Whats the best 4 stroke kit, available on the market today

[loquin]

Well...

Well,in Australia, you're legally VERY limited as to engine output. 200 watts (1/4 HP!) I believe.

A motorcycle or commercial moped would fit all your 'specs,' (the "fly over the steepest hills" is the kicker!) but not much else.

A 50cc Honda with a Staton gearbox, or a 35cc class honda/rs with a pocket-bike CVT, geared for a top end of 25 MPH/40 KPH would also probably work well. (takeoff at low speed, hill climbing ability, decent top end) The fact is, a single gear ratio setup won't work well for all your requirements, unless the engine is quite large.

(FYI, setting up a weighted matrix with the various criteria that you find important/unimportant is a good way to determine the 'best' of almost anything for yourself... As I said, what's 'best' for you, may not be 'best' for me, or 'best' for someone else, as everybody's criteria for 'best' is a little different.)

 

[loquin]

As far as Honda not being necessarily better than H/S... That is true. But, the odds are, it will be. Honda and Robin/Subaru BOTH have top-notch manufacturing facilities and both have a great quality control system in place. That being said, it is still possible to get a 'lemon,' but if you do, these two companies are known to stand behind their products.

With the H/S engines, we have no idea what kind of quality control system they use, and they don't necessarily have any sort of reputation to maintain.

I bought a 78cc HF 4 stroke engine, and it had a small casting defect on the engine cover (near the shaft seal) that let the oil seep out. I caught this before the engine was installed, but it took 8 weeks for parts to get shipped from China to fix it. If I had installed that engine right away, and ran it, it could have easily have ended up trashed pretty quickly...

 

[Quenton Guenther]

Hi Everyone,

Just returned from the event in Dawson Springs, KY, and just wanted to let everyone know we tried to "trash" the Q-Matic drive via Drag Races and Roller Road tests. Final results concerning probems are as follows:

The bicycle chain came off during one of the tests. The bicycle chain, not the motor drive chain, and the bike still won the dirt drag race. It was the chain on Jay Cruise's bike, and only effected applying the brakes at the end of the run. Who needed to stop anyway, LOL.

There were several EZ bikes at the event, however we spent most of our time testing the Q-Matic drive on the larger motors [99 CC HF]. We just wanted to see if we could break one of the drives on the more powerful motors. We tried everything we could think of to abuse the drive system and all the EZ bikes are still working just like new.

Guess our new slogan could be "Race Proven".

Have fun,

 

[MotorBicycleRacing]

Just returned from the event in Dawson Springs, KY, and just wanted to let everyone know we tried to "trash" the Q-Matic drive via Drag Races and Roller Road tests. Final results concerning probems are as follows:

The bicycle chain came off during one of the tests. The bicycle chain, not the motor drive chain, and the bike still won the dirt drag race. It was the chain on Jay Cruise's bike, and only effected applying the brakes at the end of the run. Who needed to stop anyway, LOL.

Guess our new slogan could be "Race Proven"

Hi Quenton, it's only 4 days to the SoCal Motor Bicycle Racing event
on Sat June 2nd at Grange Motor Circuit.
It will be the 4th race on go kart tracks in CA since June 18th 2011.

There is a racing class for 50 cc 4 strokes and smaller so I am inviting
you and EZ Motorbike to field a bike on the track.

There is also a mid range class that a 99 cc HF with a Q Matic could
compete in.

This is racing on asphalt with corners on a challenging 7/8 mile 14 turn
track with a 950' straight. 12 lap finals are 10 miles.
None of us race or ride dirt drags.
Winning on the track is a test of a bike that has meaning in the real world.

An EZ Motorbike Q Matic has never won any of the 4 races, in fact a
bike using a Grubee 4 G gearbox is the reigning champion.

If you want to make the claim that the EZ Motorbike is "Race Proven"
put your bike on the track and win some races!

 

[flashstar]

I still think that the 4g drive kit with a HS motor is a great deal. I've had more engine problems than issues with the 4g drive kit (make sure to reset your valve clearances before your first ride!). The only drive failure I've had involved the drive chain popping off the rear sprocket. I don't have a chain tensioner and sudden engine torque delivered in a turn caused the chain to derail.

