Just picked up a new K&B .65 engine. It has never seen glow fuel yet. Was wondering on the reliability and power of this engine.

Dave...

I haven't used a K&B for many years, but the last one I had was excellent

You will find mixed reviews on the engine. Since it is a .65 it is a Sportster which is a plain bearing AAC engine. You need to get your hands on a manual. Proper break-in is important. I had 2 of the .21 sportsters in the mid 90's and I found them to be outstanding engines for the money. I also had a .61 which was a great engine. I wish I hadn't sold it.... oh well. Good luck with your motor!

A K&B .40 powers my Eagle 2 trainer. The motor is probably 10 yrs old and runs great. I have had no porblems at all.

Coolness! Yep, will have to find a manual. This engine I found out is broken in. It has never seen flight though.
A guy in one of the clubs I belong to told me he had a .45 sportster but it never worked right. He trashed it after a few flights.

Dave...

there is considerable difference between the K&B "40" , "60" many remember from the 70's and the SPORTSTER series. for one, the carb is a crap shoot . you may have one work well, the next , total junk. I had a sportster carb on a regular K&B 40 & idle /transition was IMPOSSIBLE. finally bit the bullet & purchased perry carb-TOTALLY new motor! also sportsters were designed with low power user friendly ( with exception for the carb) on trainers they work well. I would NOT use it where you need power , such as on a fighter.

I guess I am gonna get hammered here. I personally really like the sportster 65. It will not have the screamer performance that say an Irvine or OS 61 will. But oh lord will it swing a big prop. They used to be called the poor man's four stroke. 13-6 is a minimum on this motor. I have used 14"ers on it with no problems. Prop it so it tops out a little over 9000 rpm max. You will love it. Great where you need lots of pulling power. And with the factory muffler very quiet. It is also fairly light for it's size. Do not be afraid of it. It is a decent engine for the money. Just do not try to make it something it is not.

Mark Shuman

Got to agree with Phread here.
The "Sportster" engines are low(er) RPM engines that swing an unusually large prop. I've owned a .28, .45, and a .65, and they were great. Yes, the carbs are a little funky, but if you use a little loctite when they start to "get loose" they are fine.
Also, you will want to use 20+ % oil content. I always used extra castor.
Mine also seemed to be/smell hot, but never seized up, and were real easy starters. My mufflers were gutted, and I had to use JB Weld on them once they had a few hours of run time.
I flew my Astro Hog with the .45, and also flew a Goldberg Cub with it, until I broke off the head on an unplanned arrival with the asphalt........

K&B still in bizzness? Guy I bought this from said he ran one of his .65 sportsters on a 12 pound plane.
I'm putting it into a U Can Do 3D, 46 size. This will weigh roughly 5.5 to 6 pounds. I'm not really looking
for airshow performance (some throw saito or OS 70's into their U can do's) but I think it would be a tad bit more
power than an os .46...

Dave...

Check here-
http://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Brodbeck.htm
And here-
\http://www.mecoa.com/kb/index.htm
A K&B .65 in a U Can Do? SWEET!!!!

Dave,
DON'T TAKE THAT THING APART.......almost forgot to mention, many people had problems when they dissasembled them to look inside.

You DON'T want to look inside! There is no liner, and the porting is cut right into the cylinder walls, as in grooves, not "ports". Scary but it works.

The reason people had trouble after taking them apart is this: the jug is sealed with some kind of gasket sealer, and when people took them apart, they didn't "re-gook" them. (that's a technical term)
I took ALL mine apart, and found this out. Just use some high temp gasket maker if you do....don't say I didn't tell you not to.

It otta hang that thing on the prop all day with that engine. Just prop it long and you will love it. Wait till you see the looks on people's faces when they ask you what engine is in it. Thier jaws will hang down when you tell'em its a sporster. I had mine in a Bingo. Made a great combination. MECCOA is selling them again. I outta get a couple.

Mark Shuman

loctite wouldnt have helped this pos. a very poor (cheap) design. if you had good results , your lucky . i wont touch 'em

They are nice engines, if you handle them properly. Like the above posts say.......

I had it at the field today. Just to start the engine. Never started because A: I flooded the damn thing and B: I had a small spinner on it that my starter's rubber cup was too big for.

Dave...

Let us know how it goes......

yes, K & B is still in business, you can get parts or new engines from Model Engine Company of America.

http://www.mecoa.com

just your OPINION. my experience is certainly much different & I have decades of experience with various engine makes.

E.T.-
Calling them a "P.O.S." and saying "they are a bad design" is your OPINION.

Too bad your DECADES of EXPERIENCE couldn't help you in getting the K&B engine to operate in a decent manner.

They can be made to operate nicely, if you take a little care.
I realize that the K&B Sportster series are made to be affordable, and therefore are manufactured to a price. This doesn't make them a bad engine, and in fact they are a good engine, with the ability to spin an overly large prop.
My OPINION stands, so take it with a grain of salt, and don't be so advisarial.

I'm 100% with Jetts here. Do not try to make them something they are not. Once my sportster was broken in and adjusted. It started easily and did not need any fiddling with adjustments. Just fuel it and go. I did use K&B 1L glow plugs in it. I never used anything else. I do not know how it will work with another plug. I always used 10% with 20% oil. Some of which was castor. Was a great engine for me as well. I would not hesitate to buy another.

Mark Shuman

My K&B .65 is over ten years old and still going strong. It's swinging a 14X6 Master Airscrew and is one of the best engines I have. I think they are great .

Before you mount your muffler take it apart and seal all the joints including the extension from the cylinder. It will leak EVERYWHERE [:@] and start looking nasty. After that, enjoy!!

well, its to bad jetstar blue that YOU just dont know what your talking about . its poor quality control at K&B . I changed the obviously poor carburator and it was off to the races -engine ran fine. who are you to challenge my experience & judgement?????????????????as far as my experience ALPHA MIKE FOX TROT TO YOU TOO!!!