New numberplates from Saturday

September 1 marks not only a new reg plate, but a whole new system of registration numbers… and most of us haven’t a clue what they mean. So here’s our quick guide.

The first two characters are letters and show the geographical area in which the bike was registered (though don’t expect those to be regions you are familiar with). Next comes two numbers, these show the date which the bike was registered. These change every six months. The final three letters are completely random.

It means you could end up with KN13VEL. Or maybe WH33LYS? But for Evel’s favourite plate you’d have to register a new bike in Northampton between March and September 2013, while for WH33LYS you’d have to wait until 2033 and buy from the West of England.

A spokesman for the DVLA said: ” The new laws make it illegal to tamper with the plate in any form. Coloured mounting bolts, illegal spacings and illegal fonts will all face a penalty of up to £1000. ” And while that is currently the case, the DVLA are promising a tougher almost zero tolerance approach to enforcement.

To buy a numberplate for road use you will also have to produce your registration documents.

Follow the link, right, to see what letters will represent your region and how to work out a bike’s age from it’s new registration plate.