pmdevlin

Yes I know everyone will be saying its common knowledge that the stock motor will not do the job, however........ In my opinion that is very poor, and the heli should not be supplied with a motor that quite frankly will not do the job. I work for a major Motor manufacturer, and if we supplied parts that where KNOWN to fail withing one hours use, then we would be in court on a regular basis, under consumer rights a product must be capable of doing the job it is intended to do. So, if a wiper motor will not work, and all the exact replacements are the same, then that component is recalled, and another one that has been developed not to fail is supplied FOC under warranty, then the manufacturer is taking steps not to supply substandard components etc etc.

I can understand that if the Heli is constantly flown 3D with various upgrades then any warranty would be void, but why is it that in the model industry there is NO warranty on the expensive items we buy? It is always left to the honour of the local model shop ( which is usually very good) to replace any faulty items, and they are then left to argue with the manufacturer for financial compensation.

My case is prob no different to many others. I think the Honeybee King 2 is marvelous, however after 60 mins of hovering, totally stock, the motor is finished. I contacted Esky, who did eventually reply, after 2 attemps, with a " tough luck" but polite answer, saying they cannot possibly be able to replace any components, they have too many customers, I have to contact the shop I purchased from. The shop obviously says they dont warrant the Heli, and then the game of ping pong starts. I suggested to ESky that they can have the motor for testing, and when they agree its a premature failure, they repair, or contribute to the Brushless motor, 25amp ESC, I have on order. No response!

USHobbySupply

I am just now bench testing the stock motor on the HBK2.

On first fire up, it only got to about 20% throttle and quit. 2nd run up, this time to 40%, then stopped.

I have now been running it in a REAL SLOW gradual ramp up, and it has been running for 20 minutes so far. No load, tail blades vertical, no head on bird. Maybe the brushes are so poor that when some people (not all) just go and fly (like you should expect) that the brushes fracture and wear at a very accelerated rate.

Only time will tell on this motor.

I do agree though with all three points of view. As a seller, i want to sell the best possible product, one that will make the customer happy. As a buyer, i expect the best possible product for the amount of $$ i shell out. And i see the manufactures point that they have no idea who is using the product. Could be a 10year old kid whose rich grandma bought this for and he just pile drove it into the ground, before it even got airborne. Then again, ESKY probably does not manufacture the motors. They are setup for plastic injection molding and some cnc and fabrication. I would bet at least a dollar that they are outsourcing the motors.

Its a tough situation for all.

Dilligaf Inc.

I think its alot of BS beacuse I run brushed motors in my rc trucks and they never fail! I dont knoe how to equate the two cuz in rc cars they are rated in can size and turns. like I have a team losi stadium truck that rons a 12 turn motor that thing runs a 7.4v 2500mah pack to dust in 7 mins! meanwhile it will burn the nobbys rite off the tires! never had a brushed motor fail so I never saw the need to go bl and ive ben running the same motors for years with no rebuild! could I throw one of those in the hbk2 on the stock esc?

USHobbySupply

depends on the rpm it produces and the amps it draws. I have not been into cars in over 10 years. The gear ratios between cars and heli's are very different, not sure if it would work.

Dilligaf Inc.

When my new esc and bl arrive ill try it and see what happens! Ill let you know

USHobbySupply

ok, i'm ready to switch to bl. time to break out the soldering gun.

i think the stock motor has given up the ghost.

