Foreword - Honda G100K2 Applications Manual

ENGINE APPLICATION

FOREWORD

It is vital for Honda, the OEM and the end user of the product that the engine installation and
characteristic is suited for a particular application. If not, engine and/or frame damage may occur,
performance will suffer, durability may be reduced and in extreme cases operator injury may result.
This is of course outside the scope of the Honda warranty and product liability and can be the source of
dissatisfaction to OEM and end user.
Therefore, the proper application (matching) of the engine to the end product (OEM product) is very
important.
This manual on engine application deals with the general subjects of four stroke general-purpose
engines and their applications.
The product designer's selection of the engine model and variation is generally made after
consideration of several factors such as:
Ø Dimensions
Ø Weight
Ø Power
Ø Environmental conditions
Ø Marketing and price
The power required to operate most types of equipment can be calculated rather accurately.
Other equipment cannot be readily calculated and is usually extrapolated from similar designs
equipped with an electric motor or a competitor engine.
An "oversized " engine can make an excellent engine application as it provides a lot of reserve
power and assures a long lifetime. An "oversized" engine, however, has the potential for
introducing vibration and other problems, particularly in single-cylinder engines.
An "undersized" engine can provide real advantages in terms of dimensions, weight and cost
but can fail to fulfill the end user's expectations in terms of adequate power and engine lifetime.
Customer satisfaction is gained through both the useful engine power and the engine lifetime. These
data are usually expressed in horsepower-hours or horsepower-years.
A professional user would probably be satisfied with adequate power for one or two seasons, which
may be a minimum of 500 hours.
A domestic user may consider a lifetime of 10 years on his equipment to be a good service, even
though at 25 to 50 hours per year, he has used it only for 250 to 500 hours.
So, in engine powered equipment design and development, it is advisable to think in horsepower-hours
rather than horsepower-years in the engine selection.
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