Nathan you can't compare a 2003 CT110 Honda with a genuine replica of a bike that actually raced in its era like a Metisse or aN HL Yamaha. The CT110 was released in 1980 but it's stretching a long bow saying that an 03 model is identical enough to pass as a flow on model. The flow on models that are allowed like the '75 CR125 are practically identical and only one year newer. If we were to allow a bike 23 years newer than the introduction model we open up a can of worms that would introduce all sorts of challenges to the flow on regs.
OK, two divergent paths here:
1. If the newer bike fits the carry-over model description, then who cares whether it is one, five or twenty years newer than the first model?
Yes, we can (and probably should) discuss the details of this specific case, but in the more general sense, it's both irrational and indefensible to argue that a 1975 model is an acceptable as a carry-over bike, but a 1980 or 1995 model is not, if they meet the carry-over criteria.
2. How many genuine HLs got raced in MX anywhere in the world? What about in Australia? While they're a cool and interesting bike from a historical perspective, their mark on the MX scene is about as relevant as the CT110's...
The Historic Touring car regs specify that if you want to race it, you've gotta prove that one raced in Australia, back in the day. If VMX is genuinely about recreating the era, then we should have a similar rule.
If nothing else, it'd cut the crap about MX400As and so on.
It would also breathe some relevance into the lists of acceptable bikes for the eras...