To start, I've been looking at one of DK Customs' tag relo kits for a while but I'm pretty cheap and thought to myself, "No offense DK Customs, but I'm pretty sure I could make something for a lot less than $45."

So I take a trip to Lowes and find some steel L-brackets that look like they'll do the job and they're only $4 and some change. I buy one and take it home, start doing some measuring, cutting, drilling, grinding, painting, etc and a couple hours later I have myself a tag bracket for a little over $4. I didn't get any pics of the process but attached are some after pics. I ended up mounting it to the belt guard rear mounting bolt. I put some locktite and a lock-washer just to be safe.

To get around the turn signal mount problem, I just used some 3/8 nuts and some shorter bolts that I had to replace the stock parts. Overall I'm happy with the results. Not too bad for a novice fabricator and a rainy Saturday night.

 

Keep an eye on the brackets for stress fractures in the metal. Swing arm mounts vibrate alot.

 

I used to do the same thing for the military post stickers we were required to have mounted. Get one of those little plates of steel in the hardware dept. and hammer into the size needed, drill a hole and mount it somewhere to satisfy the gate-sticker *****.
I never stuck the stickers to my forks, never liked that. Sometimes you just got to stick it back to the Man

 

I appreciate the heads-up. It's a pretty sturdy piece and where I mounted it, it takes advantage of the rubber mounting of the belt guard but I'll keep an eye on it just in case.

 

Thankfully those DoD stickers are obsolete. You will need to show your military ID (or Common Access Card) to get through the gate.

 

I lost my plate 2yrs ago same mounting location, the belt guard mount snapped, too much vibration at swing arm.

 

That's crazy. You got me a little worried so I went out to look again. That's almost 1/4 steel welded to the swingarm. How that thing ever broke off is beyond me.

For me to lose my tag, one of three things would have to happen: My homemade mount breaks in half, (1in x 3/16 = improbable). The bolt backs out (loctite + lock washer = improbable). Both belt guard mounting tabs break off simultaneously (two ~1/4 inch tabs securely attached to swingarm = improbable). I'm pretty sure I'll be ok since I regularly check every fastener on the bike. I'll keep an eye on it and I really do appreciate the heads-up.

 

Yes, 1/4 steel broke off no kidding. It's not about how strong you make your bracket, you may want to put a rubber isolator to dampen the vibration. Ride your bike and look down there, it shakes so much at certain rpm.

 

With no upper bracket for the plate, will it bend backwards from the wind at higher speeds? Otherwise, looks great!