[Al5401]

Hi all - I'm back!
Have just bought (very cheaply) a rotovator/tiller/cultivator which was advertised as a Honda F501 (no paperwork included).
Having read through the bumph on the web it appears that the F501 was a basic machine - no gears...well mine has 3 gears - two forward and one reverse, although the engine does indicate that its a gx140 etc etc.
Clutch doesn't.. and appears to hit the cover when pulled.
As a complete idiot, albeit one who can 'tut' in the right places, I assumed it was a simple matter of adjusting the clutch.  Now I've got it home, it seems rather frightening.
Rather than go to a Honda main dealer and getting it serviced (seems previous owner never changed the oil since he's had it), is there a simple fix???
 :? Help,
Alan

[Bigbadfrankie]

Post up a picture. And change the engine oil ASAP. The gear box likes a drop of oil as well(engine oil) as well. When you say clutch, is it just a pulley on the belt or a centrifugal Jobie. I have a Honda with gears and its great. I am sure a bit of time and yours will be fine. I just earthed up 14, 25meter rows with mine in less than 1/2 an hour .

[Al5401]

It's just a pulley on the belt, when I pull up the handle it moves the pulley upwards, but that's about it, nothing else happens.
I can engage the gears, of course, by just putting the lever into 1 or 2 and it pulls very well.  Assume the 'clutch' was to disengage the drive from the gears and allow me to catch up with the machine!

[Al5401]

Although.....looking inside the pulley 'plate' I can see that the clutchy thing is suspended by a spring.  If I take the belt off, I can jiggle the clutch pulley up and down, i.e. appears to be a lot of movement.  Can the spring be too loose?

[Bigbadfrankie]

the up and down should be about 60-70mm make sure the belt is "A" section. Is the engine OHV or a G seris

[Gwiz]

i dont know too much about the honda's ,i must admit, but belt tensioners / jockey wheels always work in the same kind of ways.
if when you squeeze the lever on the handles the pulley is pulled upwards, then i would expect the belt to go over the top of the pulley, and the spring to be trying to pull the pulley back down (opposite force ) this is so that as soon as you let go of the lever, the drive stops working (for safety) as i say, im not to familliar with the honda's set up, but bbf will confirm if im on the right track. another way to look at pulles is this; most belts have a "V" shape, if the pulley has a "V" shape as well, then the pulley goes on the inside of the belt, if the pulley is "flat" then it goes on the outside. i hope that makes some sort of sense

[Bigbadfrankie]

On the Honda the lever is pulled to disengage the drive. When you let go you are in the drive mode. The cable stretches and disengaging the drive gets difficult. On the right side of the gear box will be the spec of the machine. ie "F400"  "F310" and a serial number.

[Al5401]

It's an OHV, gx140 144cm3.
Will get the pics as soon as my camera charges up!

[ianxwin]

Hi
You may find this site has the owners manual.
Found it when hunting for an f200 manual.
http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/own_own.htm

[Al5401]

Thanks very much for that.  I will download a manual as soon as I can find the serial number on the machine!
Currently the machine is at my mates house - he is going to give it an inspection and see if a new clutch cable can be found - appears that it is the cable which has stretched (thanks BBF).
Changed the oil anyway, seems that the previous owner had put SAE30 into it and according to my mate, it needs 10-40 semi-synthetic (all Honda's need this by all accounts), or they smoke.
Cheers again IanX

[ianxwin]

Hi
Glad to be able to help.
i am a complete beginner with rotorvators. I needed to do one job in the garden, and a mate at work has got a one off job so we bought a Honda F200 on ebay for £109.
It all seems there, but will try starting it this weekend. I couldn't find manuals anywhere on my searches, then found this US web site.
There is only one manual for the F200 so I don't need to check the serial number on mine.
You might be able to use cable and covers from a cycle shop for your clutch cable.
Good luck with yours.
Ianxwin

[Al5401]

Try
http://search.stores.ebay.co.uk/fastaplant_F200_W0QQfciZQ2d1QQfclZ3QQfsnZfastaplantQQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftsZ2QQsaselZ86958999QQsofpZ0


That should give you an owners manual (photocopied only) for your F200 at a greatly reduced price!  
regards,
Al

[shaun]

Thanks very much for that.  I will download a manual as soon as I can find the serial number on the machine!
Currently the machine is at my mates house - he is going to give it an inspection and see if a new clutch cable can be found - appears that it is the cable which has stretched (thanks BBF).
Changed the oil anyway, seems that the previous owner had put SAE30 into it and according to my mate, it needs 10-40 semi-synthetic (all Honda's need this by all accounts), or they smoke.
Cheers again IanX

Ian I dont know what the fittings are like on the honda clutch cable but on my howard theres special fittings on each end fixed onto the cable,i needed one a few months back and had one made up for £15 from a local firm they make control cables for industry and boats,they needed the old cable to copy from though.
if you get stuck finding one get in touch and we can sort it out

[Al5401]

Shaun,
It's Ian, well Al5401! :?
According to my friend, who is a retired Honda 'fixer' it should be extremely easy to get a clutch cable.  He is sourcing one from a Honda dealer, cost about £15-20.  Good job the fixing is free
Al

[Al5401]

And furthermore.......
Can anyone calculate what the hp is of my machine?
It's a GX140 Honda engine, 144cm3 (8.8 cu in) and has a bore and stroke of 64 x 45mm (2.5 x 1.8 in).
Never been good at 'sums' and as I left education about 40 years ago, didn't, at the time, seem to matter!
Lollipop to the winner.

Why is organic, which costs less to produce, more expensive to buy?