On Thu, 22 Nov 2007 13:35:13 -0500, jeff wrote:

wrote:

So, is Honda selling Chinese engines, or did Honda sell off an old
production line to China?


Or did a Chinese company make castings from a Honda? Or is a company
that contracts with Honda running a "midnight production line" or are
they selling off the defects?

A few years ago I was seriously considering the Chinese Honda knockoff
(the one discussed here that's yellow instead of red) and wondering if
the potential repair hassle was worth saving a few hundred bucks. Then
a friend called asking if I wanted a good deal with a Honda dealer and
the choice became clear.

On a different but similar front, my sewing machine was made on the same
production line as the Sailrite, but not to their standards. Sailrite
shut down all the "zig-zag/walking foot" variants like mine. I've
talked to Matt Grant a few times, and while he's happy to sell me parts
and give a bit of advice, he won't do repairs.

Here in Thailand there is an engine named a "Robin" that is an exact
copy of a Honda and about 1/2 - 2/3 the cost. I talked to an engine
repair shop about whether to buy a Robin or a Honda and they
recommended the Robin.

Now, cost is a big issue with Thais so I don't know whether the
recommendation was based on service life or initial cost but as they
looked identical and these small air cooled engines are basically a
throw away item it probably doesn't matter.

The Robin and Honda engines appear to be exactly the same engine
except for the name decal..

On a different subject the "Sailrite" zig-zag machine was a standard
Brother machine that they re-labeled and sold in a "portable box"
rather then the standard commercial machine table. I bought the
identical model in Singapore for less then half Sailrite's price and
built my own cabinet. Good machine.




Bruce-in-Bangkok
(Note:remove underscores
from address for reply)