Chinese Outboard Motors

I'm looking around for a 4 Stroke 60 HP Outboard Motor and right now I have a good deal on a Tohatsu with a Tiller . $7500 installed with the tiller Arm. I might go with Suzuki if I find a better price. Great motors with great warranties. I looked on Alibaba for a cheap Chinese Engine and some were really good. Hangkai , Parsuns and Hidau are close to entering the US Market like Tohatsu did years ago. Just look at all the Hangkai's on Ebay and you see how close they are to establishing themselves in the US. Why is Hangkai still selling 2 strokes in America ??? I inquired about a 40 HP and they seemed eager to ship a 2 stroke to the US no problem .Hangkai 40 HP- $2500 shipped to the US. Hangkai Reviews are pretty positive. I saw 60 HP 2 Stroke Parsuns and they won't ship them to the US. I looked at Hangkai and Yamabisi for a 40 HP and they would ship 2 strokes to America. I spent weeks looking at Chinese outboards, some with crazy names like Lingxuan or SeaWalker, Twin Sun, Calon ? Farrow . The Russians and Ukrainians like Yamabisi outboards. I inquired about a 60 HP 2 stroke Yamabisi and the company recommended that I buy the 40HP , the 60 HP wasn't as stable as the 40HP. The 60 HP was $1700 plus a $1000 freight. Good for a Mechanic, not for the average boater who doesn't know how to fix an outboard. The 2 strokes are probably the safest bet because it's older Yamaha tech. and the parts are really inexpensive . Who knows about the 4 strokes? Who are they copying ? I'd take off the Motor Stickers before I went to the launching ramp with a Chinese engine. The whole marina/boat ramp would laugh at me if I had a Lingxuan on the back of my boat. Anybody have any experiences with a Chinese outboard Motor ?

I couldn't agree more with Chunkster's post, as well as the following two. The ocean is too dangerous a place to be messing around with sub-par power plants.

Imagine losing power while transiting a nasty Inlet, with a wind against tide situation piling them up? Best to be sure your Life Insurance premiums are up to date.

This is such a pain in the backside.
40 HP is a big motor for a tiller.

I run JI every single trip in my Shamrock 26 - its become a real "S-show" the past 5 or so seasons. Mis-time a wave set and your knees will feel light for the next couple of hours. I've had the crap scared out of me more than once in that nightmare inlet.

And that includes a rouge wave hitting me dead-nuts on the bow as I was heading outbound, burying it in a solid wall of green water. Only happened that one time, and my bow has plenty of designed-in lift, so up it came. But I can tell you, looking thru the windshields into a solid wall of water is a very scary experience. Frankly, I was surprised the windshields didn't blow in. Very surprised, as the boat about stopped dead from the impact.

No friggin' way would I want anything but the most reliable of engines in any kind of similar situation. Chinese motors? Yeah, umm, no. . .