revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Count Steer wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 10:02 am

Mr Moofo wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 9:54 am Just stick a Red and White Belgian style plate on it - nobody will dare come near you ....

I had one of those (on my Belgian car) when I was too-ing and fro-ing. It was like a red flag to the customs guys at the French end of the Eurotunnel. The number of times I got pulled in for a car search I was on first name bloody terms with the customs people,

One of our guys got his Belgian pool car pulled apart, bumpers off, the works.

See, I totally get why people avoid them on the road (not all Belges had to take a driving test!! and the rest are scary even after the driving test!!) but why do customs red flag them?

Noggin wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 12:05 pm

Count Steer wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 10:02 am

Mr Moofo wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 9:54 am Just stick a Red and White Belgian style plate on it - nobody will dare come near you ....

I had one of those (on my Belgian car) when I was too-ing and fro-ing. It was like a red flag to the customs guys at the French end of the Eurotunnel. The number of times I got pulled in for a car search I was on first name bloody terms with the customs people,

One of our guys got his Belgian pool car pulled apart, bumpers off, the works.

See, I totally get why people avoid them on the road (not all Belges had to take a driving test!! and the rest are scary even after the driving test!!) but why do customs red flag them?

They are the scariest drivers I know. However, I would think that most Belgies would be able to smuggle well - the Dutch, however ....

Noggin wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 12:05 pm

Count Steer wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 10:02 am

Mr Moofo wrote: Tue Oct 05, 2021 9:54 am Just stick a Red and White Belgian style plate on it - nobody will dare come near you ....

I had one of those (on my Belgian car) when I was too-ing and fro-ing. It was like a red flag to the customs guys at the French end of the Eurotunnel. The number of times I got pulled in for a car search I was on first name bloody terms with the customs people,

One of our guys got his Belgian pool car pulled apart, bumpers off, the works.

See, I totally get why people avoid them on the road (not all Belges had to take a driving test!! and the rest are scary even after the driving test!!) but why do customs red flag them?

Dunno. I thought it was just Franco-Belgian relations! But Belgium is handily placed to ferry stuff between Amsterdam and London and the port of Antwerp is also a handy landing place for 'interesting things'.

I got the feeling they were following up on something. They even x-rayed the stuffed 'good luck' teddy that was supposed to keep me company when doing all the travelling. (Wife said 'you need someone to talk to' ).

Didn't know the Belgians were supposed to be bad drivers. Never noticed!

Cheapskate here. Could you print the plate out and laminate it, or use the font to make a stencil and paint it (or use vinyl) on yellow sticky back plastic?

I suppose you could even get a quick 3D print of each letter and glue them on, for a real 3D effect. Or even stick some on a hi-viz jacket and troll some ANPR cameras

For plastic, one of these happened to be the right size. The back of my plate was white which shows mud and chain lube up it. But I thought black paint might react to the material, so I covered it with the lid cut to shape.