Hi Jon My husband took a look at your photo, and was able to identify a few things that might help It has a side valve engine, and an acetylene lamp It has a belt drive, and no drum brakes. It must be a very early model based on these markers/features Have you thought of checking with the DVLA for the number? Best Wishes Sally-Ann ----- Original Message ---- From: Jon Baker <jon@vectis10w.freeserve.co.uk> To: hampshire-life@rootsweb.com Sent: Monday, 2 April, 2007 7:40:33 PM Subject: Re: [HAMPSHIRE-LIFE] Motor bike date SNIP I have also been looking for a way of dating a bike by registration plate, and also identifying the manufacturer/mode, I have a great picture of my Grandfather on his bike in I think about the 1920s on DL4272 and would love to be able to identify the type of machine, but no luck. You can see the picture at http://www.vectisjon.com/baker.htm. It seems like a really useful database that no-one has been able to tap into as yet (AFAIK). SNIP