"...technically no better for the bike than some Zero Gravity brakes..."

I have a friend with a Hotrod Henry J. It sports a monster engine from an early 60's Cadillac, among other things. He is conserving it in its final state, and I think that is appropriate too.

Mind you, I'm not advocating the hotrodding of historical pieces, just noting that humans are certainly capable of doing this sort of thing, sometimes even well. It is all part of the history of the object, no?

I don't think that you'd have enough reach with ZG brakes, though...