What is going on with K&B?

[Eric Bourlet]

Everyone thinks beause a half a dozen guys want a part the manufacturer will gladly run a minimum production run that might require 100 to 1000 parts and they will jump right in and sell 6 then stock the rest for 10 years. I am sure OS has cut into K&B's .21 market making it not profitable. Hobby shops used to stock K&B parts but those days are gone. Mecoa is trying to make a profit and the marine market plain does not make money for them. Just the market adjusting to supply and demand. I have like Robin stocked up on the parts I need new &used but when it dries up I either buy another brand or move on to gas & eletric. As outboards go there are quite a few different options for powerheads and lower units on the market today. OS, Rossi, Nova, TOPs, Thundertiger, Nelsons. Lowers Hyperformance, Lawless and OS sells a great 21 lower. (Tower $150) May be more options now than back in the 80's. Outboards are strong as ever as I see it.

Mic

While I appreciate the fact that we racers are a very small part of the the business. It has been Mecoas constant lack of customer support and down right lying to customers about availability that has caused them to sell fewer engines and parts than they otherwise could. If they want to make a profit tell the truth to customers and don't sting them along. While I believe that stock 7.5 tunnel is probably the best class for new racers to start out in I can't suggest it to them because you can't believe anything that the guys at Mecoa will tell you. MECOA has the market cornered on 7.5 Stock as they had the only NAMBA legal motor but they just either don't make parts or tell you they have them in stock only to not fill orders when you try to buy them. It's not the lack of customers that killed the 7.5 OB program for MECOA it's their mismanagement of the situation.

 

[moparbarn]

K&B really went out of business a long time ago. Mecoa buys the remains of dead engine manufacturers and sells what they can. They exhausted the desirable K&B parts a long time ago. There are still some larger outboards available. See http://hyperprod.bizhosting.com/7_5_outboard_1.html as mentioned above. The days of inexpensive stock nitro marine engines in the larger sizes is over. The car market is large enough to support the small nitro engines. That's the reason gas, and to a lesser extent, electric motors are becoming popular.

Lohring Miller

lohring, if i understand you correctly, mecoa does not produce/manufacture any parts or engines for the k&b line? they just sell off the existing stock & then let the line (k&b in this case) die? that's kinda sad, i really don't think we or anyone should support a company like that, sounds like a wall street raider, buy it, cash it out & throw it to the side. that's not supporting our hobby, that's just making a buck for entirely self serving reasons. that would explain why nothing has been updated, & out of stock items are never restocked. thank goodness i have enough k&b .21 stuff stashed to run for another, oh i don't know, maybe 10 years........

 

[Bill Gibson]

K&B really went out of business a long time ago. Mecoa buys the remains of dead engine manufacturers and sells what they can. They exhausted the desirable K&B parts a long time ago. There are still some larger outboards available. See http://hyperprod.bizhosting.com/7_5_outboard_1.html as mentioned above. The days of inexpensive stock nitro marine engines in the larger sizes is over. The car market is large enough to support the small nitro engines. That's the reason gas, and to a lesser extent, electric motors are becoming popular.

Lohring Miller

lohring, if i understand you correctly, mecoa does not produce/manufacture any parts or engines for the k&b line? they just sell off the existing stock & then let the line (k&b in this case) die? that's kinda sad, i really don't think we or anyone should support a company like that, sounds like a wall street raider, buy it, cash it out & throw it to the side. that's not supporting our hobby, that's just making a buck for entirely self serving reasons. that would explain why nothing has been updated, & out of stock items are never restocked. thank goodness i have enough k&b .21 stuff stashed to run for another, oh i don't know, maybe 10 years........

Thats good to know........OL BUDDY, OL PAL! :lol: ive got a fair number of .21 and .45 IB Kaboom parts...i have a hard time letting ANYTHING related to model boats go!

 

[moparbarn]

ahhh, my brother from another mother , trades maybe? i only run the .21's, but i've ended up with some 7.5 parts.......

 

[HTV Boats]

If Mecoa had just taken the K&B stock to the scrapyard would they be any worse a company? Its a business and they put up the MONEY so the fact they are extending a slow death is their choice. I am sure they would be happy to sell the moulds for casting to someone. Anyone? Here's your chance to get rich and supply the hobby. Keep this in mind as Nelson an all american motor builder phazes out and Rossi is the only choice left for a .45. If no one buys the product there gone too.

Eric: I agree stock .45 is a great class to start with and makes good close competition. IMPBA doesn't have a class and NAMBA needs to delete or modify the rules as a "stock" 45 outboard is not availiable through any normal retail outlet. OR maybe the two organizatios could look at what started in Charleston and is growing here in the southeast. Our outlaw stock 45 class will live long and prosper allowing any motor or lower plus a can style non tune pipe muffler. K&B, Rossi, Nelson, twin OS's and even a CMB have competed. The can muffler levels the playing field. Speeds 45-55 mph with hulls that can handle the power availiable. If there are not classes to run outboards will die. Come to the southeast and you'll see they are growing with classes and races.

Mic

 

[moparbarn]

no mic, i would actually think more of them if they had done that. i just don't have much use for people that give customers the runaround about back orders & are ONLY in it for the $. yes, it is a busines, & yes it was their $ that bought it, just not my type of folks........

 

[lohring]

I believe that Mecoa actually produced a run of K&B 7.5 Pro pistons and liners. However, that was unique for them in my experience. I stand by what Eric said about unfulfilled promises. Stock 7.5 tunnel was my first and favorite class for years. I burned through my supply of 7.5 engines a long time ago. All I have left from that era is a stock and mod 11 cc K&B powered Leecraft and a few bare hulls. I hope we can develop a replacement for the class that is even 1/10 as popular and fun.

Lohring Miller

 

[HTV Boats]

On the phone at Mecoa I usually got a woman or a guy. Not sure but assumed they are married.I learned the guy had a better handle of what they really had in stock and made sure they didn't back order a whole shipment over one part. If he said they would have it later I just took it as not availiable and ship what you have. K&B is not a hot item anymore and only surviving on the used stockpiles that are destined to dry up. As Lohring said it's ashamed to loose some fun classes but thats up to racers as a whole and if you want creative solutions that are not in the present rules format. The .21's live through the car market spinoffs and .45's are still being manufactured. Just not the K&B's we started with.

Mic

 

[Martin Meijer]

Guy's have a question,how long they have the 3.5ss and the 3.5sx made?

Run the 3.5,7.5,11 and the 16cc from k&b,can run them a few years have a lot of parts

Martin