Hi Bill Penney;
Some of the members have already said that the Honda 600 can be driven at
the brake neck speed of 75. Although not in the three digit range still
very good for a two cylinder engine.
What works very well for the water cooled engines (note the water cooled
part) does not work well for the air cooled engines. Running water on the
Honda 600 engine really helps but my hose isn't long enough. So we need to
look at alternatives. The only other liquid the Honda 600 engine has is
it's Oil. So the simple thought is to cool the oil. The fan at the rear of
the engine really helps, but here too, just as with water the oil needs to
maintain a temperature to do it's job effectively. VW engines are also air
cooled and there are many more of them running than Honda 600 engines. Dune
buggies run the hot areas of the world and seem to be holding up. After
market companies have developed oil cooler kits for the VW which makes them
cost effective. I have modified the VW oil cooler to work with the Honda
600 engine. They (the VW after market guys) found that cooling the oil was
ok, but it too (as stated earlier) needed to maintain that all important
temperature level. So a oil stat (oil thermostat) was developed (by them)
to allow the oil to flow into the oil cooler when it reaches an amiet
temperature of 165 degrees. And, to assist with the filtering a remote
filter was added.
Lets retrace our steps; Modify the VW oil cooler to fit the Honda 600
engine, attach the remote filter and place a oil stat between the cooler and
the engine. And, to make matters better all this rerouting of oil has added
another quart of oil to the system. Besides now we only have to deal with a
spin on oil filter (instead of that filter element becoming more scarce than
hens teeth to find).
So, back to the original question; Can Honda 600's be driven at Freeway
speeds? - Yes, and to keep them going at these speeds you need to keep the
oil well filtered and at the right temperature. And by the way, the remote
filter setup allows you to attach a oil temperature and pressure guage.
Neat stuff, because now the driver can monitor this engine fluid. So how do
you get one? Drive over and we will put one on in a day at my place. Or,
go to your local VW store and shop, review the information on the
ANZhonda600owners Yahoo Group page and put one on yourself. If your worried
about modifying your engine, don't this is a replacement for the original
oil filter center bolt and cap so it's all bolt on. Then two holes, one in
the wheelwell and another in the battery try bracket.
So, keep your Honda 600 running down the road......
Bill Colford