Most brakes pull on the left, but plenty pull on the right. Older Japanese brakes (Shimano and Dia Compe) in particular seem to pull on the right. There's nothing really wierd about your brakes, and as far as I know there's no particular reason for a manufacturer to have the brake pull on one side or another. Some might say that it reflects the way that riders of different nationalities tend to set up their brakes, and some even say that this relates to matters historical and automotive. I don't know, but it is certainly the case that you can run the cables to either lever from either type of caliper. The stuff about Italians prefering to attach the left lever to the rear brake are also not consistently borne out on the road, at least not in the last couple decades.
Interestingly, I think the next model Shimano brake above the 600 EX was the Dura Ace EX, and it pulled on the left, like Campy. DiaCompe's analog to the 600EX was the 500G and it pulled from the right, like the 600EX, while the higher end Gran Compe models pulled from the left. So, I think there was a pattern relating to quality also.
Tom Dalton Bethlehem PA USA
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