Will, what year is this bike? During the war, Simplex built some bikes that had the throttle on the left, and the compression release on the right. This was to facilitate shooting with your right hand if necessary.
Tom, KartJockey, has a 1948 that the throttle is opposite of the standard rotation. I wonder if this was normal back then. If not, can the rotatable tube go on the opposite way to change the rotation?