.

 

I will post pictures tomorrow but here is what I did. I took the plate off, cut the fender about 5 inches shorter, drilled 2 holes in the plastic for the plate. in the little groove I guess you could call it right under the brake light I put an LED license plate light there and mounted the plate below that. It looks super clean and it was LESS than buying an LED strip from walnast. 2 LED plate light You only need the 2 LED one as it is the perfect brightness. I got mine in black with natural white as the color. So $6 plus the $2.99 shipping comes out to $8.99. Like I said I will post a picture tomorrow for the awwwwweeeee factor haha.

 

Well I've had two set ups. My first set up fell off and lodged the license plate in between the trie and the swing arm. It ate away at the tire.

First Set up

First Set Up
Aftermath

More

Here is my current set up. I used a universal fender eliminator I picked up for a few bucks on ebay.
I combined that with license plate specific bolts. They had rubber grommets which firmly secured
the plate.

The license plate on my Street fighter project had it in the wheel well. You can barely see it here.