L plates, who's used them?

[BUNGY]

Hi. Just got my bike and hate the L plate. Would take it off but not sure if it worth the risk. Just wondering how many of you did and didn't use an L plate and whether or not you were caught and fined

[Flatcap]

Only put mine on for the test.

Didn't get caught, or stopped at all for any reason...

[Fishy]

The only time I put an L plate on was when I rode to the cop shop to do my restricted. I reckon the attract unwanted attention from cops and idiot cage drivers.

[Joni]

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=24252

[sunhuntin]

had one from day one....too expensive not too...for both fines and insurance reasons. i cut one corner off [was blocking me indicator] and the tyre had a munch of the opposite corner going to bulls one day. its there, but barely a "plate" any more, lmfao.

[Karma]

Where's the option for never needed one? Some of us never had to do learners / restricted :D

[Freakshow]

Never used it and was done for sppeding and no L put it on and broke of 50km later and only used on the test day after that.

[Filterer]

Well i used a L plate when I learned to drive a car 6years ago but the only time Ill use it on the bike is the day i go for my restricted...

Ive been on the learners for 5 months now riding most days and have never pulled over or stopped by the fuzz. Having said that the other rule that you should break is the 70km/h rule. Its just ludicrous on the motorway.

From what I have read on here if your doing 70km/h and the rest of the traffic is doging 100km/h cops will pull you over to tell you to speed up or get off the motorway....

On the other hand it is a $400 fine for each infringement so could be expensive if busted after 10pm doing 100km/h and no L plate....... not that I would have ever done that many times :innocent:

[jumma]

Been riding about a month now and haven't got round to putting one on. Had my license / wof / rego checked at a checkpoint and the coppa said he wasn't losing any sleep over the lack of an L plate.

When my flatmate got pulled without one, he sent the cops a photo of his bike with one on to show he'd fixed the problem and his ticket was cancelled.

However, if you're insured and you don't have one on you're breaching your license conditions - so that equals NO insurance.

[Swoop]

Where's the option for never needed one? Some of us never had to do learners / restricted :D

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[Filterer]

However, if you're insured and you don't have one on you're breaching your license conditions - so that equals NO insurance.

From what I understand this only applies if the condition you were breaching was a factor in the crash....Somebody correct me if im wrong.

I think an insurance company would be hard pushed to prove not having an L plate contributed to the crash, on the other hand if you had a passenger on the back and you crashed because you couldn't stop in time with the extra weight or something they would have a much better case to decline your claim

[McJim]

Mine is always on - but it so covered in dried mud you can't see the detail - just looks like a mud-flap. It's the only part of my bike I don't clean.

[sunhuntin]

On the other hand it is a $400 fine for each infringement so could be expensive if busted after 10pm doing 100km/h and no L plate....... not that I would have ever done that many times :innocent:

i used to ride after 10pm [midnight - 1am to be exact] due to work...did it illegally before i applied and was granted an exemption. i actually see those hours as the safest due to the lack of traffic. ive also ridden before 6am...think it was 5am, and that was beautiful....watched the sun coming up on the foxton straits. if i was a morning person, id do that more often! LOL.

[Dodger]

I think an insurance company would be hard pushed to prove not having an L plate contributed to the crash, on the other hand if you had a passenger on the back and you crashed because you couldn't stop in time with the extra weight or something they would have a much better case to decline your claim

Dont think I want to risk killing my bike and then not having the insurance backup, so I think I'll just leave the plate there. Only need it for a few more months anyway.

On the plus side, Yellow bike, Yellow plate, so it doesnt stand out that much.
Also, the plates you get from the bike stores are smaller than the ones from the AA/$2 shop (which are enlarged car sized) :D

[inlinefour]

Where's the option for never needed one? Some of us never had to do learners / restricted :D

That and if ya ever did need one, one well placed wheelie tends to help with the thing. Have a nephew who got pulled over, but still had some of the plastic from the L plate on the back. He was just told to get another one, guess what happened to that one as well...

[mstriumph]

Where's the option for never needed one? Some of us never had to do learners / restricted
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[Karma]

WHOA THERE! Old Fart? I'm like 23 dude.

I never needed one because I did direct access.

Old fart indeed!

[apteryx_haasti]

I voted "always used one" but I refuse to go 70 kph on the motorway when the rest is going 100 kph. Haven't had any probs with that (so far) but I'm willing to take my chances of a ticket over being road jam.

I do try to stay at or under 100 kph because I think going over 100 kph with the L plate would be a big biccky fine if got pulled over.

[sunhuntin]

I voted "always used one" but I refuse to go 70 kph on the motorway when the rest is going 100 kph. Haven't had any probs with that (so far) but I'm willing to take my chances of a ticket over being road jam.

