"Historic" License Plates

[45OZ]

No just one plate but 2 bikes hence "plates " one for each, sorry for the confusion
Joe Oz

[Sargehere]

Great! Thanks for filling that in! They must've given up on that scheme. Or maybe it was just the fear, when the new plate design was inaugurated. I've been out of New Jersey for a while. You say "plates,' does Jersey still issue two plates, for front & rear? They did for many years, and some of the front fender plate brackets got quite creative.

[45OZ]

I understand that NJ enforces their insurance requirement for motorcycles operated on the road, now, by requiring you even prove you have insurance in effect every year on your permanently-registered Historic Vehicle, and issues you an validation sticker for the plate that proves that to the cop on the street, and that they have for some time. The Historic plates have little embossed squares in the lower corners, now. A far cry from the time when one of their expressed defenses against issuing us Historic plates for motorcycles at all, was, "The word 'Historic' would be so small on a motorcycle plate as to be illegible." !!!

I have Jersey plates on my Indian & have had them for about 3 years now ( before I used it everyday so I had normal plates for about 8 years) I have not had to prove anything to NJDMV since I have had the plates never had to prove anything, unless I was pulled over & they want to see the papers & I have never gotten a sticker for the plate on my historic bikes but I do need a sticker for my non historic bikes. I did ask about the black squares when I first got them in Trenton They told me don't worry about it, it just the same blank used for the non histiric bikes. I ride this beast all over & have never been stopped for no plate sticker

[Sargehere]

What are the regulations on license plates on antique motorcycles there? In 1988, last time I inquired of all the states and provinces for The Antique Motorcycle, the S.D. Director of Motor Vehicles wrote me that "only cars" were "eligible for 'historical' license plates." I would be glad to hear that's changed, in a state that sees a half-million motorcyclists visit every August.

[fillibuster]

Move to South Dakota!

[Sargehere]

Since there's no category here about state laws or registration, and Ohio-Rider answered my post to another thread, in "Paint," with something about license plates, but not wanting to hijack that thread, I thought I'd answer him by starting a new thread.

... Gerry, It might be worth a try to contact the New Jersey BMV with your request. They need the cash. You never know, if the right girl answerers the phone, you might get lucky enough that you could have a real one at a one time cost.

I considered that. I'd have to report the 1976 NJ plate as lost (it is a permanent-for-life plate, so it's still tied to my '37 Harley, registered in NJ) to NJ DMV, which wouldn't be right, but they've also changed the "Historic" plate to include little "sticker corners" embossed in both sides, and changed the paint colors a couple of times since I got mine. They were all-over "straw" yellow, like all NJ plates were for decades, 50s-'70s (which is an exact Cadillac paint color, BTW), then some light blue for years, with straw lettering, and the straw color fades to white, nowadays, with black letters again, I understand. I'd just like a replica that's correctly embossed. The highest number Historic motorcycle plate I've seen issued was on the high side of 5,000, last year. Every one of the 50 states, Territories, and Provinces of Canada has a different set of rules on 'Antique Vehicles' and how to register them to drive on their roads.

NJ won't reissue my plate number to anyone else if I don't surrender the one in my possession, so if I ever move back to Joisey, the '37 motor can go back in it and Ol' Tex is "Q1" again.

One of the other charter Seaboard members passed away in 2002, and there were some people yearning to register their bikes with his low-numbered plate (we Seaboard members had asked for first call on the first ten when we found out we had won them from NJ DMV, as I remember).

Some of the other Q-plate people, and I, who'd earned our plates by writing letters, making phone calls and generally keeping after NJ DMV for almost two years, 1974-76, asked his heirs not to surrender it to be "recycled." We just wanted to keep the numbers we'd hard-earned among those of us who'd helped in the fight to get them. It just meant something to us. We survivors still call and talk and email each other, and call each other by our plate numbers: I'm "Hey, Q1!" for instance. So it's our memories of him that would be diluted, I guess.

I understand that NJ enforces their insurance requirement for motorcycles operated on the road, now, by requiring you even prove you have insurance in effect every year on your permanently-registered Historic Vehicle, and issues you an validation sticker for the plate that proves that to the cop on the street, and that they have for some time. The Historic plates have little embossed squares in the lower corners, now. A far cry from the time when one of their expressed defenses against issuing us Historic plates for motorcycles at all, was, "The word 'Historic' would be so small on a motorcycle plate as to be illegible." !!!