I completely understand... but there's a part of my brain that won't let it go.

It's definitely on my "want to try" list. I'm going to have lots to do this winter during the off-season. It could be done fairly easily with an existing engine, and probably could be better than reed valves with a backplate-based rotary valve driven the same way a pull-start shaft is. I'll need to make a test stand with some sort of dyno so I can tell if it's a gain or loss.