Regarding a Honda motorcycle engine in a Honda car - provided the car in question is a 2-seater, such as an S-600, S-800, CRX, Insight, etc., which qualifies for the GT/Sports class - why not? The rules for this class state that "Engine swaps are permitted as long as they are of the same manufacturer (e.g. Ford into Ford, Porsche into Porsche, etc.)". There's no mention of the swapped-in engine having to be an option for the car in question, or any prohibition on the use of a motorcycle engine in a car (provided they're from the same manufacturer).
I'm aware that there's a sentence in the GT/Sports rules reading "Rules for this class will be strictly enforced to ensure that cars entered therein are typical of street machines which may be purchased from an automobile dealer." This a rather vague statement, to say the least! Just what does it mean?
Additionally, the definition of "Engine Swap" in 4.N states "An engine swap is defined as the use of an engine from an engine design family that was not available as a factory or dealer installed option for a given vehicle year is used." Since the GT/Sports rules specifically allow engine swaps, this would appear to prohibit use of an engine if it WAS available as an option.
Finally, what about the Hasport Insight? It currently holds the record in G/GT - and that class is for (appx) 1.5-2.0 liter engines. I think Insights were originally equipped with a 995-cc, 3-cylinder engine. So, it would appear that this particular vehicle had an engine swap, and I very seriously doubt if any other engines were optional for the Insight. I'd guess this car may well have some version of the Honda S-2000 engine, which would be a hot set-up, indeed!
So, if there's any tech inspectors out there reading this, what's your take on it? Can a motorcycle engine be swapped into a GT/Sports car, provided the car and engine were built by the same manufacturer? If not, why?
Jeff in Boise