Torqued-Up

My Feedback: (16)

That's exactly where my new 50cc engine is going too... Into a new 87" EF Yak...

My LHS has a BRAND NEW BME 50 in the showcase and will make me a deal, but Chris at EF basically designed the Yak for the DA...

Ah, decisions decisions...

I'll probably go ahead and buy the DA, hoping that it does'nt throw a rod through the cowl of my new Yak... Hopefully the new ones have THAT issue resolved... Now if they can just fix the issue where the engine dies if you bump the airplane while it's on the ground....

RickP

My Feedback: (2)

I was pretty diasappointed too, I'm on my third rod. I sure hope I get the good one this time. First one started singing after 4 gallons, the second one punched through the case after two :-(
RickP

P.S.
I have exaggerated by saying "Punched through the case". The rod definatly parted company with the piston and / or crankshaft - but the case did contain all of the parts. Sorry for any confusion.

Nogyro

My Feedback: (10)

You can keep an eye on the rod bearing by bringing the piston up on compression stroke, and then moving the tip of the prop back and forth. Ignition off of coarse. If everything is ok, you can move the tip of the prop about 1/64". When the rod bearing starts going, this movement will increase to 1/8" or so, and you will hear it tapping while running. Stop flying it then and send it back. No reason to risk losing an airframe over it. Hope you didn't loose your airframe when the rod went through the case.[:@]

walton

My Feedback: (24)

It is a needle issue. I have had the same problem with mine.
The low end was too rich.

Maudib

My Feedback: (51)

Also keep in mind that the reason there appears to be "more" problems with DA is because it is outselling the other engines by FAR. It's not more problematic percentage-wise.

Call the other manufacturers and order a BME, Zenoah, Brison, etc. and you'll find them in stock... Call around to get a DA-50... [X(]

You'll be hard pressed to get one. DA JUST got another batch of compnents in and are filling backorders now...

There will be engines for sale for about a month, then they'll be out of stock again.

You can get a lemon in any brand... ask my buddy who got two BME 50s and BOTH ignitions were flaky. Sure it's a C&H problem... but the BME depends on them (as well as a lot of others) but DA has their own made.

I have found my ZDZs to be harder to start... but the DA has been nothing but sweet to me... all last year... flip, flip, Pop - flip, flip, vrooooooooom EVERYTIME.

And I watched my buddies mess with engines and ignitions whilst I burned holes in the sky.

Power? Two WH planes within a couple oz of each other... both with new engines less than a gallon on 'em. Same prop 22x8... The DA had significantly more power... I flew both planes and it was a very noticable difference. 400 rpm's??? I'll take 'em any day of the week.

And service is an issue... DA's reputation is top notch.

Sponsored pilots? Well when you travel all over the place at your expense to fly in contests and had an engine that wouldn't start, deadsticked and was undependable... who would want it? For the newer pilots, maybe they would accept sponsorship from anyone... but for the real competitors? They want the most dependable engine out there.... and they can have their PICK of which manufacturer gives them free engines. So it's not about the FREE it's about the dependability and service.

Ah well... off the soap box... I just can't imagine why people go out of their way to bash a product that is so proven. They are all good engines... so let people pick what they want, stick to what you like and quit the nitpicking.

canavanbob

My Feedback: (20)

maudib
Perhaps you could provide the return for warranty rate for all the top engine manufacturers. I think it would be interesting to see people squabble over the few percentage points of difference.
Bob

Maudib

My Feedback: (51)

That's too funny... I can hear it now....

Bryant330L

My Feedback: (126)

I don't think anyone can question that DA has some serious problems with their 50s. No matter how well you might like yours there are issues with that engine. When rods and rod bearings are going out like some of these are, they have issues. Not to mention all the reports of engines quitting when you land. I can't think of any other 50cc engines right now that have distinct problems like that. Sure you will find a problem now and then with any brand of engine, but not so many with the same problems. The DA lovers just have to face it, they have a motor with some serious issues.....

Ken Bryant

My Feedback: (10)

FWIW, I have one of the problem children DA 50's. Bought mine only about 2 months ago. It's supposed to be a post con rod change motor. I have just a little over 1 gallon into it and am really regreting the purchase. My engine number is DA 2266

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

I have number 2233 sitting here, hoping to fire it up in the next week or two if all falls into place around here.. I have helped guys with a few 50's and none of them had problems, one did at first, we sent it in as he got the motor second hand, when it came back it was upgraded and ran perfect since. There are a couple handfulls of the 50's in my area.

mu2driver

My Feedback: (15)

Yep you said it, the main thing I want is Reliability first, Service incase something should happen, and performance last...That is why I choose DA...I have not found that in any other engine company....

RickP

My Feedback: (2)

***CLARIFICATION***
Please note that I have exaggerated by saying my rod "Punched through the case". However, It definatly let go and parted company with the crankshaft and / or piston. Perhaps it's left over from my auto racing days, any major internal engine failure is usually exaggerated by such experlatives. It was not my intention to bad mouth anyone - sorry for the confusion.
RickP

Maudib

My Feedback: (51)

No problem Rick... I figured your were tounge-in-cheeking it...

BTW... you'd make a good representation of a customer needing service...

1) When was the first failure and how was theprocess of getting it repaired... length of time? Warranty? Who paid shipping?

2) When was the 2nd failure and how was IT handled....

