The date on the compliance plate is the compliance date - nothing more or less.
Most imported vehicles are built well before the compliance plate is fitted - and then the date stamped in, is when the plate is fitted to the vehicle.
Eg: All of the 1970s Mazdas had the date stamped by the dealer. And different dealers stamped the plates either when the car arrived in their yard, or when the car was sold - its possible to see some cars with 100% legitimate, factory fitted compliance plates that are literally years after Mazda stopped making them...
Similarly, my 1994 model TM125 was complianced in 1998. The date on the compliance plate says that its a 1998 model.
What I'm trying to say, is that the whole compliance plate thing is FAR less of a big deal than the RTA/VicRoads/RUS etc say that it is. I wouldn't go messing with one for the sake if it, but there's a LOT more factory/importer dodgyness going on than the authorities would ever believe.
This includes Bert Flood sticking them on with sikaflex, using 88 plates on 89 model bikes, using 400 4-stroke plates on 500 2-strokes, etc etc.
The japs are far less dodgy. Remember that we're only a couple of months away from seeing 2010 models at the local dealers - obviously those "2010 model" bikes will have been made, complianced distributed and sold in 2009 - so both the manufacturing and compliance dates will be in the second half of 2009.
