Ron is right on target, the rotax is a great power plant. i have (in the past) built lots of them from all types,and they are a must,,,, on everything being right.
hard to kill one if you have it right, but if you dont, it will let you know.....
most people blame it on the 2 stroke but 95% of the time it's because of being ran at high rpms or even sometimes low rpms not set up right, wrong fuel mixter,slipping belt that cause's overheat,leaks in the fuel and air system,and i have even seen it wired wrong on the points type and cause the egein to quit.not to mention the set up of the carb or carbs-- jets,fuel valves ,trash,even jell after setting for long time and then being ran. and there is alot more to go with it.
i am not saying that the rotax is a bad idea to use, as haveing all this to keep in mind. it is a good and sometimes perfect engein to use on some application. weight to hp is hard to top when it comes to rotax.
at one time in the past i had rotax call me up to be a rep for repair in my part of tennessee because i had bought so many parts and tools manuals exc. even the collection of rebuild tapes they offerd.
i dont know for sure but some where around 15 to 20 rebuilds in one year.
the rotax will take a lot of punishment and keep right on ticking if set up right. that's a fact.:yo: