Honda GHX50 vs. Titan

[jimraysr]

Honda Governor Works!!!

I have 4 Honda engines setting outside. 600 watt 1800 RPM generator, Bought new around 1969 -70. It is now in a cage I built on the back of the motor home attached to the rack in we carry two electric scooters. Great unit, bought it for camping, now it runs the converter / charger for charging the 6 golf cart batteries rather than running the Onan 4 KW.

Honda 2200 watt 3600 RPM generator, bought used from a a guy that used it to build his cabin. It is 20 years old and I have owned it 16 years. Starts first time every time. Great to run a room unit in summer if power goes out which has happened for as long as 8 hours, once, lesson learned.

11 HP Honda on a ceramic poston piston pressure pump. Electric start, 1700 psi at 5 GPM. Replaced the carb after I allowed it to gunk up one to many times. 15 years old now.

Learned to install cut off valves if not built in, run carb dry, drain tank even if just for a week or two.

Finely the GHX50 on the Schwinn. Same drill, run it dry after each ride in case I don't get back to it as planned next day. Drain the tank from a tee in the feed line and a drain valve.

Gas anymore will ruin any engine faster than anything else IMHO.

I used the governor and love it, engine purrs along at set point of throttler and opens or closes the butterfly as needed for hills and dales. Throttle moves the manual throttle lever with the friction nut loosened so the cable can move it easily. Maybe not as fast as some of the whipper snappers ride, but 30' per second (20 MPH) is fast enough for my bod to hit something. 30 is 44 feet per second. Think about that. )

The bike will go a lot faster, but it all seems to be terminal velocity to me.

As I reciently said in a post, there are only two parts of my bike I trust. The Honda engine and the Manic sprocket and hub adapter.

Jim

 

[strotter]

To answer the question, which is quietier?
Hard to give a definitive answer. They sound about the same. The Honda sounds more "solid". What does that sound like? I don't know, it just does.
Both start easy. Power? The Honda is on a tanduem so it's not a fair comparision to the Titan on a single seater bike.

Honda feels more torquey on the mid-range.

 

[Irish John]

We've just acquired two 4.5 HP Subaru 'Robin' 4 stroke motors. Very quiet and well made.

4.5HP??? What cubic capacity are they because the ones we talk about here aren't anything like that sort of power. Which Subaru Robin are you talking about?

 

[HoughMade]

Don't know which one he is talking about, but I've seen a 126cc overhead cam RS at 4.5hp.

 

[Member 5549]

Honda !!!! yOU CAN GET PARTS ANYWHERE !!!!!

gOT TO KEEP THAT IN MIND !!! sooner or later it's gonna need parts !!!!!

Go to the lawnmower shop and tell them you have a titan, they will say a what ???

 

[strotter]

O.K. final verdict........... You get what you pay for. Honda is worth the extra money.

Didn't like the governer on the Honda and I didn't want to fabricate a bypass.... so I put a titan carb on. Bolted right up and love it!!!

 

[Danny3xd]

I can't say enough good about the Honda GX50. Half choke. Half pull then full pull. Vroom vroom first time, every time. Thing that amazes me, it is so well designed, she likes it hot as the cooling system works so well. This time of year, takes her forever to get hot and to the point she performs best. An amazing work of engineering to say the least and no surprise, copied. The carb thing is a bummer but a small price and challenge.

I in no way mean to dismiss or am saying any thing bad about any other engine. Just sayin' I loves me, my Lil Honda Girl

 

[Irish John]

They are a great motor Danny and are made in Japan (the GXH50 anyway) by unsweated labour. Have you noticed how the carby loves the cold night air when it's oxygen rich and dense. That's when it really sings!
The price difference here is really about $700 if you include the time and expense of revamping the throttle controller on the carb as well as the retail price of $695 but at least you know you have a product that the makers are actually immensely proud of.

 

[Danny3xd]

Wow John!!! I just looked it up ( 695.00 AUD = 631.363 USD ) I know shipping is a large part of products, but you folks are closer.

Retail in the US, they are $ 300.00 USD =331.873 AUD. Wanna start an import, export, import biz? LOL

 

[jimraysr]

Honda In Au

Unfortunately the AU importer probably doesn't order in the volume American ones do.

The current price for a GHX50 at small engine Warehouse is $260. It is the model with the gas tank, muffler guard and On-Of switch. They don't list the stripped model I bought which didn't include the extra stuff. It was $210 plus $17 shipping from IN. When I bought mine they had 230 of the stripped models in stock. They have over 22,000 engines in stock at all times.

I would guess that would bring some pretty hefty volume discounts.

The other possibility is a VAT tax. When my buddy in London orders anything from the states he has to pay anywhere between 15 and 35% Value Added Tax. Most EURO countries have some form of VAT tax. It puts a tax on the item at each change in ownership. Nancy P Queen of Congress is suggesting we might get one as well.

This would make me pay a tax when I order inventory from my manufactures. Then would have to charge a tax when my wholesaler buys from me. He would have to charge a tax when he sell to the contractor. Finally would come the tax we now have at the retail level when the contractor sold the material to the consumer.

So John may be paying a VAT when the Honda is imported and then an other when he buy it from the importer.

The other problem is warranty. If I buy direct from Hong Kong then that is where I have to get my warranty. Otherwise I can take it back to my local importer / wholesaler

When I got my Nikon cameras back in the 70s from Guam you had to scratch the name off at import as the name was protected in the US and only Nikon of the USA could sell Nikon Brand. In our case my draftsman buddy in Guam just put electrical tape over the names and shipped them to me as used drafting equipment after shooting a roll of film on a project for existing conditions. ) Not very honest, but saved me over $600.

Actually the AU is doing better against the US$. I think it was around $1.40 AU$ to one US$ and now it is AU$1.10322 to one US$.

Too much information, but that is as I see it. I would help John as well if there was a way.

I save my buddy on Maui a lot as we use the Flat Rate Boxes from the USPS and a lot of stuff is much cheaper here. Also he doesn't have Harbor Freight in the islands as well. In that case we aren't crossing international borders.

Jim