We probably have at least one weirdo that would be able to sperg about motorbikes, I’ll share this tweet too. [
A]
400cc+ is huge for a smoker. There are several issues with this LARP, first off none of those bikes were really common in the US, certainly not in the past 30 or even 40 years. 4 strokes got powerful enough in the early 80's to where development switched almost exclusively to them. There were a couple later-model street bikes made basically for racing, and they're both extremely rare and very lethal.
This guy says he wants it for around the ranch so he's basically limited to dirtbikes anyway. 500cc dirtbikes were always a special item, also making them rare (and dangerous). I don't know what the market is like for old 500s (they used to be pretty cheap) but I'm guessing they're priced more for collectors now. The most common 500 dirtbikes available are gonna be the Honda CR500 and probably the Husqvarna 4 or 500, both of which are murder machines. These bikes are comparable to modern race bikes, both powerful and light, and the twitchy, high-revving nature of the engine makes them hard to control - the power just 'snaps' on when you're in band.
The biggest modern ones they make are 300cc and simply put that's already over the top. I know a dude who bought a new KTM 300 several years ago and it was a handful for him, and he's a 250lb. laborer that's been riding his whole life. They're pretty similar in performance to the old 500s, really the only reason you'd get some old piece of shit instead is to try and be cool. Even modern 250s are a lot to handle, hell older 250s were race bikes at that time too.
Yeah and there's maintenance too. 2 strokes really only existed to maximize power in an age when 4 cycle engines hadn't advanced yet. They may be simple (and thus more easily repaired) but other than that they have zero benefits. You have to buy oil to mix with the gas, they're inefficient, they're loud and annoying, they foul spark plugs especially when you're not revving them constantly, the throttle is tricky to use, they'll blow up if you accidentally run them lean, and of course: The top end (piston/sleeve) has to be rebuilt regularly anyway.
TLDR: Cost, Physics, Maintenance, basically it's a good bullshit LARP but makes no sense otherwise. 21st century 4 strokes are more powerful and more reliable in any case, and used ones aren't gonna be much more expensive (if at all).