Manufacturers vs. Engine Manufactuers

[reynoldston]

probably not the best comparrison but I have done a few Briggs motors for racers that will happily do 7000 rpm.
Once you take the counter weight off and balance the crank, there is not all that much difference.
Latter engines will toss the piston if you don't fit a stronger rod however the earlier side bangers will usually take 7000.

I have a friend who races go carts and gets two racing seasons out of a Chinese Harbor Freight engine. All he dose is remove the governor. He never wins but has a lot of fun without spending big money. Maybe the person using the Briggs engine wins???

 

[bertsmobile1]

Thanks Motoman. Kawasaki has an assembly plant in Missouri where they build FS, FR, and FX series engines. I've never owned a Kawasaki engine before in any machine so I thought I'd give it a try. Just a side note here and being an average homeowner with a one acre plus yard to mow, the best engine for my money in a rider is in my old 89' Honda 3011H which I still use.

And that was the problem .
Most owners have no idea how to evaluate engines other than by the Hp on the stickers.
They only found out just how good the Honda engines were 10 years after they bought the mower.
So most buy whatever is cheaper so the Honda effectivly became too expensive in the eyes of the uneducated public and manufactureres stopped fitted them.

 

[bertsmobile1]

I have a friend who races go carts and gets two racing seasons out of a Chinese Harbor Freight engine. All he dose is remove the governor. He never wins but has a lot of fun without spending big money. Maybe the person using the Briggs engine wins???

I was really trying to draw comparisions between the entire industries rather than actual physical produsts.
When any consummer durable item gets released it is a luxuary item, whith a high price & good profit margin.
Then because every one wants one someone makes a cheaper one so the less wealthy can have one too.
It is not as good as the one the rich bloke buys but it does the job
They then get cheaper & cheaper till the profit margin is almost nothing so the makers have to go high volume or go broke.
Around this time they shift from being an optional purchase to a necessity in the eyes of the comsummer who demands they get cheaper still so they get progressively cheaper & cheaper thill they become throw away disposable items rather than consummer durable items.
Ride ons have been at this bottom of the barrel level for a long time and every year they get worse but the makes just slap in a bigger motor & no one seem to care.

 

[bertsmobile1]

I have a friend who races go carts and gets two racing seasons out of a Chinese Harbor Freight engine. All he dose is remove the governor. He never wins but has a lot of fun without spending big money. Maybe the person using the Briggs engine wins???

Yep you can have lots of fun on the cheap or you can blow several thousand just to feed your own insecure ego.
I make a B &S competative for around a grand.
A mate makes them winners for around four grand and he has a que of blokes on his waiting list.

Believe it or not you can get forged Corrillio rods in several oversizes, high flow low pressure oil pumps, Wiso pistons , fly wheels that replace the ecentric counterbalance and full forged cranks that run high speed needle /ball combination bearings.

 

[motoman]

I've always thought of my Intek 24 as a detuned Harley, complete with the potato-potato-potato shaking which loosens so much hardware. And , as said before,( I shouldn't) , the thing keeps running. I think it knows I'm looking for an excuse to go Kaw.

 

[ziti]

Thanks for all your comments on this thread. Not to compare apples to oranges, but I thought this would be of interest. Ever since I saw the 1988 movie Grand Prix starring James Garner, I've been a Formula One racing enthusiast. Riding lawn mowers and F1 have some things in common. Winners of F1 championships fall into 2 categories. Drivers and Constructors. These cars are built to a set of specifications that always changing. In the last 15 or 20 years, independents have dropped out due to high costs and are now dominated by car manufacturers. There are now something like 20 or so teams that qualify for F1 racing. They either build their own chassis or have it built by an independant contractor. Here's what I'm getting at. Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, manufacture both the chassis and the engine in their cars. Honda dropped out of building F1 engines in 09', but came back in 15' supplying engines for Mclaren. Any company that can design and build an engine thats restricted to a turbocharged 1.6 liter 4-stroke 600 HP V-6 and will power a chassis that will reach 100MPH in under 2 seconds has got my respect.

 

[motoman]

ziti, I would continue this discussion with you, but better on "the front porch" or other section of this forum. Seems we would have similar interests. The pros especially get cranky to, and indifferent with, most off -subjects I have mentioned before. Bert has a lot of racing knowledge, but may not be interested. motoman

 

[reynoldston]

Being on the repair side of lawn mower engines Kawasaki would be one of my last choices of engines. Not that they are any worst or any better, I find the replacement parts for repairs are way overpriced. But also you know what you are going to buy so this really doesn't mean anything.

 

[motoman]

[Q UOTE=reynoldston;227223]Being on the repair side of lawn mower engines Kawasaki would be one of my last choices of engines. Not that they are any worst or any better, I find the replacement parts for repairs are way overpriced. But also you know what you are going to buy so this really doesn't mean anything.[/QUOTE]

No, I am just trying to find the most reliable ac unit I can. Things change and despite Kaw, like Honda, has a good image in motorcycles , it is a long way to the US factories and quality control. Also hoping parts would not be an issue since even with the Intek I have bought nothing after the head assembly years ago. So maybe it is a toss up except for Kohler which still seems to get a bad rap here. LIke I said elsewhere, I did hear the Kaws have pushed guides etc. even in the commercial units.

 

[reynoldston]

Re: Manufacturers vs. Engine Manufactuer

[Q UOTE=reynoldston;227223]Being on the repair side of lawn mower engines Kawasaki would be one of my last choices of engines. Not that they are any worst or any better, I find the replacement parts for repairs are way overpriced. But also you know what you are going to buy so this really doesn't mean anything.

No, I am just trying to find the most reliable ac unit I can. Things change and despite Kaw, like Honda, has a good image in motorcycles , it is a long way to the US factories and quality control. Also hoping parts would not be an issue since even with the Intek I have bought nothing after the head assembly years ago. So maybe it is a toss up except for Kohler which still seems to get a bad rap here. LIke I said elsewhere, I did hear the Kaws have pushed guides etc. even in the commercial units.[/QUOTE]

I own two Hondas, one Suzuki and the Harley all good bikes . I will stay out of the engine brand war because I think they all have good and bad sides. I do get a lot of mowers in my shop with the Kawasaki engines and the price of parts seem higher, not that any OEM parts are cheap on any engine. I really believe when a person buys a new mower very few look at the engine brand and I would be the same way. My Ferris has a Kohler engine but as I understand you can't buy a Kohler engine in a Ferris anymore.