Making performance modifications to Harbor Freight’s single-cylinder Predator engine has become a thing, and we’re totally here for it. We’ve seen one fitted with a home-brewed, Koenigsegg-style Freevalve system before, and one of the wackiest builds in recent memory was just put together by a YouTuber named Bataha. He tore the little thumper apart and rebuilt it with a long list of performance parts he bought on Amazon.
The project started with a 212cc Predator engine that Harbor Freight sells for $150. It’s an air-cooled, single-cylinder engine with a cast-iron head developed to power lawnmowers and log splitters, among other tools. It’s sold as a turn-key engine, meaning all you need to do is fill it up with oil and bolt it to whatever you’ve got that needs propulsion, but Bataha saw it as a blank slate for performance modifications.
All the parts he added are off-the-shelf, bolt-on components sourced from Amazon. And, taken out of context, it sounds like he’s building a race car. The specifications sheet includes a billet connecting rod, an aftermarket cam with a .265″ lift, a flat-top piston, and 22-pound valve springs. Air and fuel enter the hemi combustion chamber via an updated carburetor, and the engine is straight-piped for good measure.
Harbor Freight pegs the Predator’s output at 6.5 horsepower and 8.1 pound-feet of torque; yes, the decimals are important here. It’s reasonable to assume that the modifications increase both figures, though the engine’s final output is up in the air. Even a small bump is significant when we’re talking about such low figures, however. If the performance parts unlock a 12-horsepower rating, that’s an improvement of almost 50% more power.
Scary Powerful! Built Harbor Freight Predator 212 Hemi Engine.
I’d be tempted to install this hot-rodded single-cylinder engine in a shopping cart-based go-kart, much to the chagrin of local authorities, but Bataha has other plans. He said that the engine will go in a Coleman CT200U-EX minibike that he’s currently modifying; he’s notably adding a swing arm to it. The stock CT200U-EX is powered by a 196cc single-cylinder engine, so it should be noticeably zippier with the 212cc Hemi.
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