Front Number Plates

[bigbthesoulman]

Hello,
Have a 62 li series 3
Bought a set of pressed plates from tippers 6 digits,very good quality no question,
Don't look right on series 3.Think they must be for 1 or 2,
Anyway I show my Lambretta at vintage shows,have seen various pictures over the years of diffrent front plates either on legshield or front mudguard,anyone put a plate on there's looking for ideas to be honest,would like best vintage look,having bother even finding pictures if someone could help...

[TS1-200]

I don`t think front number plates are type specific, down to personal preference there are only the two types either straight or curved, I think both types would look a bit odd on the front mudguard of an S3, if anything I would go with the stick on straight type as it would follow the shape of the mudguard

[pacemaker]

A 1962 series 3 first registered in GB would by law have to have front number plates when first registered so to make it look authentic curved or straight plates will fit on the mudguard.
In 68 when I put a nanucci ali mudguard on my series 2 I went for vinyl letters and numbers on the legshield.
On my current TV200 I have vinyl reg plate on the flyscreen.
Your choice really.

[Digger]

[bigbthesoulman]

Hello,can you buy square ones for legshield,or are they again stick on

[Tractorman]

My series 3 in 1968. The number plates were stick on with clear contact film over them, fablon?, to keep the letters and numbers on.

ECT 43D IoM 1968.jpg

[lammydave]

[bigbthesoulman]

The ones I had on mine looked exactly like that,didn't look right to me on scooter

[Warkton Tornado No.1]

My SX @ NEC 2012 (cropped).jpg

There's always stick on.

[johnnyXS]

pesonally I think they look really naff.

The original aluminium curved plates that sat on top of the mudguard were made illegal because of the danger to pedestrians
Vinyl stick-on letters were a really cheapo option back in the 60's and they looked as cheap and crappy then as they still do.
In my opinion they spoil the aestetic balance of the scoot especially when placed on a curve. The curved plates don't follow any part of the lines of the scooter and to my mind just look like stuck-on tat .

[Adam_Winstone]

^... fair enough but I love the stick on type and have recently fitted them to 2 of my bikes.

Each to their own but I find myself disliking pressed alloy plates more and more. If you look at what both cars and bikes were running back in the 50s and 60s, very, very few actually had pressed alloy plates, with the majority having flat black plates with white sticker numbers/letters on them or the 3D wedge type plastic numbers/letters that get fixed through holes and 'badge clips'. There would be very few people that went out and bought an economical mode of transport, then spent 10 times as much on pressed plates than the common options would cost you. Whereas you have to order pressed plates, you could go into any car/bike dealer of the day and simply buy the digits that you needed... I have 2 wall mounted motorbike/scooter sticker trays that I bought from a 50s-70s UK Lambretta dealer.

For my sins/stupidity, I also bought a 71 MGB GT from the same family that had the Lambretta dealership, which now sees me do the very occasional MG event. As with the scooter scene, you quickly note that many of the original cars have sticker/3D digit type original plates but that all the gleaming restored cars have pressed metal plates. After a while these pressed plates start to look like the nasty shiny bling that you see on so many naff badly restored machines, regardless of how much money might have been spent on it. If you are looking for a top quality resto then the type of plate that would actually have been fitted in the 50s-60s is much better than a shiny plate that would more likely have been fitted to a resto from the 90s onwards!

Each to their own... and I do have pressed metal plates fitted to some of my scoots. Indeed, I have an original 71 GP with the original dealer fitted black on wht pressed front plates and blk on yellow rear, so it does go to show that there is a mixed bag of originals and it really is just a matter of opinion and choice. For me... wht on black stickers (or the correct size and font) are what I tend to plump for... cheap, easy to fit (no holes needed), and available off the shelf, which is why they were the original choice for most back in the day.

Adam

[Warkton Tornado No.1]

JohhnyXS no mudguard.jpg

Of course, 'naffness' is all a matter of personal taste.

Then there's ability, or even the provision of having a front mudguard could influence a decision.....

[Adam_Winstone]

^... looking for the 'like' button