Hey Jon, yes I found the very same thing you (and others) found,,, the top part of the Edson steering pedestal was mounted upside down! That places the friction bolt on the transmission side and no means of adding resistence to the throttle. Why in the world would Ericson do this? Certainly, my installation was factory and it sounds like other have found the same factory installation.
In addition, a PO had removed the standard Edson set screw that holds the throttle lever axle (shaft) in place, and replaced this screw with a longer one in an attempt to place resistance on the shaft. This modification was a good thought however it meant there was metal on metal and that doesn't work well for very long. Besides, access to this was difficult when the piece is installed upside down. I replaced this screw with one of the original length.
Flipping the top of the pedestal (the part with the transmission and throttle controls) is not a quick and easy project. Since the controls are not vertically symetrical you affect the geometry of each cable, specifically in my case the transmission cable. I ended up solving the problem by drilling a new hole (closer to the bottom of the fork) in the transmission cable fork and also adjusting the fitting on the end of the cable at the tranmission.
The end result is both controls work perfectly; now I have a friction control on my throttle and the resistence bolt is easy to reach once you remove the compass. It was great to remove the bungee after 2 years and have the throttle work the way it is supposed to work. Now I just need to remove the control decals from the pedestal and install new ones on the proper sides. All in all, this was well worth the time.