Custom License Plates - Anyone else installed one?

I did a few back in the 80s until I realized it makes it easier for others to remember your tag if they call it in...

bounce said:

I did a few back in the 80s until I realized it makes it easier for others to remember your tag if they call it in...

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IF I got a custom tag, I would want a tag that says IO110I1O (all letter I's, O's, ones, and zeroes, mixed) for that reason. The more riders who got similar plates, the better. If a cop issues a ticket with the plate number wrong, the ticket is prolly DOA.

I like customized plates, some are nicely creative. And I don't mind paying the fee to have one made up. ONCE. It just irks me that in the two states I'm familiar with, both will charge you the customized plate fee every year on top of the annual registration fees. I mean if I already paid to have a customized tag/plate produced and I'm still using it each year afterwards why the need to charge me more than any other tag/plate?? I just can't do it.

Our MVD's approval process for vanity plates is a joke. I once had a vanity plate rejected because they (wrongly) claimed it violated their guidelines. I applied for the same plate again right away, only I changed the explanation. Approved.

After a couple of applications, you learn how to write the "backstory" to appeal to the MVD's biases, and you can get away with almost anything.

Saw a Tesla in Helena yesterday with the Montana tag,
On my R1250GSA with a sidecar I have the plate,

Pterodactyl said:

Saw a Tesla in Helena yesterday with the Montana tag,

AI DRVR​

On my R1250GSA with a sidecar I have the plate,

PANZR​

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My old boss has a plate on his Tesla S
NO ICE

I once saw a Tesla plate that read EFF OIL.

No vanity fees for me. My registration costs already seem criminal. Just renewed registration on my other 20-year-old bike for $148. Almost seems like it goes up each year.

FJ Rick said:

I once saw a Tesla plate that read EFF OIL.

No vanity fees for me. My registration costs already seem criminal. Just renewed registration on my other 20-year-old bike for $148. Almost seems like it goes up each year.

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In Montana motorcycle registrations are permanent. Register once and you are good forever. Cost about $160 with a vanity tag. As a result of this bikes that were long ago scrapped or moved out of state are still on the books as on the road in Montana.

There was a report by the insurance industry a few years ago that listed Montana as the safest state for motorcyclists. They determined this by comparing the number of reported accidents to the number of registered motorcycles. You can see how Montana’s permanent registration policy skewed that rating.

red said:

IF I got a custom tag, I would want a tag that says IO110I1O (all letter I's, O's, ones, and zeroes, mixed) for that reason. The more riders who got similar plates, the better. If a cop issues a ticket with the plate number wrong, the ticket is prolly DOA.

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I don't think they allow enough spaces to spell out "0110011001110101011000110110101100100000011110010110111101110101".

Oh My!! Saucy!!

FJ Rick said:

I once saw a Tesla plate that read EFF OIL.

No vanity fees for me. My registration costs already seem criminal. Just renewed registration on my other 20-year-old bike for $148. Almost seems like it goes up each year.

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CA charged me about $50 for a vanity plate around 20 years ago - $80 in 2023 money. After one year I decided it wasn't worth doing.

DesertBike said:

CA charged me about $50 for a vanity plate around 20 years ago - $80 in 2023 money. After one year I decided it wasn't worth doing.

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I had one back in the day too. But as BigOrge noted, the vanity fee was recurrent each year, on top of the registration fee. Just not worth it in this state.

Yep that was what talked me out of it - getting hit with the fee every year, even though they weren't giving me a new plate.

I don't know whether my new state (NM) charges each year for a vanity plate, but it's under $20 so not that bad.

there's no free lunch though - don't get me started on our MVD and their outright greed with regard to used vehicle purchases.

This is all cool and everything but posting your plate number on the internet for the world to see can be a problem nowadays.

Spaghettieddie said:

This is all cool and everything but posting your plate number on the internet for the world to see can be a problem nowadays.

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Do you cover yours when you ride?