Well, my HANGKAI outboard motor arrived Thursday evening, and here is the initial review I promised. I will be updating with more detailed reviews as I put this little motor to more and more strenuous tests. Please understand that this cannot even come close to comparing with a Johnson, evinrude, or merc, but it was only $324 with free shipping, and it is brand new.
OUT OF THE BOX:
When I picked up the box, I was very surprised by how light it was (aprox 25 lbs including packaging). Upon opening the box, I found a 1 liter fuel can with the little side compartment for mixing the fuel and oil. I also found a funnel, an extra spindle, an extra pull rope assembly, a useless little tool kit (that you wouldn’t pay a dollar for at the dollar store), a cotter pin, 2 spare shear keys, and the fully assembled motor. The motor is obviously made from cheap materials, but seems okay for the price. I noticed that the owners manual that came with it is written in terrible broken English, and very hard to understand… but how hard can it be? This ain’t my first rodeo with an outboard motor.
I also noticed that the recommended fuel/oil mix is 25:1… ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?... That seems very rich, but okay.
TRASH CAN TEST:
The day the motor arrived, it was way to windy to get on the lake. But I wanted to play with my new toy, so… I filled a Rubbermaid trash can with tap water, assembled a quick “support system” with old 2x4s, and put the motor thru a “trash can test”. It took me about 10 pulls to get it to start the first time. I think it would have been less if I had noticed that the choke on/off switch was labeled backwards earlier. That is correct, the choke on/off switch is labeled BACKWARDS… lol.
Once the motor started, it seemed to take it 3-4 minutes to warm up. After warming up, it idled nice, and throttled up nicely, other than being excessively loud. I held full throttle for about 30 seconds at a time, several times, and let it idle for about 30 minutes. I heard a hiccup or two, but for the most part… no problems. When I turned the motor off, I did notice a significant amount of oil floating on the surface of the water. I figure this is probably due to the 25:1 fuel/oil mix, and partially due to the small water source (35 gallon trash can) that it had been running in for 30-40 minutes.
ON THE LAKE:
I took the motor to the lake today for the real test. I filled up the tiny (1 liter) fuel tank, and put it on my Pelican Bass Raider 10E. I should note here that my pelican is a little heavier than she should be because some water soaked into the foam inside the pontoons last year… And I am a BIG man (aprox 280 lbs). I pushed the boat into the water, and the little Hangkai started on the 5th pull. I let it idle and warm up for about 4-5 minutes, then took off.
This little motor pushes my boat almost twice as fast as my 40# Minn Kota trolling motor on speed 5. I had actually hoped for a little more speed, but this is fine. I can definitely feel a HUGE difference in TORQUE. This baby has a crap-load more torque than the trolling motor. I ran it for about an hour, on full throttle the entire time (except during turns), and it ran out of fuel. One hour of full throttle on one liter of gas… that seems pretty good to me. Again, I heard several hiccups during this hour, but the motor never stalled. I also never noticed an “oil trail” behind me.
I filled the tank back up with another liter of the 25:1 mix, and it started on first pull. I ran the motor for a while, and killed it several times… Always started on first pull when warm.
OVER ALL:
This is definitely NO top of the line motor, but it seems great for the price, if it holds up for a few years. I read a review somewhere that said the guy switched to about 30:1 or 35:1 fuel mix, and he got more time out of a tank of gas, and eliminated the “hiccups”. I might try that, not sure. But overall, I am satisfied , so far, with my purchase. Stay tuned for future reviews as I break this little devil in.
Mike
