Spotted this Masport President for sale as a non runner, contacted the seller, did a deal and jumped in the car to collect. What a surprise I got on arrival, I didn't even contemplate that it might be a 2 Stroke, only ever seen 4 strokes on Masports of that era. Have other members seen many of these ? I'm guessing they may have been introduced to compete with the Victa VSX 160's ?. After fixing the things that should not have been touched by the son of the original owner and putting some fresh 2 stroke in the tank that wasn't the same colour as the deck it's running and a powerful unit but runs quiet at 75db, same as the 4 stroke Masport and same as Victa VSX 160.
The M120X engines go hard. There is a spot in my storeroom for a Suzuki powered Rover.
I wondered if these copies were made of Chineseium, and if those reviews are anything to go by, I can understand why we don't see many left! I've only ever seen one, and it was on Gumtree.
I don't collect mowers. I just require Multiple Mowing Solutions™.
I still have a few of the Suzuki motors here, I don't bother with them because the carby is just too problematic. The motors when running are very smooth helped by the fact the motor sits north/south on the frame compared to the Victa east/west setup. I have often thought about fitting an LM carb to one just for kicks and giggles to see how it went but time is always my enemy, but I will try it one day
These engines are known as the Chuzuki or Smokey Mc potface or Johnny Potsmoker .https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/84214/smokey-masport-2-stroke-ironforce-chuzuki.html
The main problem seems to be the engine purportedly. I don't think any conclusion can be drawn from a survey of 4 reviews, in fact the mower get's a pass mark of 3 out of five stars from the reviews. I'm not sticking up for it just putting a hopefully balanced opinion across. After cleaning the jets twice it starts and performs well, starts cold in 2 - 4 pulls, the choke butterfly adjustment is critical as is fitting the air filter element as I found out. Yes it's a little more smokey than expected but not over the top for a 2 stroke and I run all my 2 strokes on 25/1 so that may contribute. Engine failure isn't mentioned in the reviews. I think it's tidy unit and will do the job well, probably set to run on the lean side to meet emission standards of the time and on the last 2 starts when I turned the fuel tap off to let it run the carby dry was amazed at how long it took.
The Suzuki motors had a slightly iffy rep as well - but I think was due to the carby more than the actual motor itself. It was basically a motorbike carb on a mower! If you can keep them clean, they'll be on song. I suspect the Iron Horse carb is straight copy of the Mikuni? Talk to anyone who knows the Suzukis and they love them. But they tell you you gotta keep them set right.
Will it be doing much work, or will that still be the SB domain?
I don't collect mowers. I just require Multiple Mowing Solutions™.
I can't complain about some Chinese engines if they don't cost much you can't expect them to last as long as a more expensive motor ,you mostly get what you pay for.
Here's the real deal I found a few years ago. Haven't got it to run so far but it's complete. Can I get a complete carb replacement cheap? They don't have a decompression system do they?
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
My dry sense of humour has gone straight over the top here ! Tall Poppy Syndrome anyone ? Ive never met the bloke and never will but I guess we all have the opportunity to put our balls on the line and start a mining company ! Yes he's probably made a few quid and payed a few quid in royalties to the state and commonwealth which contributes to us being able to live in the best country in the world. Obviously no other business doe's any trade with China which has assisted them to achieve what they wanted, Mr Norman ? he must be a good bloke too ? If you dont have any appliances or anything associated with being made overseas in your house I guess you can yarn up strong without being a hypocrite. Back to the important topic of lawnmowers, I mixed an exact 30/1 litre of fuel and put it in the tank after the 25/1 ran out. Could not believe the difference it made, very hard to start and smoked like a Bob Marley concert. Stay with 25/1 and you can't go wrong. MF, it would take a bloke of your capabilities 15 minutes to get that running I reckon.
Don't worry wce, I had a chuckle. I must say though, my opinion of him has dropped lately...!
I've got a service manual for those motors of needed. MF, it does not appear to have a decompressor. You could probably buy Chinese knockoff carb for nothing.
