Harbor Freight V-Twin
 

This is in the latest flyer, looks like a clone of the Honda V-Twin. 22HP for $600.00 may be worth looking into. Can't find anymore info on it yet and it doesn't show on the HF web site yet. :bigthink:

Honda clone you say, go on.....

I'd be interested in hearing reviews as well.

Bill

Just a side note a friend of mine's son builds engines for carts and racing. He has found these China made engines are low cost and almost as good as the real Honda engines. I would say take a chance. price is right.
Regards,
Chris

Thats a steal there boyzzz

i watch a guy on youtube that builds redneck lawnchairs.....he uses the honda clones, and they take alot of abuse.

That's a great deal!

Yep, I'll be checking out that Chonda too.:beerchug:

Not for honda ... they just tear them down and copied it
hey lets ship a IH CubCadet GT over there (china) .:American Flag 1:

I worked at a Honda dealer for a couple of years. I could not count the number of people who bought bikes, mowers, pumps etc. with china knock off brand motors on them. They would use them for a few hours and they would break or shake parts off of them. After getting no service and not being able to buy any parts from were they bought them they would bring them to us for repairs. Nothing we could do. We could not get the parts either. I buy my stuff to use not to just sit around looking for parts. There is a reason brand name cost more than knock offs. Only ever had 1 warranty claim on Honda motors. Honda replaced cab. and all was well, had part in a few days. I would not buy these knock off motors at half the asking price. I am cheap and lazy and like to buy and do things only once but it is your money buy what you want.

I'd consider it to Repower my deere 300. I just don't have the fab tools / skills to make the parts myself. The Briggs kits are only $1400 with everything you need.

Oh boy oh boy oh boy. And with the extended warranty i wonder how many i could go threw! Mike:biggrin2:

Yeah I've had my share of Chonda failures including dropped valves, leaks, etc. and parts availability and look ups are interesting to say the least. Nothing like a real Honda but that's just my opinion.

I have one of 212cc harbor freight engines on my wood splitter. Going on two years now. Thing starts first or second pull. With shipping cost me $106. Time will tell how long it lasts but right now it is working fine. I had looked at single cylinder 13 hp one for tractor replacement but it was splash lube. This concerned me on a tractor. Wonder what the twin uses?

I see on the spec sheet, if it's a Lifan motor it says highly eff. splash lubed, 90 day warranty. Mike :bigthink:

I don't want to get on a soap box here, but this is a bad idea to just save a few dollars. Chinese knock-offs are the bane of manufacturers, they steal technology without spending $ on engineering (usually North American engineers).

Its like buying hot speakers in a parking lot from a dude in a white van!

I put one on a log splitter a few years back. Still running good after the pump gave out and we transplanted it to a gokart (single cylinder) has been fairly reliable but I dont think id trust them on something I use almost daily

:Morning: A few years ago when those clones just came out, Honda sued them over patent infringenent. Honda ended up settling for around 5 millon. I beleive the first ones where Predator engines. Over the years I had several customers that when there old B&S/TEC flatheads engines on (tillers/walk behing snow blowers), were past there prime as far as rebuilding. Had me repower with the 5/6 hp clones, with narly a problem. I have a 13hp clone on my 9000 watt generator and with several power outages in the last couple of years. It has run 24 a day, except for re-fueling and to change the oil up to 3/4 days and a week with no problems. My only comlpaint it is a gas hog. :American Flag 1:

First let me say that I am not trying to push these things. I only posted it as a cheap repower possibility. I'm not a big fan of China crap putting US workers out of a job. That said I did a little digging about the V-Twin and it is a pressure lube system with a cooler and a filter. They use the same engine in a generator that they sell so I down loaded the manual for it and looked at the parts. I have a Northern Tool Chonda on my tow behind Bush Hog flail mower, so far it's been good but then again it doesn't get much use. For something that will get limited use that you don't want to spend a lot of $$$$ on these seem to fit the bill. If it's going to be run hard and you want a long life then I'd go for a Kohler or a Vanguard.

I bought a new Homelite brand pressure washer a couple of years back, because the box was marked on all sides "Made in the USA".

I get the thing home, unpack and assemble, then I look at the engine. I THOUGHT (I know...a verrry dangerous thing :biggrin2:) at first glance it was a Honda GC160 series, but upon further review, tuned out to be a C. C. Honda***. No name brand on a sticker, and it has some unpronounceable name stamped in the block. It actually runs better than the old Craftsman pressure washer with an real Honda GC160, and is easier to start.


*** C. C. Honda = Chinese Clone Honda, AKA "CHonda"

Over the long haul, probably won't be as sturdy as the Kohler K series, but I would buy them instead of the new Briggs or Tecumseh/Lauson engines out there now.

Its all marketing, what you didn't know was the box is what was made in the usa....It was just repackaged...lol

:Morning: Mr. Sam Mac, I am not a big fan of the Clone engines, for the reason you stated. Putting USA workers out of a job. But how about some of the B&S engines being made in China. I have worked on a few of those B&S China engines and they are no where near the quailty of the USA B&S manufactered engines. :American Flag 1:

Only B&S engine I like are the Vanguard V-twins and they are made in Japan. Just my 2 cents but I think they are outstanding.

