There are several points there, and it's always going to be a matter of perspective, but the Patons came and everyone else left; I don't believe in coincidences.

Just because Mick Moreton didn't have a very good year doesn't mean that the Paton doesn't confer an advantage. Andy Reynolds is quite candid about admitting that it was the extra power of the Paton that enabled him to get his 100mph lap, and the single he had been riding up until then was one of the best

This has happened before with the 250s. When the Suzukis started getting quicker everyone wanted one, sold their Ducatis and Aermacchis, and we had the top 250s lapping quicker than 500s. Net result, very poor entries once people realised they still had to ride the things, and when everyone had one their relative positions stayed the same!

The K4s were banned for some years for fear of the same thing happening, and now they're back it is happening but it's hard to tell cause from effect. The 350 class is now largely K4s, but is that because people have put away their singles in favour of the cheaper to maintain and possibly quicker K4? If the K4s were still banned would the singles still be there?

Last year, when the Junior and Senior had to be run as one race the two riders I was spannering for (TT riders, not paid!) both decided to use their K4s rather than their Senior bikes because they knew that they had little chance of a replica in the Senior against the Paton/Ryan/Olie combination, but the Junior was a far more level playing field