In less than an hour

RussianFlyer

I don't have much experience with electric motors, but I did choose to take some measures toward prolonging the life of my stock brushed motor when I got my HBK2. My motor received an off-the-heli break in at 3 volts constant power for about an hour. After this it went through a relatively gentle experience of RADD flight school where for 10 battery packs it saw nothing but spinning up and down to less than half power. I've seen it sparking only once, but that has not occurred again. The major problem with this motor is heat. Mine reached nearly 100 degrees C at the top of the can. To further worsen this heated situation (pun intended ) the heatsink provided is a poor fit on the motor. After I gently reshaped mine to fit closely on the can of the motor, I affixed it to the can with some CA (as it would slide down in flight and not dissipate heat from the brushes/commutator area). At this point I've progressed into hovering the HBK2 and the stock motor seems to be doing ok. The brushes don't appear to be wearing very quickly and I try to keep the heat down by flying without the canopy. So far I'm at what I'd estimate to be 30 flights. Also, as Mike mentioned, car and heli motors may not be seeing the same conditions in operation. In the case of the HBK2, its a low-grade brushed motor with a poorly-fitted heatsink sitting inside a small poorly-ventilated canopy and running at constant high speed. Add to this the fact that most motors will get thrown into the air without any preparation at all, frying one by overheating and damaging the brushes is quite likely. Just my $.02

Druss

This gets back to the old saying, you get what you pay for. For a RTF heli under $150 which is belt driven and flies great except for the motor and esc I'm not really complaining. For a $60 upgrade to brushless it still only brings the heli to $210, this is still much less than popular shaft or rear motor helis.

If the motor on my Trex 450SE died then damn would I be pissed, but for the king2? I just replace it...

tbaus

After my first motor went after about 20 flights, I used the water break in method and 3volts to break in the second motor. That motor ran fine for about 30 flights.. It was not overheating like the first motor was. Sure, it got hot, but not as hot. The second motor lost the bushing on the top of the can and ate up the main rotor gear by spinning in a non-concentric pattern. It took me a bit of time to figure out what the noise was.. My friend's hbk's motor went after three Radd's scooting on the floor sessions. You may be able to prolong some of the brushed motor's lives by a break-in, instead of going directly to flying. The brushes definitely aren't seated on the new motors. The stock motor is a pain, but I still think the heli is a bargain. I just don't fool with the brushed motor anymore. I replace it with a brushless, right away... It would be nice though, to have a stock motor that would last nearly as long as the rest of the parts on the heli... Unless Esky sees a business reason to make a change, they won't change.

pmdevlin

All good points, I am sorry to have laboured the point, and yes you get what you pay for, however the difference between a BMW 7 series, and a small Fiat Punto is many many £/$, the quality and desirability factor comes in, but the Punto still does the job for many thousand miles!

I am a relative novice, and didnt know about breaking the motor in, I have upgrades coming, but didnt want to put my hand back into my pocket so soon, had I known, I would have gone for The HBK2 Pro, or another, that included the upgrades, then if it failed so soon, I would have had more or a case for warranty returns. I understand the ESKY stand that they dont know what we have been doing with the model, never the less its a fundamental common failure, perhaps they should revisit the manufacturer of the motor, maybe this is why (in the UK anyway) there are HBK2 "out of the box" versions that now have brushless motore etc.

Well you live and learn eh!

USHobbySupply

Even after a light break in procedure, my stock motor gave up the ghost after only an hour. The belt slipping off the idler was probably a large part, as it induced ALOT of drag in the drive line. Fixed that, but only after putting in an EFlite park 370.

blade_killer

ya'll seem to forget this comes from China, known for it's high mass low quality products. The US doesnt regulate the quality of products in China, China doesnt even regulate the quality of products in china. So when you say you get what you pay for, I dont think thats quite right when buying from China (or a few other countries for that matter) more like you get what hundreds of low paid chinese kids can slap out the door as fast as possible if you buy cheap.

USHobbySupply

so then, what heli is actually 100% US made?

A vast majority of us (me included) would not be in this hobby if it weren't for the price point that the Chinese can deliver. My wife never would have got my first heli for me if it weren't $100. She simply would not have bought it. And look at me know. I'm a HA now. Boy, ignorance was bliss.

Seriously though, the HBK2 stock motor leaves A WHOLE lot to be desired. But every thing breaks, thats just the way it goes. Sure, my 1 hour on the brand new HBK2 motor was disappointing, but I did not buy it because of the motor. I bought it because as a package it had what i needed at the price point i find pleasing.

