Modified Honda GX160 and GX200 1/4 midget motor history

It was during the summer of 2004 we had the first Honda Mod motor introduced at WEQMRA. The motor was produced by "Ziggy" and was one of the first ones he had built. The motor ran very well but had some premature related failures. When this motor was on the track it pretty much ran uncontested against the Briggs 5HP modified motors. Overall it was a very good motor but it was very costly to have the engine builder to put together.

The motor from Ziggy seen very limited use during 2005 but we had a new arrival during the 2006 season. This Honda modified was run by Steve Sacks, The son of Jeff and Erin Sacks. I believe this motor was built by NR Racing. For the most part we played second fiddle to the Honda even after producing some of the finest, most powerfull Briggs 5HP engines we could.

It was the middle of the 2007 season we introduced our first Honda modified engine. While the engine had a very limited supply of aftermarket parts available we faired fairly well but not as good as expected. We knew the motor had much more "Unleashed" potential.

Mid way through the year we spent relentless hours of R and D and dyno testing. In 2008 we started the year running 2 Honda's in the Modified class and started with limited success. The initial start of the season was flogged with problems that included the side cover loosening up and the oil leaking out. After reviewing the problem the side cover issue was resolved.

It appeared that even when we were not having side cover issues we were still lacking power compared the the NEW Briggs motors we were also running. We were running equal with them but knew we had more.

After some disussions with ARC Racing and other parts manufacturers we were able to put together a total performance package that dramatically increased the performance. But again problems plagued us.

We now had issues breaking the stock rocker arms due to the high RPM's and radical camshaft. After a little bit of work in the machine shop we had come up with a much more robust rocker arm setup. We are currently in contact with a machine shop to produce the rocker arm assemblies we had developed for the 2009 season.

Now it was time to find the NEXT weak link. This came shortly after resolving the rocker arm issue. Since the rocker arm issue was resolved we had moved our maximum RPM limit up to 9000RPM. At this point we had problems with the valves breaking.

After we had reviewed the valve issue, we had installed different valve springs along with Stainless Steel valves and Aluminum automotive valve spring retainers. At this point we had a pretty stable platform. After a few weeks of racing and a total of 10 races without failure we upped the RPM limit again to 9500RPM. The tachometer we use showed every indication the motor was continuing to pull strong.

FINALLY!!! Being sent to the back of the field was no longer a concern!!! We knew we had the power to pull through the pack and now we had another Honda member on board. Alex Reinsmtih had joined the Honda Mod field and was pretty much a sure winner no matter where he started.

The final test came 75% through the season. It was the 10,000 RPM limit! The engine succesfully ran 10,000 RPM and continued to pull hard without any failures. HOWEVER we did a small test and geared one car for 8500 and the other for 10,000. Both cars remained equal so we opted for the 8500 / 9000 RPM limit.

I can sucessfully say that all the weak links are now worked out and I no longer worry about the motor coming apart.

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!!

The 200! With 2 weeks to go in the racing season we disassembled the GX160's and installed all of our parts into the 200cc clone motors we purchased for $100 NEW. ALMOST All the parts are directly 100% interchangable.

The inital dyno testing of the GX200 was great and also disappointing. The great part? The motor was ungodly strong! The disappointing part? My electronic dyno could not handle the power that was being put out and I melted some wires.

Not to worry though. When we finally assembled Alex Reinsmith's 200, Marty Reinsmith and myself continued testing with his hydraulic Dyno. All I remember seeing is Marty's eyes almost pop out of his head. Unfortunately he could not buckle this animal down on his dyno either and I think we were close to blowing off hoses.

We now feel we have a stable platform with the correct parts. We will be entering FOUR Honda 200 modifieds in this years Motorama show and we plan on competeing in the half class.

Our whole intent was to be able to give current Honda GX160 owners a step to the level without having to dish out $1800 to $2000 for a World Formula. We believe anyone who is interested the Honda Mod will find the motor quiet reasonable priced compared to the World Formula and also have the option of placing the parts into a 200 and being able to climb to the NEXT step.