mxzrev

what do you guys think of sikk motors? i have a aeromarine sport x hydro that i am looking to purchase that has a sikk motor in it,i really wanted a quickdraw but the boat is in great shape and the price is right.i guess i can purchase a quickdraw at a later time and switch it out,but for now i will have to settle for what the boat comes with if i choose to purchase it.just looking for some input about these motors if you guys know much about them,thanks.

jacob711

cy/sikk engines run ok but they usually bust apart, sometimes you may be lucky and other times not

mxzrev

could you be a little more specific,what do you mean when you say they bust apart,thanks

Dreamin Hemi

Occasionally on some Sikk engines, the cylinder or "jug" as it's sometimes referred to may crack. The CY or Sikk motor only has 2 bolts holding it to the lower "block". A typical Zenoah or RCMK each has 4 bolts giving it more support. Have experienced personally the RCMK and have to say after seeing this engine in action I'll never consider a Zenoah or Sikk again! Prices are practically the same and performance is defiantly better than both. I think this engine's quality and design are great. I would consider one of these RCMK's over the CY/Sikk anytime......I think all will back me up on that statement. Just my $.02

planebasher

If you get the Sikk engine a couple of things you might want to check before you run it;

Has the Jug Gasket been changed from the Factory Version; i.e., looking at it is it blue or is it copper?
What is the squish clearance set at; when I changed the gasket on my Sikk from the factory provided tissue paper and jam version to the copper version; .020; it did not seem to have the same compression or pep that it had with the factory version; I checked it with the .030 soft solder method; and the piston would just kiss the solder, not enough to make an impression; I removed the .020 copper gasket and installed a .015 copper gasket and measured the squish clearance again; this time it was .018; which is where I left it and it seems to be back to its original compression and pep. During all of this I also installed flat washers under the two bolts securing the cylinder and applied Blue Loctite to the bolts.

The engine runs and idles great; not as powerful as my two Zen 260's with the Mod 5; it may blow tomorrow; but I dont mistreat it; I just run it WOT.

Have no experience with the RCMK; but it seems that is the way everyone is going these days and it is a nice looking engine and seems to have all the factory support you could ask for; if I were to buy another new engine I am sure I would invest in the RCMK.

One other thing I have noticed about the Sikk; if you are running a water pump for cooling purposes; the Sikk and its stuffed Crank will pump twice as much or more water at idle than the Zenoah 260.

glennb2006

We are running a Sikk motor in a Panther, it now has somewhere in the region of 25 hours on it with no issues, always an easy starter, good throttling and quite powerful. I wonder at times if the fact we are not running a "true" tuned pipe is letting the cylinder bolts have an easier time of it.

The boat has been clocked at 54MPH so it is not too much of a slouch.

I'd run it and if it breaks replace it, nohing to loose really, and you might even like it.

Glenn

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

I've got 2 of them but not a lot of time on them. Two things to watch. make sure that the header bolts aren't too long otherwise you can break the exhaust flange. Next is the pull starter. Pull it over until the pawls engage before giving it the strong pull to start it otherwise the parts will wear quickly. A Zen pull-starter bolts right on with a tiny mod and has seemed to work far better.

glennb2006

Yip,

I lied, one thing that has failed is the starter, we fitted a pullley now so it is better (and even easier) than it was.

Ron,

do you have any photos of the mod you do to the Zen starter please?

Glenn

mxzrev

thanks for all the input,like i said i didnt have a choice in motors,thats the one in the boat i am looking at.its an aeromarine 50'' sport x hydro RTR without the TX/RX. the guy wants 800.00 for it.i really wanted a quickdraw motor but the boat is like new,so i guess if i blow the sikk motor up i then will put a quickdraw or RCMK motor in it if i choose to buy this boat.also are these RCMK motors new,i have not heard that much about them until recently.i would like to hear what you guys think about the price of the boat,does it sound fair.thanks again for the input.

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

It's simple but no pix. The Zen pull-starter is missing the notch in the case right by the starter handle that a Sikk has. A Dremel cut-off wheel will take care of that problem in just a few seconds.
As soon as you put a Zen pull-starter up to a Sikk you'll see where it needs to be cut.

twindaddy66

I just put about 8 gallons of gas through mine in the last 2 weeks with no problems.

I did change out the factory paper gasket to the copper when I did my blow over rebuild, but I need to have everything "blueprinted" because it doesnt have the "pep" it had before the rebuild, and I attribute that to ME, not the engine.

After break in she would fire right up into a nice idle after only 2 or 3 pulls, sometimes fired on the first pull!!

T-Daddy

dicko

The lack of pep is probably the copper gasket. You may not have as much compression as you did with the stock one, I think from memory the copper ones are a litttle thicker.