I came close to buying a 750 Norton when I was on Okinawa in the mid-60's. Couldn't decide between that or the 500 cc single cylinder Matchless sitting beside it.
So,in the spirit of compromise,I bought a 650 Triumph Bonneville with TT cams and pistons. That SOB would FLY! It idled rough at 1200 RPM's,and I could sit at a stop light and watch the front forks twisting in opposite directions as it idled. It would smooth right out at around 130 mph,though.
I hated to sell it,but after getting transfered back to Ft.Bragg after going to VN,I had a rectifier blow in the electricial system in Warsaw,NC (knew a girl there) on a Sunday morning heading back to Bragg. Can you imagine trying to buy a rectifier in Warsaw,NC on a Sunday? Had to either park the bike somewhere and hitchhike to Bragg and wait until the next weekend to come back after it,or sit tight and wait until Monday morning to buy one and ride the bike back. Ended up having 1 day of "bad time" because of that,and had to serve one more day before being discharged because of it.
Ended up selling the Triumph a couple of weeks later for $200 more than I paid for it new,and buying an original 52 Harley panhead in Clinton,NC (I knew another girl there) for $250 and riding it back to Bragg. No more rectifier or any other electrical worries. I could use small block chevrolet plugs and points in it. Owned nothing but Harley's since.