Thanks for the post Sam.

I think its impossible to get into this discussion without becoming political. And I for one appreciate the dialog (which has been very respectful so far in this thread so I hope it can continue).

Here is my take (philosophy). If I have an IH built tractor then I am not going to put a overseas motor in it. In fact, I have one I am looking at rebuilding instead of repowering, simply to keep it 'original'. This is more of a 'collector' mentality I know. But also what I like about these tractors (after all, the red ones are more desirable than the yellow ones - at least to some)

But if I have something that I just want to 'use', it becomes a practical consideration. I would repower with one of these.

As for domestic vs foreign manufacturing, its hard to tell anymore. I remember some time ago a municipality took political heat for buying a fleet of Kubota tractors. So they cancelled the order and went with John Deere instead. Then later they found out more parts on the Kubota were made in
the USA than were on the John Deere! Having said that I respect anyone that chooses to make purchasing decisions based on protecting the livelihood of the US economy/worker. :beerchug:

(feel free to delete/edit if too far off topic)

They are pretty decent engines. We use them to repower our dewatering pumps. Have not had a minutes trouble out of one. We set them up to run up to 12 hours at a time.

This is also being discussed on the WFM site....Waiting for someone to take the plunge for a repower.

:Morning: I just noticed that HF has the 22HP, 670CC, v-twin Hort'z on sale @ 699.99$, reg. price 999.99$. Might be a good deal for someone who wants repower a CC/CCC or some other brand of tractor or even a LT. :American Flag 1:

I don't know if I like Chondas or not as I never owned one but many people like them and I hear the parts can be replaced with similar sized Honda parts. Also I've cleanned a Chondas carb and a comparable Honda carb on comparable size engines on generators and they looked almost exactly the same inside. The things I saw that were cheapened on the clone were the key switch, some plastic parts like screws, and some rubber parts like hoses. Lastly, some of the 212 cc 6.5 hp clone parts and parts for a few other clones I think are available on some kart engine sites.

I saw the 22hp 670 Predator listed in Harbor Freights flyer for $699. Did a little digging on the web and found a Deere 318 and 400 and I believe a Simplicity someone had done the conversion on. Guess time will tell but it sounds like a cheap repower option.

I wonder how practical it would be to repower with this HF V-Twin? Their specs say it has a 1" crankshaft, but the Cub Cadet (or at least my 782) has a 1 1/8" diameter shaft for the front PTO. McMaster-Carr has a $16 1" ID - 1 1/8" OD bronze sleeve (6381K18) that would make this work. The shaft is the correct 2 3/4" length. And the flywheel end probably would need some sort of adapter to fit the CC drive shaft. I am tempted to try this out to repower my 782 for half the cost of a rebuild but I am not a machinist nor do I want to be a guinea pig and be the first to find out what it takes to make this HF V-Twin work on a Cub Cadet.

I understand that the flywheel end is the same as a Honda and that Small Engine Warehouse has or had adapters that fit the Honda. Just what I've heard don't know for sure. :bigthink:

I just checked the Small Engine Warehouse website and they have a $72 flywheel adapter for a Honda engine to IH 982 drive shaft. I wonder if that would fit a 782 drive shaft? Nine years ago they offered an 18HP Honda engine with the flywheel adapter for the IH 682/782 so they probably do have an adapter on the shelf.

That should work. Your probably still going to need a new drive shaft, my guess is the length will need to be changed. Wiring will be custom as will exhaust.

OK I just checked the SEW site and the 982 adapter won't play, BUT they do have drawings of the adapters so I can see what the Honda end looks like and I just happen to have the dimensions for the Cub end SO it should be an easy job to draw up something that will adapt a Honda to a Cub and as long as the Harbor Freight engine is in fact the same as a Honda........... well Houston we may be on our way. Gotta get out the old fashioned drafting tools and see what I can come up with. :bigthink:

Man, I was at China Freight yesterday and they had a 22HP on display. :bash2: I coulda taken some pics of the flywheel for you guys. I'm not 100% sure but does the Honda take a 3 bolt adapter because IIRC that's what this had.

Did a little digging around on the green site, they have a few that have been re-powered with these engines. Borrowed a pic of the adapter. Looks like no big deal to make one to fit a Cub.

I believe I read that these engines have a 5 amp chargeing system and won't work with an elec. PTO. Can anyone confirm this?...

I can't find a rating for the charging system. Guess you need to call or e-mail the tech line.
productsupport@harborfreight.com
For technical questions, please call 1-888-866-5797

You should also read the reviews, seems they have had at least one that the PTO shaft broke off doing damage to what ever it was in.
http://www.harborfreight.com/22-hp-6...epa-61614.html

The question is, in what kind of machinery he was in? What can cause a crankshaft to broke at the PTO end? I know this is a $699 Chinese Honda clone but you need tremendous torque to broke a 1" shaft like that. to bad the owner didn't give all the details.

For the idle issue, why don't just throw away the crappy Chinese EPA certificate carb and fit a Honda used one you can rebuilt and adjust?

What I was able to find is they have a 7 amp charging coil(s). Could someone add a just a stator? Or would you need to add a completely different system?

Sam did you ever do anything else with this? My 782 my be a candidate for a new motor.