Dances with Shrapnel said:
It would be tough to near impossible to get a pushrod Norton match the valve motion (valve time-area) of the Yamaha with its overhead cam. And there's that other detail of riding the bike as well as John Ellis does - not a little detail.
Yes - of course an overhead cam has an advantage - my point was to at least get as close as you can with lift/duration.
I didn't know about John's riding ability and that's the hardest thing to beat. And he has some kind of custom head (not an iron skull). As far as power goes it surprises me that the Yam twin is so competitive - as in leading because they were never a threat when I was racing. The talk was that you couldn't get enough HP from them. The only one that was running well was ridden by superstar Kenny Roberts. I remember talking to him at a dirt track race but I don't remember if it had the iron skull head or if it was something custom from the factory (probably custom). The only other one I came across that looked like it could be fast was at a Laguna Seca BOTT race in the mid 1980s - a Yam twin in a sleek bright Red trackmaster frame. I remember the rider telling me he had adjustable steering angle and he would steepen it up till it wobbled on the straights - then back off the steering angle till it straightened out. I was looking forward to dicing with him but he crashed out - disappointing.
I like what you posted above showing the power band ranges. That's a great comparison. But how much powerband spread do you think is needed with todays 5 & 6 speeds? And what's the practical upper RPM limit of your 1007?