BigGrump

I agree with these statements. I have the KM Baja and have done some upgrades with aftermarket parts. The KM in my case did not steal any sale from HPI because I never would have bought a baja for the HPI price. The upgrades I put on the KM have only put money in the aftermarket parts manufactures and sales people. In fact, I have spent the most for tires to a company whose owner absolutely hates KM's. Bet my $200 in purchases to him is not hated.

Also, I just rebuilt the shocks with HPI parts and have bought some other HPI parts as needed. So, there is money to HPI that would not have been spent if it were not for the KM in the first place.

I do not believe the clones cut into sales of the high priced stuff. Generally, those buying clones will either get these, or nothing at all.

Last, if the clones are so bad as to quality and function, I wonder why the HPI butt boys are so scared to have them on the same track. Seems like they could just win all the time and the clone boys would go home empty handed. Sure.

All I can do is speak for myself, and I have fun with my KM clone. Works pleanty good for me.

Dennis

sparky 25

The list of upgrade parts and my post were in reply to soupspoon ,

as he seems to think people buy a km baja and then switch out stock km parts for stock hpi parts just to make it stronger,

hpi 5b parts are no more durable than km baja parts, thats why i have bypassed hpi spares and went with aftermarket upgrade parts.

every rc has its weaknesses.

EngageRC

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009...n-report-says/

And eventually VW learned and OWN porsche.

heli1966

Hello madman. I have a FS Racing 1/5 buggy. I upgraded it with metal gears and tuned pipe. When I started it the engine fired up for 5 seconds then stoped. I tried ti start the engine again but it won't start anymore. Anybody could give some advise how to solve this problem? I would appreciate your responses.

Foxy

This is not the appropriate thread to ask for help, you should start your own new topic describing the problem in as much detail as you can. Good luck.

srt10

My Feedback: (20)

I have a KM 5B and wish I would have spent the extra cash and gotten a HPI..
I've spent alot of money keeping the KM going, I have spent more on it than getting an original buggy..
all the parts I've replaced have been with original HPI parts and those have yet to break..
for me the original HPI would have been the better choice!

wildchild45177

My Feedback: (11)

everyone here is missing the point. the cheap chinese knock offs are killing the american econemy. the american company cannot compete because workers here are not willing to work for nothing. next there is no company to work for thus unemployment. WAKE UP the chinese are taking over one factory at a time.

Sherv

My Feedback: (1)

I absolutely fail to see how cheap chinese knock offs are killing the american economy... HPI is not MADE in USA.. It is designed in USA. The production and assembly is completed in china... You can than big business for that. Big business needs to make as much money and profit as possible and keep investors happy. Can't do that in America with high labor costs. So they look to mexico, china, malaysia, and taiwan.

The only thing the clones are hampering is advancement but eventually the clones will improve quality and if they produce enough cash they might venture into an original design.

Clones also bring more people into this hobby (they also turn off people from the hobby) but regardless they bring more business to after market community/parts.

fourwheeler

Your point is well taken...seems an import tariff on "Cheapese" is the way to go thus leveling the playing field for everyone.

sahoo

He is right!

difflock

hi,i just bought 1/5th fs marauder,nice looking truck,but? i havent even took it of my stand yet as there are problems,1 the fuel tank wont fill all the way,its blocked at the bottom through the manufacture molding process, 2 the exhaust leaks burnt oil from the seam on the bottom where its not been pressed correctly,3 steering not working ,it only turns to the right and stays there even when you let go of the wheel,like you said you get what you pay for,my son has a 26cc yama buggy and that got delivered with empty front shocks the oil was in the bottom of the box,problem is there mass produced and looking at it they dont have quality checks if they do then there a sleep alot of the time,as our first petrol 1/5TH you have to start somewhere,

mazpr

I got a King Motor Baja, my recommendation is, buy only a roller. All electronics in a clone are junk, the roller is the same or better.
Have bashed mine, hit a few curbs and still holding well. This is true... both servos failed on me within a week, ended spending 125.00 more in parts.

The impact on the economy, well, this is a question for DDM, Killer RC, Kraken, RPM to respond. Like others have said, I would have never ever gotten in the 1/5th scale, at least for now purchasing a HPI Baja. Have spent easily the same amount on the RTR clone in parts.

The clones dont have nice fancy websites, and someone from a 3rd world country on the phone, warranty of a Baja is 30 days. You never have the chance to exchange emails with the owner of the company, with Rovanrc/ Kingmotorrc, you will. All that overhead is for advertising, publishing companies.

And to me the same applies like on the auto industry, the monetary gains come from selling parts, repairs, servicing, not from RTR sales.

romafern

Good looking clone!

I like clones. While I am able to afford the real deal, I'd rather buy the clone as I think an RC trk from the real manufacturer is sometimes overpriced. I am happy with my clones and I do not mind turning and tweaking a few things here and there on them.