3) In both instances, was the phone answered during business hours? Did anyone have to "get back with you" or was the RMA issued right then?

I'm curious... because failures DO happen... and I'd like a taste of what to expect...

-David

walton

My Feedback: (24)

Guys if their was a major problem with the 50 don't you think they would stop making them.
They are in this business for the long haul.

Torqued-Up

My Feedback: (16)

And just how long do you think a company, any company, can stay in business if they continually eat up their profits by providing warranty repairs on defective units... Doesn't matter if it's DA-50Rs, computers or blue widgets...

All I can say is that DA has VERY faithful clients...

I just bit the bullet and bought one myself... I hope I don't regret it...

serge1

My Feedback: (1)

You are right but It is pointless to arque. You must have a DA to understand why we like these engines. I had also the rod problem with my 50R. I sent the engine to DA and I got it back 8 days later. I live in canada... That's for that kind of CS that I ordered a DA 100 for my 33% edge. If you search the forum you will discover that every engine manufacturers have their share of problems, 3W, BME, FPE etc....And don't forget that DA outsell all of them by 2-3 times.

DA 50 = Very light, awesome power, easy to start, extremely reliable in the air, Best CS in the industry.

What more can you ask for?

I love my DA and I won't trade it for anything I assure you.

Glad you bought one!

Crash90

My Feedback: (17)

Edited.

serge1

My Feedback: (1)

''Clearly DA is not the engine of choice in the 50CC class.''


-Sorry but I totally disagree.

Maudib

My Feedback: (51)

There is no clear defect in this engine other than rod issue which has been addressed... and to be honest I wasn't aware of that til now...

I haven't needed service...

I've had two other brands too...

They either exhibited harder than expected starting and were finicky to tune.

I prefer the DA...

Now how is it that so hard to understand?

I haven't jumped into ANY other engine threads and said anything bad about the other engines.

I'm not looking to SELL DA engines... I'm looking to BUY them...

But here you are... in fact... why did you even visit this thread? What were you "looking" for?

I don't know, don't care...

Going to the field and flying my planes is what I care about... and when I got my DA50, I got to fly a lot more and spent less time on the bench.

ZDZ, BME, Brison, 3W... are all good engines. But this is a thread about a fella having a problem with his DA50... what's your purpose that will help the guy out?
I'll admit thre seems to be some DA zealots... but you just came across no better... perhaps worse because you recognize it.

Lighten up...

serge1

My Feedback: (1)

Well said!

flatlandmike

My Feedback: (17)

hey they took the blue widget thing from me those *******s the widget will rise again

Josey Wales

My Feedback: (61)

OK so let us in on which engine is the preferred one...

Umm I dont think anyone is "defending" anything..All Ive read is that some engines have had this problem and they have all been fixed and returned very quickly..so what is so frustrating about that?? Most people Ive talked said they would buy another DA without a second thought...And I dont own a DA..but I will soon

ptgarcia

My Feedback: (36)

Having to pull the engine off the airframe, box it up and send back to DA every couple/few months isn't frustrating to you? Boy, you sure have a lot more patience than me, and I'm known for being patient! [sm=thumbdown.gif]

Maudib

My Feedback: (51)

ptgarcia,

Is that your experience with DA? Did you have a recurring problem that caused you to box up your DA every couple months and send it back? And what was the "diagnosis" those times?

Who specifically are you aware of that has multiple problems? Because all I read was RickP had to send in his motor twice... and he has yet to tell the story of his experiences.

If there was some major problem with DA's, why is it so many people have had NO problems... and the few people that have, had had their problems quickly serviced and would or has bought more DA's?

I have yet to see anyone say "I'll never buy another DA again".

has people had some bad experiences with DA? I'm sure there has... But I'd bet the ratio is something like 100:1 100 happy customers without a hitch and 1 guy who got a lemon, or ran his too rich and got carbin deposits, or had his carb so out of tune, or got dirt in the carb, or fuel, or, etc.

My point being EVEN if there was a situation where someone had to send in their DA multiple times... it is not indicitave of DA's quality.

The overwhelming concensus is that DA is an excellent motor, easier than some to start, tune and operate, is lighter than most and puts out more power.

I concede that there are a few that have horror stories... but guess what I have some for two other brands of my own. I just don't go spreading it aorund because there is nothign wrong with the engines... just got a couple lemons. One was a defect and the other had TWO bad ignitions... and guess what... the response was: "Sorry, fresh out of 'em you'll have to get with C&H direct. then THEY were on vacation" Ran into another guy buying a plane from me and he described the SAME problem with his ignition... yep sure enough... he had to send it back.

But these are not indicitave of those manufacturers either... or are they?

Which is it? Should we base our buying decision on a few cases or the overwhelming majority of experiences? And shouldn't we use the same measurement tool for all the engines?

Josey Wales

My Feedback: (61)

You're joking right?? You really think that DA would still be in business if this was true?? There are people here who swear Saito's are unk!! Some say OS engines are junk...I know both companies have put out lemons but they are still selling engines right?? NO company can afford to have that much bad press...and no one is saying that they didnt have some issues with the engine but name 1 company that never had any trouble with a product...For every thread about all the problems DA has I bet I could find 2 more that say how great they run...Bottom line is if you dont want one then dont buy it..Youre darn right if I had to keep pulling an engine off/on every few months Id be pissed and the company would be hearing it...

If you listen to every complaint about every product there wouldnt be anything left to buy!!