Re: 100+ horsepower Norton 750???
Right, the Mercury didnt go for long. I guess for me, I am happy with any model year of 650 SS. Unlike Beng, I consider the small changes in the 650 along the years fron 62 to 68 to be improvements, ie 6 volt to 12, magneto to points then eventually to Capacitor discharge, even going from Monoblocks to the lowly Concentric is a change Im OK with. As stated in "Know thy Beast", the Vincent owners bible, the change from the old type 276 to Monoblocks then to Concentrics gave better and better fuel economy along with an improvment in acceleration.
The only real problem with a concentric carb can be fixed by sleeving the slide, then they are a great carb. I have them on four bikes, delorotos on one, Mikunis on another, Bing on yet another and an IRZ on one of the Ossas. The Mikuni bike is a dog to start, the IRZ soso, the Bing and all four Concentric bikes are one or two kickers and run perfectly.
As far as the actual riding experience goes, to my way of thinking, as long as the carbs work well it matters very little what is bolted on there, same with ignition.
Glen