OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Honda Engines Which Honda engine..?

I want to replace a B&S 10.5HP I/C engine with a Honda GXV engine. Honda specs quote 'Net power' and 'continuous power'. Is the B&S quoted power net or continuous ?

Unfortunately B&S quote gross power, David, which is considerably more than can be extracted from the engine as delivered to the customer without modifying it. Honda's "maximum" figure is similar to B&S's gross power. Gross power should not be described as either net or continuous, it is neither of those.

You can read some of the sad story here:
http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/Lawnmower_Horsepower_Fraud

Here's a link that tells you how to work HP out. It's a bit complex, but if you work through it, you should be able to work it out and there's a few other cool things there too,

http://www.wisc-online.com/Objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=ENG17504


and this link is a good site for conversions.

http://www.onlineconversion.com/

Hope it helps. Cheers.

It'd give you Brake Horse Power (BHP), but you could get a comparison.

If you said what the motor was on that might help.

Greenfields walk behind slasher - original has a 10.5HP B&S but our block is so steep in places you have to go across to mow - as a result the oil went to one side and the engine seized. I want the Honda as it has an oil alert that shuts the engine off when the oil pressure drops.

Oil pressure or oil level????
I wasnt aware that the Hondas had pressure lubrication but i could be wrong.
Even with pressure lubrication its still a bandaid, its not stopping the oil starvation its just letting you know when it happens. Let it tell you often enough and it will still damage itself.
Oil level, if its got it in both sides that would be handy.


I think the power discussions are a bit of a mute point. GVX400 is the common 11hp Honda isnt it??? Id just go with it.
whats the percentage different between the different horsepowers?? 5% 10%??


Once you have the honda motor sorted on it then i would have an eye out for a two stroke super 600 Victa or a two stroke victa 550 self propelled. Or if the hill is not that big, a Victa utility. And use one of them on the nasty stuff.


I have a Greenfields slasher here the same, i got told it only had a 5HP on it. I think its 28". Im going to put an 8hp on it.

I agree with Bob, if you have to operate on a slope of greater than 15 degrees you are outside the 4 stroke engine manufacturers' prescribed operating range. Just use a mixed fuel crankcase induction 2 stroke under those conditions - it should not be damaged by the experience. Otherwise you are just going to ruin another engine.

Hmmmm....looking at the Victa Mastercut 600 slasher it is not dissimilar in construction to the Greenfields - so thinking I could stick a Victa VSP160 engine off a second hand regular mower on the Greenfields frame. Guess there is only one version of the VSP160 across all the Victa mowers that have it installed?

I suppose you could fit a Victa power torque motor.
But i would be looking at fitting an older full crank engine instead.

You would need to get a custom pulley made up. A replica of the greenfields that will fit on the Victa motor. Victa engines only have a short shaft.

The only issue then is that you are going from 10.5Hp back down to 5hp.

You would be better off with a Suzuki two stroke off a Rover.



The mastercut 600 is push only. The motors are plenty on one of them and they are easy to push despite their size.


Im actually glad that a bigger say 8-12hp two stroke is not commonly available, If it were my back yard and shed would be overflowing, i would want to keep them all.


I have thought of modifying a motorbike engine. A single cyl 400cc would run nice on its side with the carb turned round. Ignition could stay as is, just need a new crankpin for the primary drive side. Cut the gearbox off.

Back to the drawing board - Spoke to the local All Terrain and Mower store (as they are the local Victa dealers) His advise is that the VEX160 two stroke (largest available and on the Victa Slasher) would not be powerful enough to drive a self propelled (the Victa slasher is a push job) He recommends a pressure fed 4 stroke as most of the larger engine are now days. He puts them on their all terrain mowers and does not have any problems on steep slopes. A splash fed would not work on a slope - as I found out. So the GXV390 looks the goods as he advised at least 8HP for self propelled.

David, I suggest you check the actual angle of your slope, then look in the Honda specifications or contact Honda. Pressure lubrication can potentially increase the slope you can mow on with a 4 stroke, but only if the engine manufacturer set out to do that, which is not all that likely given the possibility of someone being injured in a mower roll-over. I don't recall for sure but I think Briggs still limits their pressure lubricated engines to 15 degrees.

What about Tecumseh? I know the TVS90 has a pressure lube system, no idea of the slope limit though. I know it's a small engine, but maybe a bigger version?

Just make sure the governor is set right, seen a few put a leg out of bed! hahahaha

Just received:

Incorrect, I might suggest he is trying to sell you the more expensive unit, that's all.

In fact Victa HAVE run self propelled slashers, going as far back as the 1974 V164 Super 24" self propelled.

Set up correctly, a good Victa engine would power a self propelled slasher, it would not handle the same maximum load as your 10hp, but it would happily power the unit.

Further, the VEX160 is no bigger than a VE160, V160, V40, V35 or V45 engine, they are all 160cc, with minor variations, mostly surrounding port shape and carburettor tunning.

If you were to go Victa, I would suggest, as Bob has, that you look into a full crank Victa from before 1984, either series 70 or series 80 160cc would do.

But you may fair better, again as Bob has pointed out, with a Suzuki 2-stroke engine, they were released on rovers From 1992 on wards i believe, I don't think they are still in production, but a second hand one would do the Job well.

I believe Briggs also made a 2 stroke, however I do not know much about it's power output.

So 20 degrees is 3.6 in 10 meters our place is 3 in 10 in places so just under borderline and I assume there may be a small margin of error in that 20 degrees

I agree that 3 metres of ascent in 10 metres along the slope, is about 17.4 degrees. That is too much for a Briggs. If Honda says their engines will tolerate 20 degrees, it sounds as if you can just make it with their engines - provided you watch the oil level in the sump closely, of course.

Personally I'd rather not run an engine for substantial periods at close to its maximum rated slope, I'd rather use a 2 stroke, despite disliking 2 strokes.

You have even seen a 2 stroke briggs

B&S now own Victa - to I guess yes

I didnt know victa made the Super 600 in self propelled.

I did suggest the 550 self propelled.



If honda say it will work, go with it i suppose.