I had always thought of a race bike as a package
The best handling
The best power
Best braking etc
And a bike that holds together be it modern or classic
With most race bikes, you never have enough power, so you need to enter the straights faster. When you have a lot of top end power, your bike needs to be very stable in corners and you usually cannot accelerate hard while you are in the corner. If you watch MotoGP, there is usually a procession in the corners, nobody has any advantage, so it becomes a power game. With old bikes, there is advantage if you can accelerate hard from beginning to end in corners. The handling requirements change to suit the bike's power delivery and the size of the circuit.
When you road race, cause and effect are not determined by bivariate data. The data is multivariate and you need to recognise the pattern. If your bike is down on power, you have two choices - you can lower the overall gearing, soften the suspension and lower the tyre pressures and be quicker in the corners and for the first half of the straights, - or you can raise the overall gearing and avoid being passed near the ends of the straights.
If you can ride fast, the first option can become dangerous when you catch other riders as you enter corners. So I always used to use the latter option with my Triton 500. With the Seeley 850, it is different. Lowering the overall gearing does not make it accelerate faster. However increasing the trail on thec steering, changes the game dramatically. I am flat out from beginning to end in corners, and because I enter the straights faster, I can stay up front.
When you race, there is a theory that all the good things can add up to make the best bike. But it does not really work like that.
Tritons are an example of that - they are never as good as a Manx. Tritons can be quicker in a straight line, but most race circuits have corners. The best Triton I rode was my mate's 650. It was impossible to gas it hard in corners, It just stayed sweet and neutral - but down the straights, it was a blur. With a Manx, you can wring it's neck in corners, but it is slower down the straights.
When you are racing through corners, you can get the feeling that it would be impssible to go any faster. If you know anybody who has a genuine Manx, pay them to let you have a ride on it.
A good bike makes a good rider.