Yet another new type of clone engine

[anderkart]

I just ran across this Durostar engine for the first time this morning in a thread here. That pull start cover sure seems to be a totally unique design and not just yet another direct GX-honda rip off.

I still need to do more research to try and figure out who manufactures these engines, but there's 3 different models available here:
http://www.maxtool.com/us/products/DS7HP.asp
http://www.maxtool.com/us/products/DS7HPE.asp
http://www.maxtool.com/us/products/DS16HPE.asp

 

[T-man]

those look pritty cool. I bought one of there Power maxs off of ebay two years ago and it still works like a charm.

 

[anderkart]

those look pritty cool. I bought one of there Power maxs off of ebay two years ago and it still works like a charm.

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure those Powermax engines are manufactured by a different company than these Durostar's.

It seems a lot of new manufacturers are getting more and more into the clone engine business and employing slightly different designs instead of just direct GX copies/clones like in the past. It'll be very interesting to see how these new designs all work out on karts, and to learn what speed parts and mod-techniques will interchange between them, or not.

Honda did copy a bunch of different design features from several other industrial engine manufacturers, (and then also came up with a few brand new, patent-able Ideas of their own) when they introduced the OHV/GX-series engines. I think that was fine, but I've always felt it was wrong for any manufacturer to sell any exact copies of any pre-existing product, and I commend anyone that at least makes an effort to have a sightly different design.

Directly copying someone else's product used to be called a counterfeit, but in today's screwed up society they can just use a different color/labeling and go by the much politer terms of a copy, knock-off or a clone...

 

[The Mechtician]

The PTO side of the crankcase looks almost exactly the same as a Honda GX200. See pics below, DuroStar on the left and Honda GX200 on the right. I think it's just another clone (how many different ways can you build a single cylinder industrial engine?), but I do like the different looking fan shroud & recoil cover.

 

[r_chez_08]

7hp, but the same displacement!
Only downside to that recoil is you can't rotate it to suit the best location for the starter handle.
Rob

 

[anderkart]

The PTO side of the crankcase looks almost exactly the same as a Honda GX200. See pics below, DuroStar on the left and Honda GX200 on the right. I think it's just another clone (how many different ways can you build a single cylinder industrial engine?), but I do like the different looking fan shroud & recoil cover.

I agree but at least the webbing around the crank area is a slightly different design

7hp, but the same displacement!
Only downside to that recoil is you can't rotate it to suit the best location for the starter handle.
Rob

Good point, that would be a huge problem for karts, although you still might be able to simply re-clock it just like other similar engines. I'd be surprised if they overlooked that detail, lots of other applications besides just go karts require different/various pull-start angles. But if your right and they did overlook this option/feature, they've got a serious problem on their hands, no doubt.

 

[r_chez_08]

Re clock it?
I had another look at the recoil, looks lile there is another hole on the opposite side for the rope to come out if you needed to adjust it. Also 4 mounting bolts instead of 3... Honda recoil therefore would be hard to use if the original copped out, unless a new shroud was bought, but who knows what other differences there are. Could be a reall pain for spares, but i expect the internals are the same cos of the 197cc displacement.
Rob

 

[jareeB]

hf geryhounds are just like the honda for the pattern on the sump cover

you can change the way the pull start is, look at it closely you can see a hole for it kiddy corner to the starter handle

 

[anderkart]

Re clock it?

I had another look at the recoil, looks lile there is another hole on the opposite side for the rope to come out if you needed to adjust it. Also 4 mounting bolts instead of 3... Honda recoil therefore would be hard to use if the original copped out, unless a new shroud was bought, but who knows what other differences there are. Could be a reall pain for spares, but i expect the internals are the same cos of the 197cc displacement.
Rob

Yeah, to "re-clock" something is just a commonly uses Mechanics term for when you can remove the bolts, turn any part to different position (of the clocks hour hand...) and bolt it back down. You just used the term "rotate" instead., same meaning.

When you use the term "re-clock" you can easily/accurately describe its position of the clocks hour-hand to others, this is commonly done with rebuilt alternators because the back half can be installed in anyone of 3 or 4 different positions to best suit the vehicle its installed on.

My eyesight is crappy and I hadn't noticed they supplied that secondary rope hole for an optional pull rope direction, but I figured they hadn't completely overlooked some means to achieve this goal on the Durostar.

Yeah there might be all kinds of different parts in there that would require factory replacements, and that would suck. But it does have the exact same bore, stroke and CC. as the GX200, so they probably just ripped off Honda's design like most others, but just changed a few minor external details like that pull starter to set them apart from the competition.

Horse power and torque specifications can be fudged, and most every small engine dyno reads out differently from others anyway.

hf geryhounds are just like the honda for the pattern on the sump cover

you can change the way the pull start is, look at it closely you can see a hole for it kiddy corner to the starter handle

Yeah the greyhound's didn't even bother to change anything from the original honda designs, the just copied everything and stamp-em out like cookies. They used to even paint them red, but Honda won a law suit against that, so that's why you dont see many red clones around anymore...

 

[Bluethunder3320]

the 16hp is CHEAP!

 

[amcjavelin]

just got my 16hp duro max for 279.99 shipped!