Predator Generations?

[TheDullCarbide]

Can someone explain the Harbor Freight 196/212cc Generations? Is the Greyhound a Gen 1? Which one has the small cam bosses? Which one has the weird flywheel taper? Does the newest Generation include both a HEMI and non-HEMI? How do the California versions fit in?

 

[trinik7597]

The grey hound is a true 196cc Honda clone .. Even though it has some differences like 5 bolt valve cover and weird air box ... Then you have gen 1 which in my opinion are the best castings with bigger bore and more stroke but still maintaining a 25/24 valve setup the cam boss on all the non hemi motors is larger than Honda /clone then you have gen 2 and the hemi which has a Honda /clone cam boss and a kohler taper . gen 3 you have the non hemi some using larger valve heads and different retainers stock think they are labeled 3800 rpm

 

[65ShelbyClone]

What I'm curious to know is how the flywheel tapers are different. Dimensions are proving hard to find.

How do the California versions fit in?

They are simply the current non-hemi version AFAIK. Hemis aren't sold here, I suspect because they aren't CARB-compliant* for emissions. 60363 engines and parts are a PITA to get because of that.

*(CARB thinks that engine exhaust should consist of rainbows and sunshine)

 

[SAS289]

The grey hound is a true 196cc Honda clone .. Even though it has some differences like 5 bolt valve cover and weird air box ... Then you have gen 1 which in my opinion are the best castings with bigger bore and more stroke but still maintaining a 25/24 valve setup the cam boss on all the non hemi motors is larger than Honda /clone then you have gen 2 and the hemi which has a Honda /clone cam boss and a kohler taper . gen 3 you have the non hemi some using larger valve heads and different retainers stock think they are labeled 3800 rpm

Speaking of that 5 bolt rocker cover... I read recently that the champion rockers have clearance issues with the stock rocker covers. Is this true? Kinda sucks because I want to do a mild build on my NOS greyhound and use champion rockers with the original head.

 

[trinik7597]

Speaking of that 5 bolt rocker cover... I read recently that the champion rockers have clearance issues with the stock rocker covers. Is this true? Kinda sucks because I want to do a mild build on my NOS greyhound and use champion rockers with the original head.

Simple fix ... Either indent the baffle or pull it out of the valve cover

 

[SAS289]

Nice...Thank you!

 

[TheDullCarbide]

Speaking of that 5 bolt rocker cover... I read recently that the champion rockers have clearance issues with the stock rocker covers. Is this true? Kinda sucks because I want to do a mild build on my NOS greyhound and use champion rockers with the original head.

Yeah, that 5-bolt sucks. Not anything wrong with the design, just that you're stuck with the valve cover that came with the engine. I got the 4-bolt 27/25 non-hemi head from ARC because I butchered the 5-bolt cover and who doesn't like flow?

Another PITA is the side cover gasket. It's some one-of-a-kind design that I could only find with a complete kit from NRRacing. Couldn't find it separate.