looking for top speeds and modifications for 22hp predator motors
any tips or mods would be helpful,
my boat is a 1436 tracker going with a 22hp predator with the swamp runner set up \
any insight would be helpful
thanks

That boat might be a little hairy with the 22hp. Just expect it. Hopefully you have tall / deep sides.

Did you get the swamp runner frame new?

You should go to their website at MudMotorKit.com and contact the owner (Jon Dobbs) and get setup with access to their web forum. He really knows his product, and they have great customer service. You'll have to provide the frame serial number for forum access.

Lots of guys running that setup at 25-30 MPH on non-mud motor specif boats. Just run of the mill jon boats and wooden boats.

I had one of their kits with the 22hp and a 6.5hp. Was quite pleased. You won't get much love for them at this forum, but they are great for what they are made for and their price. Definitely check out the forum on their web page.

With that said...here is what I would do.

By pass the govenor. It'll hold run 3800-4000RPMs in the water.
Take off the air filter housing. Cut away all the extra metal bracing around the air filter and underneath it.

Pull the carb. Work the intake adapter and carb. Get rid of the casting marks and imperfections. Gasket match the intake and adapters. It'll have a much better throttle response after that.

Gut the exhaust if you want. Or get creative and build something custom. I dont recommend this company (Mud Skipper) but they started selling this. http://mud-skipper.com/index.php/access ... model.html

I cant tell you anything about it. Its just one of the few after market products available for these motors. A lot of the Honda GX670 Parts will fit this. I've verified start and coils, but haven't had to replace either of them.

My motor has 150+ hours on it now, and we haven't had any trouble out of it. The valve lash has stayed correctly set somehow. I'm sure there is some room to clean up the heads, and do some conservative work to them. Haven't got their yet.

FUEL PUMP: This is important. This motor will not run at wide open throttle with the governor bypassed with the factory pump. It will starve for fuel and die. It just cant keep up. The factory pump is behind the cowling. You can replace it with a good diaphragm fuel pump, or you can add a low pressure electric pump in line with the factory. It's your call. Just be prepared to address this right out the box if you have any issues with it cutting out under wide open throttle.

That's just what comes to mind. It's a good motor. The predator is a good motor and I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again.

Good luck. Come back here, or the Swamp Runner forums if you need any help. Or shoot me a PM.

Do you have any info or can you point me in the right direction for learning how to bypass the governor? I'm not super experienced with small engines, but I'm mechanically inclined. (I work on detroits and cats but don't know much about small engines)

Also, I've heard that doing so you need a tach to watch the rpms, what's max rpm for these motors?

I'm about to put a zip tie on the governor spring of mine to get to 4,000 rpm. If that works I will let you know. It's only turning 3500-3600 right now.

Well I haven't gotten to try the zip tie on the governor spring yet. The stock fuel pump is crap and I ran into all kinds of problem when I hooked up an inline electric and kept the vacuum pump. The vacuum pump is now disconnected (still mounted to seal off vacuum lines) and the electric pump goes straight to the carb. Also had to clean the carb out and ran into a problem with the float valve sticking. I kept having the motor flood with fuel in the crankcase before doing the electric pump and I think the float valve was the issue, especially since it was sticking closed. I hope to test drive it tomorrow and see if it is fixed, if all goes well I may try the zip tie then.

After about 6-8hrs of beating my head against the motor I figured out my problem was a sticking float valve. After putting everything back together for the 3rd time the motor wouldn't prime up. I took it all apart again and had no fuel in the carb. The float valve was stuck closed and must have also been sticking open at times.

My electric fuel pump is wired to a ground and a yellow wire coming off the ignition switch that is hot with 12V when the switch is on and dead when iit is off. No fuel starving issues now and I can hold 4000 rpm as long as I want. Make sure you use a LOW PRESSURE fuel pump, mine is 2-4psi off Amazon.

I put zip ties on both governor springs to go past the stock 3600 rpm and don't hear anything scary sounding like valve rattle. Zip ties got me an extra 2-3mph for 400rpm but I want to replace the zip ties with the correct stiffer springs.

To answer the original question, I don't really have a direct answer, but I am kind of in the same ballpark. I hunt out of a 1436 Flatbottom Riveted boat. Against all the opinions on doing so, I threw a 23hp GoDevil Longtail on the back of it. Actually have only ran the combo for a few weeks now.

Not terribly sure on the mods, or if they'd even be worth the hassle on that hull.

Everybody is going to obviously tell you it's not the best idea, and that is absolutely no lie. BUT, if you use your brain a little bit, it's not a bad idea either.

As far as the hull goes, 1436 isn't quite up to par for more than 1 person. Sure you can pack 2 people and gear, and maybe even have a good outing like that, but the hull really drops off in performance after you add that 2nd person.

I'm seeing about 19mph with just me (180lb) in the boat. That's also including 6 gallon fuel tank, and battery.
Once I add another person, I drop down to 15.5mph average, in the calm 12''-16'' shallows.
I'd be willing to bet I wouldn't see 14mph should I add a 3rd.

So , the answer to your confusion/ Sure, throw a 22hp Longtail on , but use your brain with it. Not the best combo out there, but also definitely not the worst. Plus, it's a hell of a feeling to get up in the tight stuff, where the larger hulls cant fit.

PS, for the reference, I had a 15hp Swamprunner style kit as well on this hull before. Hell of a kit for that price. Couldn't beat it. I'm in no way against those kits.

I run a 22 suby longtail on a 14/42,solo 20 mph,loaded with 2 adults and gear 16-17 mph.....would i like a bigger hull yes.
I feel its stable and workable.
Today i loaded up 2 adults,12 crab nets,a 15 year old and 4 fishing lines.
Gear included 2 deep cycle batteries,6 gal gas,2 48 qrt chest,12 nets,2 bags of ice and drinks,4 fishing lines,tackle box,paddle,misc tools.
It was tight fit.....but had no problem running crab nets for 3 hours today.

22 hp should suit that hull just fine

I went from a 14x42 to a 16x48,no regrets.
More room,more stablity,handles chopy waters and winds alot better and I only lost 1 mile per hour.

25hp longtail 14x42 17-20mph tops deep water
On the 16x48 18mph sometimes 19 in deep water