My friend, who is a muskie fisherman of note had a Merc 4 stroke 50 Hp. It failed because of a bad rod bearing very suddenly on a day two years ago. The failure was catastrophic to the crankshaft. Cost more to repair it than to replace it. He bought a replacement Evinrude, which cost more than a Merc. It has worked well. Made by Bombardier in Quebec.
He did not know that the Merc 4 stroke was made in china.
BRP makes good motors under the Evinrude name, in Canada.
I have had six Chinese 4 stroke motors which are Honda knockoff copies with interchangeable parts to the geniune Honda that are exact duplicatesi of the 9 to 13 Hp range. These motors are common on snowblowers etc. but their bearings, seals electrical parts etc are 100% Chinese made and assembled. They work well for about 100 hrs, then fall apart, leak, short corrode and generally fail in service, no matter how carefully maintained, Chinese Mfrs are in violation of many patents owned by bona fide patent holders, and these patent infringements are contrary to trade agreements, which the Chinese ignore. An anecdote I heard claimed that a whole shipload of these were seized and destroyed by the UK upon landing at a seaport in the UK by Honda legal action. Nevertheless these motors continue to be marketed in the USA under the Lifan name on the internet. They cost about 300 USD, whereas the real Honda motors sell at about a 1000 USD. with identical Honda model numbers. Our US import laws are being flouted by the Chinese with impunity, because China simply ignores the trade violations, treatie and internation patent law. (China does not recognize patents, apparently) Sony, and a few others actively exploits this and in consequence, Chinese made apparatus, under well known brand names is counterfeit.
The aircraft maintenance industry has recognized that nuts, bolts, critical components of airframes, is being jeopardized by the infiltration of counterfeit components bearing strength ratings, are not up to snuff. Grade 12 fasteners, for example are just short of Grade six fasteners. Many of thjses maintenance organizations now must recertify all replacement parts in critical area before they can be used, sine the counterfeit parts appear identical to the real items. In one truck fleet operastion with which I was mainrenance manager found that 100 % of the grade 12 fasteners were counterfeit. Our supplier was caslled in, did spec tests and scrapped 120,00 dollars worth of high-strength bolts that they had unwittingly supplied. That firm then scrapped every product held by its customers, and replaced them all. It almost bankrupted them, but they had no choice.
I left the industry before I ever learned how this scam had come about, so I do not know the explanation for how the counterfeit goods had been substituted into the wholesale supply system. My guess would be that one or more of the fastener mfrs were firms that had been bought out by Chinese-owned companies and then operated fraudulently thereafter, unbeknownst to the legitimate distributors.
One distributor, to my knowledge began destructive testing qualiiy control measures, thereafter on a batch basis, for all fasteners it sells.... and guarantees that all fasteners meet or exceeds strength ratings specified. In consequence, these fasteners have tripled in cost. A grade 12 bolt that had cost 11.00 now costs about 30.00.
Such is the effect of Chinese influence upon our US mfrg costs. Some bargain!
For legal reasons, I do not cite names, but buyers of high strength fasteners do know who can be trusted, and who cannot.
I do know that Bowden Fasteners ARE reliable, and quite pricey!
But I have a large Harbor freight grinder that has served me well for over 20 years.
