Re: ***Trackside Comparing the Clone to the gx200***
Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 2:16 pm
I just completed my 4th season running C200 clones. I started running a clone mid season 2006 so that's 4-1/2 years. Prior to that I had run Hondas for 9 years. The quality of the clones are not quite as good as the Hondas, but in reality are pretty much equal for reliability. The valves are suspect in the clones, our club has seen a couple break, and the rockers are weak in the Hondas. All the other stuff is about equal. The surface finish on some of the parts can be poor on some of the clones, especially on the lifter faces of some of the Princess Auto motors. I polish the lifer faces if they are bad before I run the motor. Put the lifter in an electric drill and run it against some grey Scotch Bright with some polishing cream. I just picked up one of the new Princess Auto clones (has the plastic cam gear) and the quality looks better than the older ones, so did not have to polish the lifters. I also change the oil quite frequently during break-in, until it comes out clean. The engines definetly seem to get better after a few races. At our track we are turning comparable lap times to what we used to run with the Hondas, but with a lot less cost and work to build a motor.
John
John