Here are some pics
showing the relatively straightforward way that I relocated and illuminated
the license plate on my 996. I have heard of some riders having problems with
a plate located this way, but I also know others that ride regularly with
the license plate stashed under the seat with the toolkit... That said, check
with your local Law Enforcement and make the mod at your own risk.
(Sorry,
had to be said...)
Here's a shot from behind the bike, showing the plate in
location, and illuminated.
The plate is mounted with two small "L" shaped
brackets that I made from sheet aluminum and painted black. The bend in the
bracket isn't a full 90 degrees, more like 50-60 degrees. I have a carbon
undertray on the bike currently, but I had the plate mounted in the same fashion
when I was using the stock undertray.
Here's the left bracket...
...and the right bracket...
No real rocket science here, lots of guys mount Superbike
plates this way. However, I do get frequent requests for info on how it's
done, hence the pics and description. Easily done with some scrap sheet aluminum,
a pair of tin snips, and a drill. One note is that I did use the snips to
trim the outer edge from my license plate, so it just squeezes in between
the big 54mm pipes. It's quite close, but I've not had any vibration, rubbing,
or rattling problems. So far, success!
Illumination of the plate is accomplished via the use of
a tiny light called a MicroStar LED. They're available on the web (click
here), and are perfect for this type of installation as they
are waterproof. The LED includes a rubber mounting grommet, and is a simple
12V 2-wire hookup. I put bullet connectors on the ends of the wire and simply
plugged it into my factory wiring harness - no cutting, no permanent mods
to the bike's wiring.
The light is mounted using another small "L" shaped
aluminum bracket, bolted to the undertray. I located this light just ahead
of the right side exhaust canister. Early on, I had mounted the light in the
center of the undertray. It wasn't too visible in normal usage, but if you
looked up close, you'd see the light and bracket. I wanted the "sterile"
look, so I relocated it to this area when I switched to the carbon undertray.
When the tail section is in place, the light is not visible.
Here's a shot from the right, with the tail up...
(In this photo, you're seeing a very
closeup shot - The rear subframe is the silver bar and tab at the top, LED
and bracket in the center, with the exhaust pipe and leading edge of the exhaust
can at the bottom)
This was a difficult shot to get, as the area is too small
to get into physically. This shows the face and tiny reflector of the LED,
as mounted. You are viewing this from just directly in front of the plate
itself, looking up and slightly rearward.
Although it is advertised as waterproof, you'll see in the
pics above that I enclosed the LED and wiring in shrink-wrap for good measure.
I wanted to protect the thin wires from fraying, and add an additional layer
of protection. The wires are sealed to the case of the LED with epoxy as the
part ships from the vendor, so it should be quite durable. It has worked very
nicely to date, and is quite bright. The plate is visible in the daylight
as well as at night.