I do try to stay at or under 100 kph because I think going over 100 kph with the L plate would be a big biccky fine if got pulled over.

same here...though i do usually go over 100k. i try and keep it legal though...had a cop follow me down welly way once...pulling away from a set of lights on the motorway there...luckily i spotted him before i got my speed up, so i sat on 80k.

i follow all the rules of an l plate except the ones that make no sense [ie, 70k on the open road]

[Nicksta]

never used one, except for my restricted test.....
never got cought....
i think its more dangerous having it on telling every cage around you to drive stupid....

[Titanium]

What the fark were they? ........ cage or bike ....... was not the law when I pulled my licence from the weet-bix box.

[Lil_Byte]

I had a wee green book - so not sure what the L Plate is:scooter:

[Drum]

The poll results pretty much speak for themselves on this one.

This law doesn't help anyone.

[Kyle]

My L plate was attached with velcro dots, so i could put it on for driving tests and take it off afterwards. got pulled over without L plate and didnt get a fine for that, he was to busy giving me a ticket for something else if i recall. got a warning once for going 100 on a learners but no ticket.

As far as insurance goes, they will use any excuse to not pay out, thats how they make money. for example no WoF means no insurance, regardless if the bike is upto warrantable standard or not, no rego = no insurance and that surely has no effect on a crash. so no L plate on learner/restricted would no doubt mean no insurance either.

[Big Chim]

only used one for the licenses test.

If you dont ride like a fool then your unlikly to get pulled up

[ajturbo]

i used to ride after 10pm [midnight - 1am to be exact] due to work...did it illegally before i applied and was granted an exemption. i actually see those hours as the safest due to the lack of traffic. ive also ridden before 6am...think it was 5am, and that was beautiful....watched the sun coming up on the foxton straits. if i was a morning person, id do that more often! LOL.


and dooo tell us

what do you at night from 10-1 ????:innocent:

[sunhuntin]

and dooo tell us

what do you at night from 10-1 ????:innocent:

used to do nightfill at write price and then at pak n save. then i got put on night shift at the pak n save forecourt. after i closed that id go and continue with the nightfill till whatever time. good fun

[RiderInBlack]

Only got caught once without the L on a bike but got let-off. Was a random check-point and I was over 30 at the time. Would have been bad if I was hooning on a Learners and had got stopped with out the L. The only time I put it on was going ta sit my Restricted and had arse-hole "Cagers" right up my arse. They didn't do that when I didn't have the L-plate on.

Personally I can not see the point in them apart from the policing side of things. I drive/ride watching how the others on the road are behaving and adjust to what I see. The L-plate may give me a small indication to watch-out for that driver but their driving behaviour IMHO is a better indication as there are a lot of dangerous drivers/riders out there and most of them have full licences.

[Roj]

Some time in the dim distant past when I got my license I never needed an L Plate, but my son has them for his bike, needs them for the insurance because if you are not adhering to all license conditions they can decline the claim, they don't need any other reasons.

[Motu]

When I was a learner it was on the rego label - when you registered your bike you got an ''L'' rego label,no way to remove that.And it meant you couldn't ride someone else's bike who had a full licence label - I know that because I got a ticket,had to make a court appearance and pay the fine.

[R6_kid]

only used it to sit the L to R test. Got caught without it but never fined, must give good blowjobs.

[vrossi]

Best thing to do is chop it down small and try to camaflage it in to the bike by puting tape round it and refelectors and shit (thats what i did) so if a cop pulls up for doubling the speed limit(just carry on ) or what eva just say u didnt know what size it had to be ! and u can hardly c it

[dnos]

I don't have one at the mo but keep telling myself i should get one for the insurance reason. Whats the point in paying the insurance company my hard earned dosh if they aint gonna pay out, However i have had my learners for 4 months already and haven't been pulled over- But i never go over a hundred (yeah right)

[robzilla]

First time i got checked was at a checkpoint. Checking license + rego + wof. Diddnt have my L plate so i said "oops must have forgot" or something... Cop said 'oh, ok. Just remember it next time''.

And then asked if the the bike i was riding (at the time an fxr 150!!!) was a 250 or less. She still wasnt sure even after I pointed to the blatant '150' decal on the fairing! - so had to point it out on the rego...

Next time they diddnt even check if i had a license let alone an L plate! Go figure...

[GN1NiteStnd]

I was orginally obessed with having an L plate, made up for the fact i didnt have a license for the first three months -not quite, but I soon got annoyed with it breaking off all the time, so i only put it back on for the restricted test. Never got pulled up.

[Steam]

I always get stopped so I keep it on & legal.
Must be something to do with the way my bike looks!
A $400 instant fine just isn't possible for me, that's a weeks wages, or four weeks of saving.