Originally Posted by
1QwkSport2.5r
I am not an OS guy. Their engines are a ripoff if you ask me. Warranty? Uh huh..
Easy to run for the most part? Sure. Push them hard and it's a gamble how long they'll last. I'd take an ASP with its questionable QC over an OS any day and I've never even had an ASP!
Nothing wrong with these 'clone' and 'copy' engines. The overall concept of a 2-stroke engine hasn't changed in a LONG time. About the only things that can be 'copied' is maybe the external styling and perhaps the carburetor design. Given their (still) questionable quality carburetors, I'd suspect if they did copy an OS, they did a horrible job. The Chinese are very good at copying things, so I'd not read into "they're just copies" *too* much. Just my two cents. Don't forget they're true ABC too, none of that ABN garbage.
You hit the nail on the head...absurd for them to be charging that kind of $$$ for an engine with a nickel liner. From what I understand, a big part of the reason why they are overpriced is due to their long-standing relationship with Hobbico. I believe that Hobbico is the excusive US importer for OS and even if you buy one from someone other than Hobbico (who also owns Tower), Hobbico gets a piece of the action.
The same holds true for Futaba products. I'm more willing to pay up for Futaba as I've been flying for 20 years exclusively with Futaba and have never had a radio problem (plus, how often do we buy radios?)
If one wants a REAL top-quality engine and is willing to pay up, IMO the only engine out there worth paying up for is an Enya...REAL old-school Japanese quality that you don't even see in Toyotas any more!