Yes, the 650SS had about the best balance factor of all the old solid-mounted twins. It was certanly MUCH more comfortable to ride than the Atlas. My ride to work was a rather tired old 650SS, owned by the company which had over 130,000 test and develpment miles on it (if the odometer could be believed). I liked it just about as much as the Commando prototypes. At least it wasn't as temperamental! I had a 45-miles each way commute, all on 2-lane backroads and it was a blast every day.
When it was needed for some other work, I got some really weird stuff to ride. One was an Italian "MOTOM", 50cc 2-stroke "racer" style. It had a scooter type twist-grip shifter and was on full song so much of the time, the gas mileage was worse than the 650! The other memorable POS was a scooter, made by Villiers-India. It was intended as a product to be built in the UK by the N-V group. It even appeared on the 1967 Motorcycle Show Norton stand but I don't think anyone noticed.
It came from India with a 175cc engine. but we changed it to the 197cc Villiers 9E with electric start. It looked quite smart, nicely styled, well equipped, but it was a structural disaster. The front and back ends weren't proerly connected to each other and it was a scary, squirrelly ride. I rode it to and from home for about 4 weeks and was scared most of the time! It never made it into UK production and I'm not sure the indians built any either, other than the one they sent to us..