I don't collect mowers. I just require Multiple Mowing Solutions™.
wce, I don't give a rats arse about tall poppies, I just get super pissed with somebody flogging off our resources for peanuts to a grub country and then go running around puffing out his chest claiming he is a good guy MF That is the only issue with the Suzuki, the Mukini carby is problematic and are expensive to replace and I have not seen a cheap knock off carby for them so I bin them
Hi Max, Interesting reading there about China, but my beef with China is it is an abusive dictatorship, that uses pretty much slave labour and has huge human rights abuses and anybody that complains just vanishes. Western democracies should not deal with these maggots. I just hope Trumpy wakes up one morning angry and declares all imports from China are suspended instantly and all ships at sea turned around and return to China. Only ones it is going to hurt is all the businesses making big money importing stuff from China and as far as I am concerned couldn't happen to a nicer pack of b#$%^&*s There is also the bigger issue that many of the products that are being dumped around the world are not made in China but are actually made in North Korea using slave labour and this is keeping the North Korean economy going which proves that the UN sanctions are a joke and another reason Trumpy wants to cut funding to that useless organization as well " We are all in this together", NO we are not, Free Trade with a communist dictatorship is not free trade. What a feeling it would be to see a mower built in Australia again, because I know we have the ability but does Australia have the guts. OK rant over
I took the 30/1 out and put 25/1 back in, started on pull 4 and almost no smoke. What is the problem with the carby's ? are they the same as the original Suzukies ? The carby is a basic bog standard one on the chuzuki and I can't really see how it could go wrong ? Ill stick a new set of blades on it and give it to my neighbor to use as he asked me to keep an eye out for an occasional use mower and Ill be able to keep an eye on it and see how it performs.
Just on the resources issue, I don't know who negotiates the price of our mineral wealth with our customers but if it is being sold for peanuts how is it that there is incredible wealth to be had from the ground level up ?
The one thing I like about Trumpy is his trade protectionism - keep jobs in America. Hasn't done a very good job yet though.
Too many people are in their pockets now to enable meaningful change. Imagine the backlash at these prices now compared to 1980 (based on RBA conversion data): 1980 Victa Commodore High arch 160 - $1100 equivalent now Breville 2 slice toastie (jaffle) maker - $88 now Breville kitchen wizz (multi blender thing) - $750 now
But I can guarantee all of those would probably still be working
Apparently there are many, many fine orifices and passageways in the carb that block easily. All the reading I've done indicates that if you've cleaned it, clean it again. Then again. Nothing actually "wrong" with it, just perhaps a bit too "high tech" for such an agricultural application?
Tyler, no way would people stomach those prices now. It's a shame, might help cure the disposable society we've chosen for ourselves.
I don't collect mowers. I just require Multiple Mowing Solutions™.
In the seventies and eighties I really had to justify to myself if I had enough work or need to buy a tool then think about it before I bought it, now if you need a tool for just one use you just go out and buy it. We all know how much a Victa toecutter was in the fifties/sixties about 54 pounds and wages were about 5 pounds a week. First and last thing my mother ever bought on hire purchase
Check out the thread that max posted about the carb. That happened to be the one I read a while back. Unfortunately that is the end of my technical knowledge of the carb - purely theoretical. Even more unfortunate was the fact I missed out on a good looking example on Gumtree of a Suzuki powered Rover because Gumtree somehow decided I wasn't interested in notifications anymore.
Last edited by Mystyler; 01/06/2011:37 PM.
I don't collect mowers. I just require Multiple Mowing Solutions™.
Got back on the horse this afternoon, the Ironhorse that is. although the choke butterfly looks like it is closed in that throttle setting there was 2 - 3 mm play when you manually moved the shaft linkage. Very important to lube all the moving parts with the throttle assembly then adjust the cable so as the choke butterfly is securely closed, bad angle that the cable is set at and not sure if the genuine Suzuki's are the same ? Last two cold starts have been 4 and 5 pulls, runs great with not too much smoke using 25 to 1. There is also a mixture ? screw on the top right side but when everything is assembled is near impossible to get a screwdriver on the head of it, especially if the engine is running so I presume it is something was intended not to be touched. I did remove it to have a look and for the record it is a tapered screw that is 2 and a quarter turns out from it's seated position.
What in your opinion constitutes an engine that is hard to start ? is 5 - 6 pulls on the starter too many ? with the 4 strokes I think any more than 2 is an issue.
