"Provided it doesn't rain" I am going with sarcasm on that one.
The OP lives in Bend OR. The dry part of OR, it only rains 77 days a year.
As for whining about the cost, a brand new 1E44F is around 100 bucks shipped. The straight up 5:1 trans comes with it. And yes, I opted to add a CVT for another 100 bucks - and still have a brand new 5:1 box sitting on the shelf.
The OP wanted to keep the cooling on an engine designed for it, and I simply pointed out it can be done. I ride in 105 f ambient temps, and mostly WOT. So far the forced cooling is good.
I was a Homelite dealer decades ago. A fine little engine for it's assigned task. I would not put that sort of side load on the cantilever crank in the string trimmer engines - an outboard bearing should be used.