Harbor Freight 79 vs Honda 50 and HS50

[MotorbikeMike]

Reliability?

Hi snowbanana, no, I certainly do not think the cheap HF 79 compares with the Honda, on any level. But, apparently some do, and I plan to be ready for them.

Mike

 

[GearNut]

This sounds like it is going to be a good thread!
I plan on building a 4-stroke in the future. I ride on mostly slight rolling hills, but I live on the top of a very long, steep hill. I need a powertrain that can do good on both.
This compairison is just what I have been wondering about. Which engine could suit my needs? I am a bit leery about the HF engine though, the displacement is too large for Cali. I may still risk it though.

 

[jbcruisin]

there's a huge steep hill near my house & when I get to the top my Hueshang's doing 19 mph.
Jay

 

[Quenton Guenther]

Hi GearNut,

Sorry, but I answered your post earlier but I received 20 points and the post deleted. I made the mistake of mentioning a certain brand of product. It is OK to mention any brand except one. So here it is again without certain brand names, certain brand names now will be called brand W, or brand X. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Hi GearNut,

I live on the edge of the Atlantic ocean and is mostly flat, however there are a lot of bridges to connect the islands. The bridges are long and steep because large boats must pass under them.

When I ride a stock 138 CC brand "W" [4 stroke], it is necessary to get a good running start before attempting the "hill climb" or it will run out of power just before cresting the top.

Not long ago I decided to test the ability of the HS 49CC 4-stroke from a complete stop at the bottom of a very long & steep bridge.

WOW! at the same point the Brand W started slowing down the HS motor simply "dug in", the RPMs slowed somewhat, but it just pulled like a tractor and went over the hill with ease. I was so amazed I repeated the ride several times, and each time the little motor "dug in" and easily pulled the hill. It seems the RPM slowed to the peak torque curve of the motor and just produced raw power [torque] when needed.

The HS motor is legal in almost all US states because it is 49 CC and the HP is also within the guidelines of most states.

The HF motor, however is above the HP & CC limit in the majority of states [not all].
The HF motor hasn't been tested near as much as the HS motor, but the several HF equipped bikes I have ridden [with the same brand X drive as the HS motor for an even compairson] pulled good but ran out of RPMs early and had a much lower top speed.

One problem about the HF motor that does concern me somewhat is the appearance. The motor is and looks large, and might be hard to convince someone it is a small CC motor. I know it is only a 79 CC motor but I think it was designed from the brand H 160 or 200 series motors, and could easily be confused for a much larger motor, whereas the HS motor is and looks small.

Have fun,

 

[loquin]

I believe the HF engine is copied from the Honda GXH100, Quenton. The mounting pattern and shaft size seem to point that way, anyway

 

[Quenton Guenther]

Hi Lou,

After reading your reply, I searched the internet for information about the Honda GXH100. It is difficult to find information on that Honda Motor, and I only found it used with a generator and wasn't able to see the actual motor. Most of the information concerning a Honda 100 CC motor was the big brother to the GXH50 motor with the vertical cylinder. I am sure somewhere on the internet would be a picture of the motor you refer to, but I wasn't able to find it.

The HF 79 CC motor has a tilted cylinder like the 160 & 200 CC Honda motor, and is much larger than the HS50 or the GXH50 Honda motors.

If you could find and post a picture of the Honda GXH100 motor I sure would be interested in adding the information to my knowledge base.

Have fun,

 

[snowbanana]

I live is Salt lake city, Utah and there are steep hills! I don't live right in the valley, I live kind of on the side of mount olympus and everywhere I go there are hills that are really steep. Honda doesn't make a 2.5 HP motor so I was thinking that the harbor freight would help me get up some of those hills. Is there big difference in power between the harbor freight and the honda 50cc engines

 

[Quenton Guenther]

Hi snowbanana,

I have actual test results from the various motors. The HS 49 CC motor and the Honda GXH 50 have similar HP, however the Honda is rated higher on certain web sites. I have seen the Honda rated as high as 2.5 HP.

After exposure to the HS, Honda, and HF motors, IMO all three motors could be "geared" to suite your needs. We tested all the motors with an indentical drive sytem [not allowed to mention the brand name without getting points on this site]. The brand of drive I can't mention allows the ratios to be changed to fit the power curve of the dis-similar motors. We [2 of our authorized dealers]tested the HF motor with different ratios because one of our dealers even had an adjustable drive pulley.

One of our authorized dealers pulls a trailer up and down hills with the HS motor equiped with the same drive system [brand x] and will tell you quickly it works 100%.

I know the HF motor has the torque curve at a much lower RPM and would only be worth considering if top speed wasn't an issue and you gear it to pull up the side of a building.

The main reason I like the Honda & HS motors is because of the wide RPM range, which allows for great low end power and the ability to obtain a fair top speed. My personal proto-type motorbike [once again I am not allowed to mention the brand name] will easily take off from a stop, climb most hills with ease, and reach top speeds over 35 MPH [actually faster, but don't want to brag], in fact it cruises at 35 MPH without "winding" the motor up.

The only advantage to the HF motor is price, but that is only true if you already have a lot of kit parts laying around. The HS and Honda motors are popular choices and many companies offer them in a complete kit [won't mention our company name as one of the suppliers] and therefore money can be saved compaired to buying all the parts seperate.

Several companies offer kits with quality AMERICAN made parts [including brand X] and IMO offers the best "bang for the buck". Shop around, and you can find what you are looking for.

Have fun,

 

[azbill]

I have 3500+ miles on my brand 'X'...
I expect my new 72T sprocket to pull the trailer/girls up a wall
I love my bike

 

[darwin]

Get caught once riding a 79cc engine on the streets and it can add up tp to 2000$ in tickets. Its the same as driving a car with no plates, reg or insurance plus no m/c endorsement. No thanks! 50cc is governed under different rules thank the LORD.