Getting up to Code!

   On my recent visit to Riders Hill someone pointed out that my tag might be less than legal.  They said that the local LEOs (law enforcement officers) had written a few tickets for vertically mounted plates.  I looked up the Georgia code and found the following:
GEORGIA CODE
Copyright 2012 by The State of Georgia
All rights reserved.

*** Current Through the 2012 Regular Session ***

TITLE 40. MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC
CHAPTER 2. REGISTRATION AND LICENSING OF MOTOR VEHICLES
ARTICLE 2. REGISTRATION AND LICENSING GENERALLY

O.C.G.A. § 40-2-41 (2012)

§ 40-2-41. Display of license plates


Unless otherwise permitted under this chapter, every vehicle required to be registered under this chapter, which is in use upon the highways, shall at all times display the license plate issued to the owner for such vehicle, and the plate shall be fastened to the rear of the vehicle in a position so as not to swing and shall be at all times plainly visible. No person shall display on the rear of a motor vehicle any temporary or permanent plate or tag not issued by the State of Georgia which is intended to resemble a license plate which is issued by the State of Georgia. The commissioner is authorized to adopt rules and regulations so as to permit the display of a license plate on the front of certain vehicles. It shall be the duty of the operator of any vehicle to keep the license plate legible at all times. No license plate shall be covered with any material unless the material is colorless and transparent. No apparatus that obstructs or hinders the clear display and legibility of a license plate shall be attached to the rear of any motor vehicle required to be registered in the state. Any person who violates any provision of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Not very clear, huh?

 40-8-23  Either a taillight or a separate light shall be so constructed and placed as to illuminate with a white light the rear registration plate and render it clearly legible from a distance of 50 feet to the rear. Any taillight or taillights, together with any separate light for illuminating the rear registration plate, shall be so wired as to be lighted whenever the headlights or auxiliary driving lights are lighted.

 40-8-24 every motorcycle and every motor driven cycle shall carry on the rear at least one red reflector, meeting the requirements of this Code section.

Every such reflector shall be mounted on the vehicle at a height not less than 20 inches nor more than 60 inches measured as set forth in subsection (b) of Code Section 40-8-21 and shall be of such size and characteristics and so mounted as to be visible at night from all distances within 300 feet to 50 feet from the rear of such vehicle except that visibility from the greater distance is hereinafter required of reflectors on certain types of vehicles.

The link below will take you to a site that has title 40 broken down.  If you want to take the time to read it.  It's a lot of information.

http://law.onecle.com/georgia/40/

Based on this I am going to move the tag and illuminate it.  Not quite sure about the reflector.  I'm sure it will look like crap!  Not sure about installing it.  I may install one loosely and ride till it falls off.   Then I can say I had one but it fell off!  Not much of a plan but it is a plan!  It is my understanding that these laws are vague and left to the local municipalities interpretation.  The photo below might be interpreted to be illegible, and it would be pretty complicated to illuminate the plate in this position.

 

There are two threaded bosses in the rear seat risers of the frame.  They are threaded completely through the frame.  I used the top side to mount the sub frame for the seat and side panels.  The bottom side of these holes are perfect to mount the licence plate bracket to the frame under the fender well.  I left a small amount exposed above the tag to mount the plate light.  Detail of installation below. 

 

 

 

This the 5 LED light I purchased on ebay for $8.99.  The wiring harness on the savage  had plugs for the turn signals, left, right, and common.  A three wire plug for the brake and tail light.   It also had two additional female connectors for the stock plate light.  Installation for the plate light was super easy.  I fabricated a metal clip from an odd piece of 16 gauge steel I had left over from the build.  This was bent into a U shape that made a tight fit over the flange above the tag.  I then epoxied the clip to the light assembly and painted it black.  Once it had set and dried I wedged it into place above the tag.  I then drilled a whole in the inner fender and passed the wire through in to the area under the seat.  I covered the wires with two layers of heat shrink to protect them.  I then cut the wires to the proper length and attached two male connectors.  After plugging them in and turning the switch on the tag was illuminated. 

 

The LEDs are set to have a fan shaped spread to fully illuminate the plate.

 

 

In total darkness it is really bright.

 

Below is another interesting add on.  A bicycle speedometer.  This device was another $10.00 ebay purchase.  It measures speed, average speed, Maximum speed, two trip meters, an odometer, a clock, and a thermometer.  I tried to install a wireless unit but the bike seemed to interfere with the transmission of data.  This unit has a wire from the mount that runs down the fork leg to the sending unit.  The magnet that activates it is mounted to the brake disk.  After you measure circumference of the front wheel you can input this amount to make it highly accurate.

 

I don't think you ever finish.