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These
small plates are both fascinating to spot as well as being popular with
collectors. Because motorcycles do not usually travel the great distances
that cars do, many people wonder what the other provinces' plates look
like, so we present them here. A motorcycle rally is a good place
to spot these little tags because riders come from all over.
Unlike car plates, which have long been standardized to the 6 x 12 inch rectangular size (with the exception of the NWT bear), the motorcycle plates even today have no such standardization, and therefore, still come in a variety of sizes as seen here. Some of the provinces such as PEI and Manitoba have used smaller versions of the colorful designs from their car plates. Others such as Nova Scotia and Ontario have stuck to a simpler design. NWT has miniaturized its version of the Polar Bear plate, creating a very popular motorcycle plate dubbed the "Baby Bear"! Older motorcycle plates are perhaps less interesting to look at, but are a challenge to find. Why is this so? Motorcycling started off as popular transportation at the advent of the automobile, but when Henry Ford made cars plentiful and affordable to own, it quickly dropped off in the '20s and '30s. If you think motorcycle riding is death-defying today, just think of what it must have been like with poorer roads and inferior motorcycle technology. It was regarded more of a sport than as a means of transportation and therefore many bikes went unregistered. Then you have the "rebel without a cause" image that motorcycling portrayed until the 60s; it wasn't accepted as part of mainstream society until sometime after that. Most collectors are content to get one from each province and territory, but if you are trying to do a run for a particular province, this will be highly frustrating unless you are doing Ontario or Quebec. Most of the other provinces simply didn't have a suitable road system in the early days for motorcyclists unless they had a lot of nerve. In these provinces, up until the '40s, only a few hundred to a couple thousand bikes were registered annually leaving many years unaccounted for. If you are fussy about the condition of your plates, then you will be frustrated because the early examples are usually riddled with rust, and have extra holes from irregular mounting and cracks from excessive vibration. SOME OLDER MOTORCYCLE PLATES
An odd array of shapes, sizes and materials (porcelain, tin, aluminum
and even wood).
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