Another rare Kohler K121

[ztnoo 2,300]

Saw a K series Kohler on Facebook marketplace listing in Monticello, KY (southern KY, near TN).

Seller listed it as a K121, which of course I had never heard of, so I questioned him about it via the messaging system.

*  If you want to see it for yourself, PM me and I send you the link, if you can't find it.

 

Seller said his son claims it was built one year for concrete finishing machines, electric start only.

Another source I found said it was made for the G. H. Tennant Company only.

Has dual exhaust ports and is equipped with a little electric starter.

Seller believes it to be 6 hp, and says doesn't have a bottom pan and has back plate like Briggs or Tecumseh.

Also has original gas tank, breather, and it runs.

 

I'm still researching but I did find a couple of things about this motor, although official Kohler info seem to be non-existent.

I know after searching here at Red Square, @hcminis messed with one of the motors a few years back, and I urge him to jump into this discussion.

Also anyone else who might have even the smallest bit of info, please add your two cents worth.

Seems to be as rare as hens teeth or rocking horse turds.

 

https://gardentractortalk.com/forums/topic/21085-k-121-kohler/

 

 

 

 

 

[ebinmaine 72,634]

Pretty interesting stuff. I'm going to follow along to see what everybody else says too.

[Dan693 510]

2 rare Kohlers I saw was a 2 stroke that was in the old WH snowmobiles and a Kohler diesel generator from a 60's passenger bus.

 

And the toilets too.....

 

Who Knew!

 

[buckrancher 2,694]

 Kohler K121S spec # 2439B and #2468B mtg for G.H. Tennant company

 

I have a parts diagram and list in my kohler parts manual

[oliver2-44 10,711]

Sounds even a little rarer than a K361. Which I'm lead to believe was only produced one year. used on some Economy tractors and ?

[ztnoo 2,300]

3 minutes ago, buckrancher said:

I have a parts diagram and list in my kohler parts manual

 

@buckrancher,

I would be super if Garry @gwest_ca could catalog that info in the engine files section here at Red Square.

Do you think you could create PDFs of those documents?

I know these are "rare bird", offbeat engines, but it would be pretty neat to have that info here supplied by a Red Square Lifetime Supporter. 

[ztnoo 2,300]

 

 

Edited January 24, 2019 by ztnoo

[hcminis 1,700]

The Kohler I now belongs to Rodney Burger.  We traded for me to get a good Clinton motor for my RJ35.

 

The motor I had came off a rare generator made for the Army. When I contacted Kohler they said it was rare and they had no information about the motor.  I have a picture of it somewhere.  Will search tomorrow.  My motor was on a Wheel Horse Suburban 550 when I purchased it.  The motor ran good but someone put a different carburetor on it.  Took the motor off my Suburban when I found out it was rare. Hope Rodney takes care of it.  I'll be talking to him and see what his plans are for it.

[ztnoo 2,300]

4 minutes ago, hcminis said:

Hope Rodney takes care of it.  I'll be talking to him and see what his plans are for it.

 

Well the rest of us would be interested in what, if anything, he has discovered about or done with the engine.

Please keep us informed.

Don't have Rodney's RS member name......if he's actually on the forum.

Please advise.

 

Regards,

Steve

[ztnoo 2,300]

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[ztnoo 2,300]

Here are the photos from the Facebook Marketplace listing of the K121.

Note the two exhaust ports in the second photo, which enables the user to choose the direction of the exhaust based upon intended use of the engine.

The unused exhaust port is plugged with a threaded plug.

This is the only Kohler engine I am aware of that has this feature.

The tooling for this limited run engine surely would to have had a very high per unit cost to Kohler, as opposed to tens of thousands engines made from the same mold castings per model group.

Another feature that seems different from most larger Kohlers is the placement of the oil dipstick on the front or carburetor side of the engine.

It appears there was little room on the rear of the engine because of the placement of the starter and the coil taking up most of that space.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,532]

On 1/23/2019 at 5:14 PM, oliver2-44 said:

Sounds even a little rarer than a K361. Which I'm lead to believe was only produced one year. used on some Economy tractors and ?

The k361 came on ecomony and simplicity machines for a few years in the late 70's Another rare bird is the k331 made 64 and 65'. I have one on my ecomomy I heard they are a pressurized motor but not sure. I also have a k361 I am putting in my jim dandy/economy puller. 

[ztnoo 2,300]

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[bc.gold 3,406]

This page has been archived here, https://archive.ph/E2y5m

[rmaynard 16,293]

It's stuff like this that makes RedSquare interesting and more than just a Wheel Horse forum. When I saw that the K121 was built for G.H Tennant Co., I did a little digging into the company. They are a floor care company that started in 1870 and still exists today. They had walk-behind and ride-on, indoor and outdoor floor and sidewalk/road cleaners around the time that this engine would have been made. The outdoor machines were powered by gas engines. I can only assume that the Kohler K121 was made exclusively for one of their machines. 

 

https://www.tennantco.com/en_us/about-us/history.html

Edited January 27, 2019 by rmaynard
added link

[ztnoo 2,300]

Bob @rmaynard,

I can't really imagine why Kohler would have had any particular interest in producing a small run of engines like this K121.

Granted we don't know production numbers, but I am aware of only two at this point in time.

I would be stunned if the they even made a few thousand of them, based on what the FB Marketplace seller claimed that the engine came off a concrete finishing machine.

Couldn't have been big numbers produced ...........  certainly not like the hundreds of thousands of other K series engines.

It would had to have been a high cost per unit to produce, I would think.

Maybe Kohler thought it would catch on in the marketplace and they could further supplement their product line with another choice of engines. 

If that was the case, that business plan surely fell on its face.

Edited January 28, 2019 by ztnoo

[lawnman_56 29]

Yes , I currently have 2 of these and a Canadian k91 in same form, haven’t had them running but im pretty sure the will, looks like originally ran on propane, reason for carb change on the one I traded fro from dj

[lawnman_56 29]

Canadian K91,purchased at the LeSuer,minn show

[ebinmaine 72,634]

On 1/27/2019 at 9:38 AM, rmaynard said:

It's stuff like this that makes RedSquare interesting and more than just a Wheel Horse forum

Agreed. 

I really enjoy seeing odd or rare engines of nearly any make or reason for existence. 

@lawnman_56 thanks for posting!!

 

 

[71_Bronco 1,072]

So the big question is: What are you going to re-power with this thing???