To each their own.

romafern

I have the same thing but slightly different color scheme...orange. You ever run that thing at Lafreniere Park?

xsthomas

When I wanted a 1/5 I started looking at HPI. They were high. Then more searching I found KM, and their roller. I looked for an HPI roller but no chance from them. Seeing that both have crappy motors and servos. I got the KM roller. Installed a modded Zen from DDM, my radio, and many more parts. I have grown tired of the Baja look and went with a Sidewinder cage/ body. No regrets here. Runs great.These buggy's will take a beating. Wanted better brakes. Just installed RCR brakes. Wow what a difference in stopping now. As far as the whole HPI, clone thing. Had HPI sold a roller I would have bought one. I just wasnt going to pay their high price, for the crappy motor and faulty servos. The KM roller is all you need to start with.

smelt

Im new here, but not new to RC at all. I bought a Rovan 5SC, because it was less than 2/3 the cost of HPI. After the fiascos we have had with our "real" HPI (Bullet flux, and a Trophy 3.5 buggy (now brushless- 3.5V2= Junk), I would have a hard time buying another HPI.... Well, except my club racer Datsun, it looks just like my real 510.... Only parts that have broke on the 5SC clone would have broke on anything, and they got upgraded with better stuff thats mostly made here in the USA. The truck (with the Kraken cage) has been 20 feet in the air off a sand jump, blew a front shock. I expected all 4 to blow out.... Crashed hard off the same hill, 5-8 rolls, broken A arm.... It weighs 40 pounds, and goes 45-50 mph... its going to break, whether HPI, Rovan, KM, or General Dynamics built it.. Just my 2 cents, but I love my Rovan...

jimjeep

I've been in this hobby for 35 years now and in retail sales and repair for 10 years now. I've had the opportunity to examine, repair, and run hundreds of different models. I design, develop, and create custom parts for my own models. Among the many high name brands I own I also have a few "clones" and a few "cheapo" ones as well. "Clones" and "cheapo" models become a stepping stone for someone interested in the hobby who isn't ready to make a big initial investment to see if they are going to like it for a long time, or for the experienced who know they will have to upgrade the many weak points to make it reliable. Through competition in the marketplace they also help keep pricing in check among other brands which helps us all. They help some get into the hobby by getting a taste of the fun, but sometimes they may also discourage some from the hobby with poor quality / customer support. Most of these people will come to buy models from the better companies once they see the difference in quality. Many are not "clones" as many people think they might be but rather a shared licence to manufacture, market, or sell someone's design. Unless you know with absolute certainty (not just what someone told you or you may have read somewhere) that a certain company designed the product that they are selling and hold exclusive license to it then you do not know if they are selling a product that they (among others) only have temporary or shared licence to sell from another designer. Many times the parts for these models are made in the same factory (although some will be made of different quality materials according to the individual sellers specifications). The country of the seller is irrelevant since many are foreign and the country of manufacture may also be foreign (you can partly thank your government for that). I think this is a good thing for the hobby in the long term and good for the higher quality brands. It is not good for the un-educated consumer who blindly purchases a well marketed junk "cheapo" product and ends up frustrated by poor quality and poor support. That being said many people in this thread seem focused on the HPI Baja / Rovan Baja / King Motor Baja cars. I had a few large scale cars well before HPI announced the Baja 5B and was excited when I saw it. Unfortunately after experiencing the actual car I was disappointed in what I thought to be a overly complex and weak design in an under-powered car made from weak components. Although I really like HPI as a whole and own a few of them, my other large scale models made the Baja seem like a "cheapo" model. It sold really great and was so flawed that almost every part of the car needed upgrading creating a huge demand for aftermarket companies to make upgrade parts for it. If I were to want a Baja I would definitely buy a KM or Rovan roller since every thing will need upgrading anyway, and (sorry HPI) that's just a plain fact. To conclude whether they are actually "clones" (as in copied designs) or simply sold under another company name I think they are here to stay and will ultimately benefit our hobby by keeping both pricing and quality in check for the major names out there. Besides, we wouldn't know how good the better ones were if we didn't have some bad ones to compare them to, and if it brings more people into this fun hobby of ours then as they say "the more the merrier!" Now let's get out and pull some trigger!

Newatthis23

Hey guys i got a question i bought a king motor baja 5b new from ebay and it ran great for 3 days when i used it followed what i seen on you tube to run it until fuel is gone it sat for 5 days then i filled it up to run it when i went to pull the pull start it felt stiff like it was a struggle to rotate the flywheel i pulled again the same thing happened so i took off the pullstart to check to see whats wrong it pulled fine when it was in my hand but when i went to rotate the flywheel it was alittle hard to rotate it but then the weird thing is i unplugged the sparkplug and removed it the fly wheel rotates like nothin is wrong .....need help to figure out why it wont start any suggestions