Like most Yanks, they had no appreciation.-acotrel
What we had was racing that sold motorcycles. It just happened to be dirt track and not roadracing. The 350 class was never large here, having died previously in Europe and England. Sprint flat trackers were all 250s unless they were cheaters. Roadracing caught a wave of popularity in the 80s thanks to GSXR Suzukis, FZR Yamahas, CBR Hondas, and ZX Kawasakis. Most Americans have never seen or heard of an AJS Racer Boy and most Harley types have no knowledge of Aermacchi in their history. So in reality, there was nothing here to appreciate, 350 roadracer-wise.
Time marches on. Those who do not march along with it are left in the dust.