Pocket bike engine vs tanaka engine?

With its OEM muffler, the Tanaka 47R engine is LOUD, especially from midrange to top end. It gets quiet with a good expansion pipe. I also place my original muffler as a resonator, then run it thru 36" of 1/2" exhaust rubber tubing. I pass by Orange Brian's house every day. He said it's not as loud as those pesky mopeds.

When I ran a high-performance pocket bike with an ADA S1 pipe, it was not as loud as the Tanaka 47R.

JMO, any of the engines we use will quiet down with a pipe, a resonator and a length of tubing.

There's an MB w/chainsaw engine here in Honolulu. I heard a video on it. It has a pipe, no resonator, and it's EXTREMELY loud.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da9NaBMKCjY

My engines are nowhere near as loud as that.
 
Last edited:
You had the reed 47cc/ 49cc pocket bike engine made in China right? Or did you have some other?
Your polini must be reliable and much more powerful than any. It seems to be a pretty small engine too so it can fit?
 
Ok. I was just worrying about getting a pocket bike engine once I saw that tempting deal in the other thread.

Felt like I could have spent the same amount for more reliability. But for the same price I guess it's either power or reliability, it's a choice.
 
gera229 said:
Ok. I was just worrying about getting a pocket bike engine once I saw that tempting deal in the other thread.

Felt like I could have spent the same amount for more reliability. But for the same price I guess it's either power or reliability, it's a choice.
Click to expand...

An old saying goes, "You can have two qualities of power, reliability and low cost, but not all three".

Of course, when you can buy a used, ported Tanaka 47R engine for $120, you get all three, lol.

Man, I should fix the oil seals on that engine and run it. It's leaking at the crank seal.

No, it's not for sale, gera, lol.dance1
 
Now I can't afford a good deal anymore lol.

The Tanaka 47R is 2.8 HP which is still less than a pocket bike engine.
Or is the tanaka custom ported by someone for max performance?

They're hard to find used.

This looks like true performance to me with a tanaka 40cc engine (maybe because he's going downhill?), but he seems to have a custom ported cylinder and cut piston for max performance and other parts and lots of money invested in it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5tnD61NOh4&feature=related
 
Last edited:
gera229 said:
Now I can't afford a good deal anymore lol.

The Tanaka 47R is 2.8 HP which is still less than a pocket bike engine.
Or is the tanaka custom ported by someone for max performance?

They're hard to find used.

This looks like true performance to me with a tanaka 40cc engine (maybe because he's going downhill?), but he seems to have a custom ported cylinder and cut piston for max performance and other parts and lots of money invested in it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5tnD61NOh4&feature=related
Click to expand...

Yes, my 47R was ported by someone for great performance.

No Tanaka 40cc engine can compare to the awesome performance and potential of the Tanaka 47R.

JMO, the pocket bike engine is an excellent start for high performance. I don't know much about them, but it's a good stepping stone.
 
Last edited:
How many horsepower does your ported Tanaka achieve?

How much did it cost you to have it ported?

A used Ported Tanaka for $120? Temping.... I doubt anyone else would sell it for that low lol.

The pocket bike engine can also be custom ported: In pocket bike parts this member named Boosted does custom ports to get TRUE performance gains. It's amazing how he ports them, but it costs like $80 to have him port an engine.
 
Last edited:
gera229 said:
How many horsepower does your ported Tanaka achieve?

How much did it cost you to have it ported?

A used Ported Tanaka for $120? Temping.... I doubt anyone else would sell it for that low lol.

The pocket bike engine can also be custom ported: In pocket bike parts this member named Boosted does custom ports to get TRUE performance gains. It's amazing how he ports them, but it costs like $80 to have him port an engine.
Click to expand...

Horsepower is just a number I TRY not to get excited about. Now GEARING is where the performance is! I am totally excited shifting through the cassette. I usually only use first, third and fifth gears. If fifth gear is buzzing the engine at 35mph, I'll shift to 6th gear, which is 16.36:1

Buzzing thru the gears is THE BOMB!

I bought it used, ported already. I can tell the performance difference between the used, ported 47R and the new 47R engine.
 
Is there any big difference though?
Does it revv higher?

You bought it used for 120?! Hmm where can I find a deal like that.
 
I lucked into a new-in-box Tanaka pf4000 for $250 on ebay, but I'd
been looking for more than a year. (The label on the engine said
PF4000, but the box said 4210?) Whatever I got runs like a stomped
cat. The 4000 specs say 2.2 hp. This seems like a very modest
figure to me. It may not be a morini, but it beats the living daylights
outa the Hua Sheng I wish I hadn't bought,(also supposedly 2.2 hp.).
I love my super reliable little Honda GX35, but the Honda's a pussycat;
the Tanaka a lynx.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top