When you compare a Commando with an Atlas, you are talking about two very different bikes. An Atlas is much closer to a race bike. I probably think differently to other people. The only time I think a motorcycle should be ridden slowly is when it is on wet grass. I don't ride on public roads these days, because I always like to keep passing the other traffic. That way, your life is in your own hands. But if you do that, you risk losing your licence, and in Australia, if you lose one licence you lose them all.
If I had a road going Commando, I might change the crank balance factor to make it better at high speeds. But other than that, the motor is quick enough for road use without performance mods. With a race bike handling and smooth power delivery are often more important than outright power. If you lose a bit in the straights, you can usually regain it in the corners, if your bike is tame and has excellent handling.
I raced my 500cc short stroke Triton against a guy who as a very good 650 Triton. I could never convincingly beat him With my bike, it was always a love-hate relationship. That guy rode my Seeley against me when the Seeley had a Laverda 750 motor in it. I blew him off down a straight after a couple of laps, but my drum front brake had heated up. As we approached the corner at the and of the front straight, I was in the lead. I touched the front brake to slow for the corner, and the front of the bike went down - I had over-braked in front of the Seeley. I knew I was in trouble. The guy just rode around the outside of me, popped in front and grabbed a handful of disc brake. I was a bit out of practice and did not get my hands off the bars quick enough. The tank slapper launched me. I went down the road on the top of my head, and by the time I reached the ripple in the bitumen, thankfully I was on my side. I copped a dislocated chromo-clavicular joint. My mate owned the Seeley Laverda, and sold it. I tracked it down after asbout 3 years and bought it, but I could not get the motor, so it became a Seeley Commando. If that guy had been on his own bike when he crashed me, there is no way he would ever have been able to ride around the ourside of me in a corner. I have ridden his 650 Triton and it is a very nice bike, but neutral in corners, my 500 Triton handled better. I would never tall him the reason that was the case. His Triton is now a 750 and several times he has asked me how many gears my Seeley 850 has. He thinks he is smart - he took an RZ350 Yamaha to Broadford and beat a well-known guy who was riding a Seeley 750. I don't race on that circuit. If I took my Seeley 850 there I would almost certainly crash it. But the day will probably come.
