Not sure I'm happy to be referred to as a 'shyster'. My plate '911 ED' (referred to in a recent thread also about registrations) is obviously worth a lot of money, probably to a Porsche owner. I felt that if I didn't retain the plate, the next owner would....or the one after that. I would be a mug to sell a bike for £4500 then the next owner sell the plate for £10,000 and the bike for £4500 again. The bike went with an age-related plate which looked OK on the bike, and the guy who bought it was happy in the knowledge that it wasn't the original plate. If I'd left the plate on the bike I don't think I would have got a price that reflected the value of the plate and the bike together. Don't forget that the bikes left the factory without registration numbers, these were applied by the local council, so two identical bikes would have completely different plates depending on where they were sold. In my opinion the plate doesn't contribute much, if anything, towards the bike's history. But obviously a 'Q' plate or an incorrect age-specific plate looks wrong and I can see why people want to avoid that. Others may disagree about the plate's contribution to the bike's history and I can live with that! After having owned quite a few classic bikes during the last thirty years this is the only registration plate I have retained. I have probably sold a good few bikes with 'cherished numbers' but none as desirable as '911 ED'. I have been in the process of downsizing recently and the '911 Ed' Super Rocket and a non-BSA were earmarked for selling as these were probably the least interesting bikes I had. I'd be interested to know what anybody else would have done in my position. Are there any other 'shysters' out there?!
