Shorter License Bracket?

I'm a brand new rider in reference to the VFR, been running a Big Bore Harley for the last year, just needed a change and my neighbor turned me on to this particular bike. Anyway, need to shorten my license plate bracket. Is there a shorter license plate bracket available? And, if so, where can I pick it up? Thanks.

[icw70]

I'm not sure if anyone sells them, if anyone finds out, let me know.


I received the suggestions from this fellow.

http://www.geocities.com/veefer800canuck/

Here's how to do it yourself. I haven't done this yet, but received this from0-remove seat
1-remove wiring for plate light under seat.
2-remove plate and bracket. Separate same. Remove bracket mounting
grommets from fender.
3-separate the light assembly from the plate bracket. Save light and
special retaining nuts (2).
4-toss the bracket as far as possible. You should feel muuuch better now.
5-remove red reflector from underneath the taillight. Toss reflector also. 6-using your license plate as a straightedge, align the top edge of the
plate with the horizontal crease near the upper part of the fender, just

below where the red reflector used to live. Use your judgement. Fake it. 7-scribe a pencil mark along the bottom edge of the plate, all the way
across the fender.
8-cut along pencil line carefully using a jigsaw and a fine tooth blade. 9-for the L&R sides of the fender, use a small soup can and align the
curvature of the can's top with the edges of the fender and pencil in
~1/4 of a curve to round off the pointy edges left when you sawed off the
lower portion of the fender. Puncture soup can and place on hot engine
block for later consumption. Don't forget the crackers. 10-use a hand sanding block and medium grit sandpaper to gently smooth
and chamfer the cut edges. Go slow and be picky and you'll have a beauty

job with nice straight lines and flowing curves that blend with the
sides of the fender.
11-hold license plate back in position as in step 6, make sure it's
centered nicely left to right and exactly level with that upper crease
on the top part of the fender and mark your 2 upper bolt holes for the
plate. DON'T DRILL THEM YET!
12-now run and fetch the plate bracket from wherever it landed and
somewhere (I forget) on the original bracket-to-fender mounting points,
there should be a couple of "sleeved washers" (for lack of a better
term) that fit into some rubber grommets. Get these. Toss bracket again. 13-find a drill bit the same O.D. as the sleeves. Now drill the holes.
14-grind down the sleeved portions of the funny washer thingys until the
sleeves are the same thickness as your fender and they should just fit
in through the backside of the fender (washer part facing the tire).
The sleeves should be just flush with the fender on the outside. This
will provide some backing for the nuts when tightening and sandwich the
fender nicely so as not to stress the plastic. I think it might crack
later on down the road from vibration if one just bolted through the
fender with no reinforcement. Or, maybe I just like futzing with things. 15-in the original license plate scheme, there was a little conical
"rubber baby buggy bumper" that sat behind the centre bottom of the
plate to keep it from vibrating. Grab that little sucker (wherever it
has landed) and wiggle it out of it's hole. Drill similar hole at the
botton centre of your fender, about 1/2 to 3/4" from the bottom edge of
the fender. Hold up the plate and fuss with the location of the buggy
bumper until you are happy, then mark and drill. Insert baby bumper in
said hole.
16-install plate with suitable bolts and nuts (I used some black,
shouldered M6 bolts I had laying around) and tighten. It should be snug
against the rubber bumper. If you're paranoid, use Nylock nuts. 17-examine the back of the plate light and drill suitable holes (where the

red reflector used to live) for the two mounting studs as well as the
backside of the bulb socket and associated wires. The back of the bulb
socket will protrude slightly through the fender underneath the seat.
Some trimming with a Dremel or a hobby knife may be required for optimal

fit. Take your time, test and check fit. Ideally, the flared bottom edge

of the plate light will be perfectly flush with the ridge in the fender
above the license plate. Confused yet? Good.
18-thread wiring thru hole and install light. Attach with the (2) special
nuts.
19-hook up plate light wiring and secure excess wire.

Take it easy :)

[rshimmel]

If anyone has tried this on an 02 VFR, I'd love to hear about it. I'm dying to cut that thing off... ???

[fyeguy]

Rick,

I'm not sure if you know this or not, but you can completely remove the rear fender and leave the metal bracket for the plate and the light in place. Remove the rear fairing, then unbolt the fender... disassemble and then put it back together sans the humungous plasting fender.

PS. Make sure you put the plate bracket back on the bottom holes... if not you'll be melting the plastic onto your trick-under-seat exhaust.

[rshimmel]

Yeah! I ended up doing this--removed the rear fender entirely, then remounted the license plate light and plate onto the metal support bracket...The only wrinkle was that I have the OEM hard bags and the metal hangars for the bags tie into a replacement (heavier) metal bracket that goes on in place of the old one, but once you've figured out the three points of attachment for the hangars, removing that rear fender gives the back end of the bike a much cleaner look. I had to trim the upper corners of the plate down a little to fit between the mufflers, and I've picked up a hugger to finish off the rear wheel but haven't put it on yet. Fun stuff. 8) When I can, I'll post pictures..

[VifferChic]

Please post your pics as soon as you get some. I'd love to see them.

[ScootR]

How about Competition Werkes, $60.00...

http://gallery.bcentral.com/Gallery/...tOrder=0<br />

[ScootR]

Dang, don't know where the pic went, try this...

http://www.competitionwerkes.com/Cat...1276.htm<br />

I was browsing a Dennis Kirk catalog and they also sell the kit for 144.00. Kinda pricey, but also another option.

[waldrm]

Go to Cyclemall and check out the stealth tail. Since the VFR does not need turn signal mounts, this is a good option at $50.00. I binned by rear fender completely and went with an undertray; used a $9.00 mount from a 750 Nighthawk for the license plate. Email for pics

[waldrm]

Go to Cyclemall and check out the stealth tail. Since the VFR does not need turn signal mounts, this is a good option at $50.00. I binned my rear fender completely and went with an undertray; used a $9.00 mount from a 750 Nighthawk for the license plate. Email for pics. Agree with you on the Harleys being a big bore.

[mtradtke]

I just took the stock license plate &quot;mega mount&quot; off of my '02 VFR, it looks 100% better than stock!! I just recently found this web site, and it is awesome! Keep up the excellent work. ;D

[floorguy724]

I Just took the shibang off, I had some metal brackets (metal strips w/holes in it) laying around and BAM!!! I figure the tail will produce enough light. Haven't had any problems yet. as he knocks on wood