Anyway, I've only put about 225 miles on this bike so I will revise my opinion when I put more mileage on it.

 

[dorourke]

I just bought a flying horse 49cc 5g kit from BB with the belt tran. I haven't heard anyone mention anything about this engine and hoping to get some imput from other users. I had some problems with the two strokes and finally spent the money to support my adiction of riding. It comes with the 44t sprocket and they claim to use Japanese bearings. I'll find out in a week for myself if it was worth the money. any suggestions would be welcome.

 

[Happy Valley]

As far as Honda not being necessarily better than H/S... That is true. But, the odds are, it will be. Honda and Robin/Subaru BOTH have top-notch manufacturing facilities and both have a great quality control system in place.

Lou, I know both this is an old debate and you favor precise information. I prefer the Japanese engines myself, own both Honda and Robin Subaru and have always held it's a toss-up between those two in quality. It has sometimes been suggested that since Honda went offshore with some manufacturing, their QC might have suffered but that always seemed based on rumor or misinfo about being in Taiwan or something rather than their dedicated facility in Thailand.

That said, what do you make of this?

Delivery Lead Time: 15-40days
Minimum Order: 800pcs
Supply Ability: 10000pcs
http://www.ec21.com/product-details/Gasoline-Engine-Honda-GX35--5078907.html

 

[Old Bob]

Lou, I know both this is an old debate and you favor precise information. I prefer the Japanese engines myself, own both Honda and Robin Subaru and have always held it's a toss-up between those two in quality. It has sometimes been suggested that since Honda went offshore with some manufacturing, their QC might have suffered but that always seemed based on rumor or misinfo about being in Taiwan or something rather than their dedicated facility in Thailand.

That said, what do you make of this?

Delivery Lead Time: 15-40days
Minimum Order: 800pcs
Supply Ability: 10000pcs
http://www.ec21.com/product-details/Gasoline-Engine-Honda-GX35--5078907.html

Thats a rumor, Honda will thank you kindly for not giving it any credibility.
Honda's commitment to quality in the Thailand plant is the same as any other manufacturing facility Honda maintains.
They do not farm out any engine manufacturing.
R/S quality has always been marginal, some neophytes justify R/S not deburring the piston skirts on the EHO-25 and -35 as being there to better scrape oil off the cylinder wall.... its just bad practice and a cost cutting short cut.The quality of the die castings for the engine aren't even the same color top and bottom of what are supposed to be match machined upper and lower assemblies. The color difference is a change in alloy composition and its subsequent difference in hardness will affect the bearing bore size and shape.
R/S is lagging behind Honda in both quality and design but is better the cheap knock offs.

 

[Happy Valley]

Thats a rumor, Honda will thank you kindly for not giving it any credibility.

Do you work for Honda or speak for them? It's not a rumor it's a trade website as anyone can plainly see. Further, it's a website showing a pic of a Honda GX35 and details of how minimum lots of 800 pieces are available with inventories up to 10,000 pieces originating from mainland China.

Now whether it is legitimate, misleading or outright incorrect information I cannot say. That's why I asked the question but note I also posed the question to Loquin simply because I trust his precision and evaluation in many things mechanical. You're entitled to your opinion as well of course but unless you have credible proof contradicting the info in the trade website I'll consider whatever you contribute to just another guy's opinion. What I have seen is a history of argumentative posts on how great Honda is. Perhaps you're invested there or perhaps you sell them . I do not and don't think Lou does either. I own Honda engines and am very satisfied with them as I do Robin Subaru engines and am equally satisfied with them.....as an end user and consumer.....for the particular purpose of motorizing a bicycle. BTW, do you have a motorized bicycle?

 

[loquin]

I don't know if the chinese source is valid, or a knock off, but the fact that they are advertising them with the Honda logo certainly implies that they are genuine.

Honda would have to verify they are now sourcing at least some of their engines in China before I would venture to say anything about the engines being built there. IF they are sourcing their engines there now, I am SURE that they would have their QC program in place and working, before they sell any engines from that source.

However, I AM curious as to why Honda would allow their manufacturer to sell directly, instead of only through Honda. Typically, an engine maker would ONLY sell bulk quantities through their own sales department; they would NEVER allow a supplier to sell THEIR branded engines on the open market.