I'm also going to avoid the Honda v. Briggs debate by stating this: the only reason I went with the Honda is because of the ebay deal I found. I am willing to put any major brand on this mower so long at it works reliably. Briggs, Tecumseh, Kawasaki, Honda, Kohler, whatever...I just want it to mow. Dale, here's a feeble attempt at showing you the kill switch mod I mentioned previously. I tried to shoot pics of my setup but even with the fuel tank pulled, it was impossible to show you. In the following picture you'll see the location of the kill switch on your specific engine. You must push it in towards the carb to kill the engine. This is actually designed to be pushed in and killed when you throttle down all the way. Our (at least MY) mower does not have the stroke distance on the cable to kill it. So, just drill a hole where the throttle is supposed to hit the kill button, stick a small bolt in the hole and place a nut on each side of the throttle lever. This will allow you to adjust how far you have to throttle down to kill the engine. I'm pretty sure it's just as easy to splice in a different or additional kill switch on the "dash" [IMG]http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/zz204/pokeswin/honda%20340%20engine/MakeJpeg.jpg[/IMG] Here is a link that might be useful:

The older RER's used the Snapper tubular design, meaning... the front end is connecting to rear end by the tube between your legs. Where the tube goes into the rear end section there's a clamp that looks like a muffler clamp. Loosening this clamp allows you to slide the tube out (or in) to shorten or lengthen the belt, or better put...to determine the tension on the blade drive belt when you engage the belt lever. If your belt keeps coming off....either the belt is too loose, the idler is not maintaining its position, or there's a potential problem with the deck spindle pulley and/or bearings, or....is it the correct belt? (Snapper belt# 1-0749). T-Man

Ooops! I left out the dimension spec. The machine needs to be standing on the rear bumpers to do this. Using a ruler or stiff tape measure resting on the flat part of frame (next to where the round hole for engine entry is), to the edge of drive disc face (the face closest to you while you're down there)there should be a maximum of 3 and 13/16' to a minimum of 3 and 3/4". If the measurement you find is more than 3 and 13/16", someone has tried to compensate for wear by moving the drive disc closer to the rubber tired driven disc. There are 2 allen head set screws in the crank pulley (3/16" allen wrench) that need to be loosened in order to adjust the setting of the drive disc. Tap the drive disc gently with small hammer to move it after the set screws are loose. If you download or view the service manual you can look a picture of the procedure.

The Honda GXV 390 and 340 are commercial rated engines,there are many different models,built in at least 4 countries.There are Propane burning models with stellite valves,110 volt starters,and a filter on the cooling air inlet.They are found on mowers,generators, floor buffers,pumps,and other apps.The engines have two balance shafts,which are supported in roller bearings,and the crankshaft is also roller bearing at both ends.The aluminum rod runs directly on the steel crankshaft,they have oil pumps but only to spray oil on the top crankshaft bearing,all other,lube is splash,some have oil filters some don't,they can have recoil or electric starters,or both,a gas tank or not.They list for $750 or so I saw an 11hp 340 with recoil only sell on e-bay for $380 plus shipping so keep your eyes open.My engine is a GXV 390A1 det3 It's built in the USA and has both starters and a filter and tank I used the Snapper tank. I paid about $450 for it on e-bay,the 340's seem to be mostly built in Japan with the 390's built in Japan USA, Thailand and China.As I said in an earlier post the Honda's have blind holes(5/16-24)on the front of the engine(next to the seat)the rear holes are open with bolt and nut.A belt guide uses these holes also and if you try to use a bolt in the front holes it is hard to manuver the bolt,washer, bolt guide and start the bolt.I pulled the engine back off to adjust the drive plate and installed studs before re-installing the engine.The studs were about 1 inch on each end which is about the depth of the blind holes,I used loc-tite on the studs and used two plain nuts tightened together to tighten the studs in the holes,then used lock nuts on assembly. I ruined my original drive plate trying to remove it,I made a puller using a 1&1/8 -12 x2inch bolt,well greased,holding the shank of the plate with a pipe wrench and a large crescent wrench on the bolt head,this pulls the plate away from the engine,to pull the plate toward the engine,thread ,a 7/16x20 bole into the end of the crankshaft and put a large heavy washer on the plate, hold the shank of th plate with a pipe wrench