B&S by far! They're much more tolerant of bad gas and oil....plus parts are easier to find and cheaper. I have a 2.5hp B&S that was made in 1960. It's had regular use the last 45 years, and it still works fine today. And parts are still easy to find for it!
What? Nobody has even mentioned Onan? A good Onan will beat the SNOT outta most of those others...although the Honda would be a close second.<br /><br />Unfortunately when you find a rare Onan that actually fails or needs repair, the price of parts is 4 times higher than the others.
Sorry JB...couldnt post a poll in here thats why I posted in Dockside Chat.<br /><br />As far as the Briggs engines go I think that the oned made up here are great....the ones assembled in the southern plants arent nearly as good.
Flathead I agree....the Kohler engines are good, I should've mentioned them. I have an OHV 18 on a rider and its great..........but I also have a roto-tiller from at least 30yrs ago with a B&S on it, and it starts every year
B&S, Kohler, Onan<br /><br />Had a Tecumseh that seemed to last forever and had plenty of torque.<br /><br />Honda is very good, but mine can be finicky. It reminds me of old magneto engine I had in a Hercules crawler tractor. When it's in the mood, it purrs like a kitten otherwise it can be as ornery as a caged lion. Geez, off track there..was I talkin about the Honda or the wife...
I've run them all and they are all good. Just like an outboard....take care of them and they'll take care of you. I'm partial to Honda but also have a Kholer, Techumse, a Briggs Vangard and an old Clinton that still runs like a bat outta heck.
If you did a count of all the smalle engines I am sure there would be more B&S engines than all others combined.<br /><br />They are cheap and work great.<br /><br />Do they last as long, who knows, but who cares when you can buy another one for so cheap.<br /><br />Ken
I like the B&S as I can work on them......kinda helps that my dad has worked at Briggs building these engines for 30 years, as well as my neighbor and my uncle for about the same amount of time. seldom is there a non-working engine around here
