I got my 505 back from Brian Harrington, WWW.rotaxrepair.com, Light Sport Inspection and Repair from Boyne, Michigan. Brian is a A.P. and regularly works on and repairs rotax 2 strokes.

It is EXCELLENT!!!

I found out a couple of things from Brian, that if I had known, I would have already sent in my motor for a 150 hour inspection seal replacement, and replacement of 2 upgraded parts.

My motor failed at 105 hours at one of the piston bearings.

No one had ever been in my motor as far as I can tell, and it still had the OLD style caged bearings that have 16 rollers. He said with these old ones, its just a matter of time till they fail.

He replaced with the new cage less that have 32 rollers which have been used for quite a time now, and are in the 503. (The 503 runs all the time, not just the short runs that we do) He has not seen the careless ever fail. Also, many parts between the 503 and 505 are interchangeable.

Also he replaced the old aluminum head gasket with a steel one, that has been used also for quite some time.

The cylinder that had the failure was badly scored, but nothing got into the "lower section" of the motor, really on top, the way the 505 is mounted, and he checked all that section and it was in excellent shape. He even trued up the crank a couple more 1000th.

He was able to find a new sleeve and sleeve that cylinder, overbore both cylinders 0.010, and it can be bored one more step up if ever needed, and of course new pistons, rings, bearings and piston pins and seals.

While there, I also had him rebuild both my carbs.

The motor is BETTER than it has been the entire time I have had the bird. Super smooth, and excellent power, and head temps staying excellent, 195c.

I have launched twice so far after an hour long Rotax break in protocol. Today, with no headwind, I was off the ground in 800 feet with a positive climb rate, in East TN (ground 830 feet), and 90 plus degrees.

It took me a couple of days finding someone that would touch a 505, and to find the right sho . I can very confidently recommend Brian. Excellent work, and also great communication through the process.

Also, if you need to ship a 505, if you remove the carbs and CDI boxes, and wrap them carefully it fits beautifully in a Coleman 316 series, 84 can/ 50 quart square cooler, with room for a little foam and bubble wrap. This cooler was cheap at Walmart and has a handle and two rollers, which comes in handy because shipping weight was 87 pounds.

If your motor has not been upgraded, you might want to consider contacting Brian this fall or winter.

Hope this helps prevent some of you the pain I went through.

Kevin Anderson
92
DG-400

On Saturday, August 26, 2023 at 6:14:22 AM UTC-7, kevin anderson wrote:
> I got my 505 back from Brian Harrington, WWW.rotaxrepair.com, Light Sport Inspection and Repair from Boyne, Michigan. Brian is a A.P. and regularly works on and repairs rotax 2 strokes.
>
> It is EXCELLENT!!!
>
> I found out a couple of things from Brian, that if I had known, I would have already sent in my motor for a 150 hour inspection seal replacement, and replacement of 2 upgraded parts.
>
> My motor failed at 105 hours at one of the piston bearings.
>
> No one had ever been in my motor as far as I can tell, and it still had the OLD style caged bearings that have 16 rollers. He said with these old ones, its just a matter of time till they fail.
>
> He replaced with the new cage less that have 32 rollers which have been used for quite a time now, and are in the 503. (The 503 runs all the time, not just the short runs that we do) He has not seen the careless ever fail. Also, many parts between the 503 and 505 are interchangeable.
>
> Also he replaced the old aluminum head gasket with a steel one, that has been used also for quite some time.
>
> The cylinder that had the failure was badly scored, but nothing got into the "lower section" of the motor, really on top, the way the 505 is mounted, and he checked all that section and it was in excellent shape. He even trued up the crank a couple more 1000th.
>
> He was able to find a new sleeve and sleeve that cylinder, overbore both cylinders 0.010, and it can be bored one more step up if ever needed, and of course new pistons, rings, bearings and piston pins and seals.
>
> While there, I also had him rebuild both my carbs.
>
> The motor is BETTER than it has been the entire time I have had the bird. Super smooth, and excellent power, and head temps staying excellent, 195c.
>
> I have launched twice so far after an hour long Rotax break in protocol. Today, with no headwind, I was off the ground in 800 feet with a positive climb rate, in East TN (ground 830 feet), and 90 plus degrees.
>
> It took me a couple of days finding someone that would touch a 505, and to find the right sho . I can very confidently recommend Brian. Excellent work, and also great communication through the process.
>
> Also, if you need to ship a 505, if you remove the carbs and CDI boxes, and wrap them carefully it fits beautifully in a Coleman 316 series, 84 can/ 50 quart square cooler, with room for a little foam and bubble wrap. This cooler was cheap at Walmart and has a handle and two rollers, which comes in handy because shipping weight was 87 pounds.
>
> If your motor has not been upgraded, you might want to consider contacting Brian this fall or winter.
>
> Hope this helps prevent some of you the pain I went through.
>
> Kevin Anderson
> 92
> DG-400

Hi Kevin,

This is great news for all DG400 owners. Do you care to share what the total cost of the overhaul was?

Tom 2G

Including shipping both ways which was a little over $400 of the bill, it was just under $2900.

His 100 hr inspection with complete tear down and check along with all new seals is $750.

Of course I got a lot more done than that, new pistons and rings, sleeve on one cylinder, overviews .010 on both, new piston pins and bearings…. And also I had both carbs rebuilt by him while there. I don’t remember all the parts on the invoice, but of course it all added up.

Still between just 60-70 tows, if measured in tow units.

I feel very fortunate that I was able to find him.

The bad news is he is probably retiring next fall, and is hoping to find someone to take over his business.

Kevin