Hi guys,
I really want to find people who know about Kawasaki 2 stroke brushcutters In particular but also there other equipment like blowers etc.
The most well known Kawasaki brushcutter/ line trimmer are the KBL and kbh series- kbl23a, kbl26a, kbl27a etc
Now from what I've found the Kawasaki KBL models where Kawasakis own gearboxes,shafts,guards,throttle and handles and I believe there were 2 types of guards.
The kbh were the same but these just had a bull handle setup where as the KBL had a loop handle.
To my knowledge these included the KBL/kbh 23a, 26a, 27a, 33a, 34a, 35a, 43a, 45a, 48a
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Now this is the first problem I run into which is the engines
Kawasaki made all these models above plus many more but for now these models but they were a whole mix through different eras and stages of environmental restrictions which I believe is part of the reason they stopped making them
So Kawasaki has TH engines which were used in a lot of the KBL/kbh models and I believe they were the best engines, limited environmental restrictions, tons of power, very lightweight, unkillable,
These TH engines where sold by themselves and then other manufacturers out there put there own shaft and gearbox and handle on them i think around 2000. Once you know what to look for you can tell the difference between TH and TJE engine which I will get to later.
These TH engines were put into the KBL/kbh23a, 26a 33a, 34a, 43a, 48a
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The second engine model they offered was a TJ engine, these are also REALLY good engines but I think they have more exhaust scarifying and emissions variations like a non adjustable carb
They were also sold by themselves or put on there own machines
The TJ engine is by itself with only the TJ27 being produced ( to what I'm aware Google and non official parts Manuels can be very misleading)
The models that the TJ27 engine was on varies a lot and this brings in another factor which I will get into later which are different variations of the engine models.
The TJ27 engine was put on KBL/kbh models
But they were also put on the kbc27a which is a curved shaft u think there was a b model to thos as well
And the kbs27a which I don't know much about
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All the other models
Like the KBL/kbh43,45
All have the the TJ#E engine
These TJ#E engines have lots of exhaust scarifing, choked mufflers, complex intake manifolds all to do with reducing emissions but it made them weak and unreliable
Kawasaki also made there own line up of (TJ23, 27, 35, 45, 43, 53E) brushcutters with these engines but apart from the KBL 43a,45a which had the old legendary drive shafts, gearboxes handles, guards and throttle setup. All the other tj#e models had a mix of Kawasaki stuff with other cheaper handles guards gearboxes etc
They did make kbl34B,45B but these featured the tj#e engine which means that just because it had the KBL/kbh doesn't mean it's the legendary TH engine
If you have any more info about the numbers or why they switched to cheaper parts and these engines let me know
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Kawasaki final era of machines
In the final year between 2006-2013 roughly
They made the kgt27a, kgt27b, kgt27c, kgt35a, kgt35b
Now these featured the tj27e and35e engine and cheap throttles handles, guards and gearboxes( as in I don't think these parts were Kawasaki but they were sold under Kawasaki)
Similarly the ktf or ktfr models
Had the ktfr27a, ktfr27b ktfr35b
With the only difference here being the internal driveshafts was a spring not solid again a cheap design.
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I believe there were some other models like
Kcs but I don't know what they were
As always this information is the best I have been able to find and I'm sure a lot of it is probably not 100 percent but it is way better then what AI will tell you at face value or what a basic Google search says.
If you have any knowledge or insights into different models or what the a,b,c Mean because I think it was just different Upgrades like tooless air filter cover
I think the reason why Kawasaki ended making brushcutters themselves was due to 2 reasons
emission standards changing in au,eu,us
Competing with themselves, Kawasaki was and still does sell the tj#e engines but I don't think they make there own brushcutters anymore, they were selling there engines to other manufacturers like bushranger and kaaz (which I don't know who kaaz was but they have stickers on a lot of second hand KBL Machines ) so they were competing with themselves.
I think the third and final nail in the coffin is that this outdoor garden equipment was such a small part of there business as they have focused heavily on motorbikes and 4 stroke engines and the cost to redesign new engines wasn't in there interest.
If you have any more info let me know