Happy flying,

tbaus

So... bladekiller.. What's your point, other than to enlighten us to the plight of the chinese work force? Are you saying don't buy an HBK, or T-Rex for that matter? Or, are you saying don't buy ANY Chinese product. In almost any matter of commerce, the buyer regulates the sale of products, not the government. If no one bought a HBK then the product would change or go away. As long as Esky has strong sales of HBK's and lots of these motors on the shelves, they have no motivation to make a change. If you ever studied engineering you would know that perfection is an illusion. The closer you approach perfection, the greater the incremental cost. Sometimes the last few percentage points of nearing perfection can double the cost, again and again. I don't think anyone will argue that the HBK motor is bad. I don't think anyone wouldn't like Esky to replace the poorly designed motor for one that stays alive much longer. If you feel strongly about it, contact Esky in China.. Perhaps you can bring about a positive change...

13thlevel

I think they owe me a motor that works, that's what I think!

pmdevlin

I think the long and short of it is that the motor should be capable of standard hovering and flight, any 3d, or bigger batteries etc, then you would expect premature failure as it is overworking. These motors, particularly from China, are buttons to produce, as I am sure the entry level brushless is.
Im have contacted esky, but got the brush off (no pun intended) so at least we know where we stand. The HBK2 is a great heli, good price, but like cigarettes should have a warning on the box about the motor!!

tbaus

Pmdevlin.. I like that! A warning on the box... It could say something like,"Warning, the helicopter contained within is really great with the exception of the POS brushed motor". "Use at your own risk". "Mileage may very"... lol

FMB42

The stock K2 motor, IMO, was never designed to run at 11+ volts let alone the current load seen on this heli. This motor is not much bigger then the motor used in the Blade CP yet the K2 is a much heavier heli. I do not recommend using the stock motor/ESC due to the fact that an inflight failure can result in some expensive crash repairs. This is not to mention the possibility of damaging the battery as well.

pmdevlin

Well this is very interesting, I have just been speaking to a large UK model shop, who, due to the recent bad press regarding the stock motors, cancelled all orders for the HBK2. Esky, after questioning the cancelled order, have said they will supply now HBK2's with brushless setup, for approx £5.00 more.

Looks like they have admitted the fault, pity those that have paid out for the brushless motors and esc's have been stuffed! I am about to mail esky again with a formal complaint, to see if I can get anything towards the cost of the brushless set up. It stinks really!

ezveedub

The way I see it, the price of this heli is alot cheaper than say an EFlite Blade CP. Now the HBK2 is about $150 versus $220-$250 for a Eflite, but the HBK2 is alot more heli than a Blade CP and flies much better hands down. Granted the stock motor sucks, but if they install better motor, then the price will be higher, but still better than a large US based distributor selling still made in China Blade CP helis to you for much more. I would argue to say that going after Eflite for poor designed, overpriced heli makes more sense than too argue with ESky over a failed brushed motor. Eflite Blade CP motors fail too, at both ends!

USHobbySupply

Agreed!

Jmock

I need help with my stock setup in the HBK2 (brushed motor and Esky 0600a 20A esc. I cannot get the throttle to work. The servos work, the motor itself works with direct battery connection. I have tried moving the trims to extremes during start up. Is there some magical initialization process I do not know about? I have tried several attempts plugging in the battery with throttle at zero (trim also) and then moving it up and then back down. I've tried this with throttle at top and moving it down, as well as servo reversing. The esc hasn't made any noise, the battery is fresh, and the other servos always move. Any help will be appreciated.

rusty63

Hi i dont have hbk2. Its likely too be either transmitter or esc issue.But more likely too be esc . Russell.

Disney1

I agree that it is very likely the ESC. The stock Esky ESC is marginal at best.
I would go with a 25 or 30 amp replacement Not a stock one. The stock ESC's have been noted to catch on fire.
Here is what I would use on a HBK2 and Iuse the same brand, on my Belt CP just bigger.
Hobbywing 25A https://www.ushobbysupply.com/produc...roducts_id=418

Ron Sr