New for old?

Anon-motorcyclist I was chatting to the other day raised the naive query of whether an engine made today to a traditional design would behave like a modern one. Obviously the simplistic answer is – no. If it was identical with the original, it would behave exactly as well – or as badly – as it always did, except that even an exact replica of a traditional engine would have a longer life with today’s superior oils, and would need less maintenance