Hi Bill,
I'm with you on a good job by Rotax.
I have always said the worst thing to happen to a Rotax is the owner. All I mean by that is that too many don't do regular or scheduled maint, experiment with everything ,but a Rotax approved procedure or a Rotax part and when it shortens the engine's life, won't run correctly or it quits in flight it's always Rotax's fault.
Look at the long history these people have and it should dawn on many that they have spent far more time and money on doing things right and finding better solutions than any individual that tries to experiment or go it alone with little to no real knowledge or experience.
Yes it is still just a piece of metal parts and was assembled by a human and sometimes a part can and does fail, but if you look at the over all record Rotax has done an outstanding job with its engines, support and helping people enjoy their endeavors.
Copy and credit to Wikipedia:
BRP-Powertrain GmbH & Co KG[1][2][3][4] (until 2008 BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co. KG), commonly known simply as Rotax, is an Austrian engine manufacturer. It develops and produces four-stroke and advanced two-stroke engines for Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) products (Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and sport boats, Can-Am quads and roadsters) as well as for motorcycles, karts, ultra light and light aircraft.
History:
The company was founded in 1920 in Dresden, Germany as ROTAX-WERK AG. In 1930 it was taken over by Fichtel & Sachs and transferred its operations to Schweinfurt, Germany. Operations were moved to Wels, Austria in 1943 and finally to Gunskirchen, Austria in 1947. In 1959, Rotax merged with the Vienna-based Lohner-Werke, a manufacturer of car and railway wagon bodies. In 1970 Lohner-Rotax was bought by Bombardier Inc. The former Bombardier branch, Bombardier Recreational Products, now an independent company, uses Rotax engines in its motorcycles, personal water craft, and snowmobiles.[5]
The company constructed only two-stroke engines until 1982, when it started building four-stroke engines and aircraft engines. Other important dates include 1962, when a Rotax engine was first installed in a snowmobile and 1989, when Rotax received FAA Type Certification for its Model 912 A aircraft engine.
In 2008, Rotax started manufacturing the 1,125 cc Helicon liquid-cooled, four-stroke, fuel-injected 72° V-twin for the Buell Motorcycle Company.
Products
Snowmobile engines:
Today's applications include two- and four-stroke, one- to three-cylinder engines with displacements between 270 and 1,500 cc and a performance range of 27 to 156 hp (20 to 116 kW) in regular serial execution.
Engine Type 1304
Engine Type 995 SDI
Engine Type 797 R E-TEC
Engine Type 797 R
Engine Type 793 HO
Engine Type 779
Engine Type 593 HO E-TEC
Engine Type 593 HO SDI
Engine Type 593 HO
Engine Type 593 RS
Engine Type 593 SS
Engine Type 552
Engine Type 536
Engine Type 810
Engine Type 453
Engine Type 440
Engine Type 377
Engine Type 277
Engine Type 462
Marine engines:
Rotax started the worldwide trend of personal water craft to four-stroke engines with the unveiling of their 4-TEC watercraft engines. Today they exclusively manufacture four-stroke engines in a straight-three cylinder configuration, covering a range from 130 to 260 hp (97 to 190 kW).
Engine Type 1503 SC IC HO
Engine Type 1503 SC IC
Engine Type 1503 NA
Engine Type 1503 DT
ATV engines:
Liquid-cooled, one- and two-cylinder, four-stroke engines are designed specifically for ATV applications. They cover a range between 400 and 800 cc and come either with gearboxes with foot-lever shifting, or with CVTs (continuous variable transmissions); the 810 is now used in snowmobile applications as well.
Engine Type 810
Engine Type 660
Engine Type 654 DS
Engine Type 490
Engine Type 449
Engine Type 400
Motorcycle engines:
The 1,125 cc Helicon engine developed for Buell is a lightweight, fast-revving, big-bore, short-stroke V-twin with a broad power curve peaking at 146 hp (109 kW) near the 10,500 rpm redline.
The twin-cylinder, V990, is light and compact, sporting magnesium cylinder head and clutch covers and comes in various horsepower configurations depending on vehicle specific and manufacturer specific demands.
The Type 122 & 123 engines were single cylinder 125 cc engines as used in Aprilia AF1 / RS125 models. These were high revving, high power units using an exhaust valve system called Rave to increase peak power while retaining low end torque.
Engine Type 1125 Helicon - Buell 1125R and 1125CR
Engine Type V990 - Can-Am Spyder, reverse trike 95 to 106 hp (71 to 79 kW), Aprilia (RSV 1000, Tuono) 139 hp (104 kW)
Engine Type 804 - BMW Motorrad, F800 series 85 hp (63 kW) and New F650GS 71 hp (53 kW).
Engine Type 654
Engine Type 504 - first four-stroke, used first in the Can-Am 500 Sonic
Engine Type 122 - 22 kW (30 hp) (Successor to the 123 engine)
Engine Type 122 - 11 kW (15 hp) (same as the Type 122 22 kW engine, though restricted by removal of RAVE Power valve).
Engine Type 123 - 25 kW (34 hp)
Kart engines:
Rotax began designing kart engines 25 years ago.[clarification needed] The two-stroke engines range from the 125 MAX to the 125 MAX direct drive.
KART RM1
Engine Type FR125 MAX DD2
Engine Type FR125 MAX
Engine Type FR125 JUNIOR MAX
Engine Type FR125 MINI MAX
Engine Type FR125 MICRO MAX
Engine Type 256 250 cc twin
Engine Type 257 250 cc single
Industrial engines:
Engine Type Rotax 185 - fire fighting water pump engine also used as an aircraft engine
Aircraft engines:
Rotax supplies aircraft engines for ultra-light, light aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Four stroke engines
Engine Type Rotax 914 F/UL
Engine Type Rotax 912 S/ULS
Engine Type Rotax 912 A/F/UL
Two stroke engines
Engine Type Rotax 618 UL - no longer in production
Engine Type Rotax 582 UL
Engine Type Rotax 532 UL - no longer in production
Engine Type Rotax 503 UL
Engine Type Rotax 447 UL
Engine Type Rotax 377 - no longer in production
Engine Type Rotax 277 - no longer in production
[edit]References
BRP-Powertrain GmbH & Co. KG (2010). "Company profile @ rotax.com (German)". Retrieved 13 September
2010.
BRP-Powertrain GmbH & Co. KG (2010). "Contact site @ rotax.com (German)". Retrieved 13 September
2010.
BRP-Powertrain GmbH & Co. KG (2010). "Company profile @ firmenwissen.de (German)". Retrieved 13
September 2010.
BRP-Powertrain GmbH & Co. KG (2010). "Company profile @ FirmenABC.at (German)". Retrieved 13
September 2010.
http://corp.brp.com/NR/rdonlyres/3F0275A3-1401-4042-8154-
55CB76F60B74/0/2007_01_31_ETEC_backgrounder.pdf
Roger Lee
LSRM-A & Rotax Instructor & Rotax IRC
Tucson, AZ Ryan Airfield (KRYN)
520-349-7056 Cell
