Yes, the little engine will hit 5000 like a rocket.
On my last pull, I left the line at 3000 rpm and hit 6000 rpm for most of the run. It was one wild ride as the front end never touched dirt again and was steered solely by braking. The hard pitching of the front threw the weights off and they caught under the sled pan increasing the draft. The weights falling off disqualified me and disadvantaged me terribly but the tractor was still only 5 feet from the longest pull against some 300+ cid ohv engines. At the end of the track I had only pulled back down to just below 5000.
Actually, the little engine revs as good as any engine I've messed with. I don't know where all the "they won't rev" stuff came from.
However, I whole heartedly agree with Del - pay close attention to your bottom end. We reworked the crank oiling to get to this point. When we bought the tractor it had a spun bearing on #5 and we diagnosed the shortcoming of the stock oiling system. So, don't expect your stock 230 to handle this rpm or you'll be inspecting #2 and #5 rods from the exterior of your engine.
Hudson
