WTB: Old black-style number plate.

[xwhatsit]

Waaaay too much work.

Just get a white one, paint it black then use a sanding block to sand off the raised surface of the letter/numbers.
Simple.

Yep. I'm sure other people have been reading Jonbuoy's CB750 café racer thread? He did exactly this with a new-style square plate (not the rectangular ones). Looks gorgeous. I've a mind to do the same thing. You can ask for a square plate when you get a new plate, right? And a new plate is what... $20 or something?