Thanks Grumpy,

I would not be throwing away the original Briggs, so the option would be there to re-fit it at a later stage if I want to go back to original.

First choice would be a Honda, but they're pretty expensive new. I saw that I can get a B&S 550 series for only $269 delivered on ebay. Would this be a chinese made engine?

Are all the modern Honda motors made in China? I recently bought a new HRU196M1 with the commercial GXV160 motor, has run flawlessly in the 7 weeks I've had it(as it should for $1k). Gonna be pretty upset to find it has a Chinese motor.

Would love a Honda GX160, they're rated at 4.8hp, if I did decide to cough up Honda's ask price of $533.56 would I have problems with the SB's clutches being able to handle the extra grunt?

Last edited by davo76; 17/01/12 09:09 AM.