AGM 30cc, taking one for the team (?)
08-23-2013, 02:38 PM
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AGM 30cc, taking one for the team (?)
So many times I see threads started (and yes I'm as guilty as anyone) with "...and does anybody have any experience with this ### brand/size engine?", so when the AGM 30cc hit the classifieds and eBay, I thought perhaps its my turn to be the adventurous one (even though most of my motors have been oddball or new) and start a thread on this newbie.
Three factors played into this, 1) I needed something lighter then the NGH 35cc (bought that one when it was new to the market too) for the build I'm in the middle of. 2) I remember when motors like the XYZ and DLE came out with their "get them on the market" initial prices; lower by enough to regret not taking the risk now (IMHO). And 3), which ties into 2, the price. I found mine bidding on eBay, and in complete disclosure, I won with a bid of $158.53 with $9.99 shipping. Takes some of the stink off the gamble if you know what I mean.
So now that I have received the motor and unpacked it, I figure its time to get to checking it out. My initial impression is that this is pretty much a DLE 30 with a new set of initials embossed on the side. If feels light, and is somewhat tight, but its brand -don't-believe-anyone-who-say-its-ran-at-the-factory -new. Like I said earlier, most of my motors are outliers anyway so Im no DLE expert, I can only give opinions from what I have seen of my friends motors, and if anyone needs info I'm happy to answer any questions, just assume you will have to be somewhat specific as I don't have comparison motors of my own (dle anyway).
Of course the rear mounted carb comes with funky, how the heck am I going to make that work, arms (I already attached the included "extension"-see pic) and I noticed that the venturi looks quite small to me. I also cant help but think a Bowman ring will likely be a good upgrade for this motor. The "instructions" are a singe sheet of color-printed, glossy stock paper. Looks nice, contains everything you already know about running a motor and not much more. It does claim that to break it in you need to run it for 2 hours at 4K on non-synth oil mix, then fully synthetic after. I did notice that one of the vendors claimed that this motor is made in Japan. The instructions include verbiage like "Please use petrol #93" "Do not mixed up different brand of engine oil, carburetor could be seriously blocked" and "Please use AGM #2 spark plug, or engine could seriously damaged because of carbon buildup and overheat." After reading this, looked for the "made in China" sticker, and yup, there it was on the box. Not a big deal, everything else is made there, but that vendor shouldn't make such statement.
The ignition looks like Rcexl and the bag it comes in and plug fitting are labeled with Rcexl logos. I know from China that could mean nothing, but we will see. As for the rest, the images on the vendors posts pretty much explain it all. My initial reaction to this motor is positive, and am now off to go hunt down some non-synthetic oil so I can start the break in and get down to the real story.
Three factors played into this, 1) I needed something lighter then the NGH 35cc (bought that one when it was new to the market too) for the build I'm in the middle of. 2) I remember when motors like the XYZ and DLE came out with their "get them on the market" initial prices; lower by enough to regret not taking the risk now (IMHO). And 3), which ties into 2, the price. I found mine bidding on eBay, and in complete disclosure, I won with a bid of $158.53 with $9.99 shipping. Takes some of the stink off the gamble if you know what I mean.
So now that I have received the motor and unpacked it, I figure its time to get to checking it out. My initial impression is that this is pretty much a DLE 30 with a new set of initials embossed on the side. If feels light, and is somewhat tight, but its brand -don't-believe-anyone-who-say-its-ran-at-the-factory -new. Like I said earlier, most of my motors are outliers anyway so Im no DLE expert, I can only give opinions from what I have seen of my friends motors, and if anyone needs info I'm happy to answer any questions, just assume you will have to be somewhat specific as I don't have comparison motors of my own (dle anyway).
Of course the rear mounted carb comes with funky, how the heck am I going to make that work, arms (I already attached the included "extension"-see pic) and I noticed that the venturi looks quite small to me. I also cant help but think a Bowman ring will likely be a good upgrade for this motor. The "instructions" are a singe sheet of color-printed, glossy stock paper. Looks nice, contains everything you already know about running a motor and not much more. It does claim that to break it in you need to run it for 2 hours at 4K on non-synth oil mix, then fully synthetic after. I did notice that one of the vendors claimed that this motor is made in Japan. The instructions include verbiage like "Please use petrol #93" "Do not mixed up different brand of engine oil, carburetor could be seriously blocked" and "Please use AGM #2 spark plug, or engine could seriously damaged because of carbon buildup and overheat." After reading this, looked for the "made in China" sticker, and yup, there it was on the box. Not a big deal, everything else is made there, but that vendor shouldn't make such statement.
The ignition looks like Rcexl and the bag it comes in and plug fitting are labeled with Rcexl logos. I know from China that could mean nothing, but we will see. As for the rest, the images on the vendors posts pretty much explain it all. My initial reaction to this motor is positive, and am now off to go hunt down some non-synthetic oil so I can start the break in and get down to the real story.
08-23-2013, 02:56 PM
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When I contacted the seller and asked what brand exhaust I could use the reply was DLE, and in many of their ads that throw in "DLE" somewhere. I'm going to be ordering a pitts for it so (dle 30) so I will definitely be providing some feedback on that as well.
08-23-2013, 04:31 PM
#4
If you have a moment could you measure the exhaust bolt spacing center-to-center? I see some measurements on the website but they don't give c-c however it looks to be 34mm ? I would need to look for a wrap-around pitts.
Thanks
Thanks
Last edited by flyinwalenda; 08-23-2013 at 05:28 PM.
