Hidea Outboards

[Tarbh]

Has anyone any experience of Hidea outboards?.

I'm looking for a 15Hp auxilliary and stumbled across them while i was trawling the net.

Distributed through Velocity Marine.

http://www.hideaoutboards.co.uk

[BogMonster]

Quite a good price if they are any good, I've never heard of them. Seems odd for a company to trade with a Gmail address though?

[markg]

Originally Posted by BogMonster

Quite a good price if they are any good, I've never heard of them. Seems odd for a company to trade with a Gmail address though?

nobody will know them when you try to buy spares or service parts either,

[BogMonster]

Yeah I admit my first thought was to wonder if it was one of the many products around these days where the user manual reads something like "To engage the forward motion push the thrusting lever towards the desired direction of sailing and rotate the fuel adjuster in the contrary direction to maintain the speed of sailing of the motorcraft"

[astra]

Any other views on these outboards. A friend of mine if looking at purchasing one of there inflatable air deck boat packages with a 15hp hidea outboard. Any opinions on this setup would be nice. cheers Ben.

[C-NUMB]

Would it be a re branded Parsun? If so, i would not use it for any safety critical boating, quality might not be the same as for traditional brands.

[astra]

3.6 meter inflatable air deck plus a brand new 15hp outboard for under 2k with 3 years warranty, is this to good to be true. Or are people just worried about a new brand?

[Leapy]

Originally Posted by astra

are people just worried about a new brand?

New brand...no data by which to judge.

I suspect most buy outboards on the basis of reputation for reliability and durability.

[T 15]

been told to stay away from Hidea & Parsun......

[9D280]

Originally Posted by C-NUMB

Would it be a re branded Parsun? If so, i would not use it for any safety critical boating, quality might not be the same as for traditional brands.

Interesting question... Pulled the two websites up, compared the 5Hp. Techy wise the powerhead has simialr bore / stroke etc, same gearing, but that's where it ends. Cowls are totally different shapes, Parsun holds more fuel, and is heavier, which makes me think they are either just flukily similar with the piston & crank, or the Parsun has a bigger fuel tank therefore different case.

I remember looking at their 2-stroke ranges a while ago, which struck me as being "back to basics" cheap. Kind of reminded me of a 1960s tech in a new box. Whether that is a good thing or not is an opinion only you can form.....


The Merc Clamshells are a good example of stuff like this. Mine was in a Mid 70s state of build when I got it. Needless to say, it went the way a lot of those engines did. Cooked top piston & eventually pre- ignited itself to death. One new set of lighter weight pistons and a rebuild with less spark advance and a higher Max RPM to compensate and a couple of mods to the cooling later and they became quite reliable, but it was too late, the word on the water wasn't good, the damage was done. How long ago was it when you laughed as soon as someone bought a Skoda?

The only way we'll find out for sure is when people buy & use / abuse them. As for spares, looks like the reputation for that is going to be down to two dealers.... until someone figures out if they are old repackaged whatevers or not.

[C-NUMB]

2-3 years ago one of those Parsuns was tested by a local boat magazine, it was kind of a longevity test. Can't remember all the details, engine was a Yamaha copy, but quality, materials, craftsmanship and reliability was far from the original. Nothing I would put on a boat in sea conditions. Maybe they are better now, but still rather buy a used known brand for same money.

[9D280]

Aye, that's the thing. Is it a copy (in which case I would excpect there to have been some legal wrangling) or a resprayed/ re- badged thing as built in the OEM factory?

Which mag? I'd be interested to read that......

[C-NUMB]

I recal it was mentioned to look like a old version Yamaha copy but defenitly not a re badged thing made in a OEM factory. Plenty of parts was in bad condition after dismantling the engine. Guess that the difference in quality and market segment is so huge that Yamaha did not bother to put much effort to legal issues, would serious Yamaha buyers purchase a Parsun instead ?

Can try to find the mag, however might be a pretty hard effort to read it, finnish is not that easy

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by C-NUMB

I recal it was mentioned to look like a old version Yamaha copy but defenitly not a re badged thing made in a OEM factory. Plenty of parts was in bad condition after dismantling the engine. Guess that the difference in quality and market segment is so huge that Yamaha did not bother to put much effort to legal issues, would serious Yamaha buyers purchase a Parsun instead ?

Can try to find the mag, however might be a pretty hard effort to read it, finnish is not that easy

I wouldn't be surprised if Yamaha sold them their old,well worn tooling. As far as I'm aware, this is what spawned the rash of Honda CG125 and C50/C90 engine clones.There's a company making copies of the immediately post-clamshell Merc 60s as well.

[tommyd181]

Hi everyone, I am new here and thought it was high time that someone had some praise for the hidea brand of outboard.
I recently purchased a new Hidea 4 hp 4stroke outboard, and I have to say how impressed I am with it.

At almost half the price of well known brands, it is well worth considering if money is a key factor- it was in my case!! I needed a 4 hp kicker motor, with reliability, affordability, and warranty.......... Hidea offered it all.

When it arrived- 3 days after ordering online, I was keen to get it into the test bin and see how it behaved, firstly I was impressed with the overall look/design, the weight is reasonable and the paintwork certainly acceptable, after oiling and fueling, three pulls and up she fired, and ever since its one pull.
If you are considering a Hidea, bite the bullet and try one, alot cheaper, work well and reliable too!

As they are basically clones of the yamaha engine, most parts are interchangeable, the four year warranty is fair, and they do the job well enough.
I am under no illusions that the resale value of these motors will be alot lower than a comparible yamaha/suzuki etc, and if you want a yamaha.......buy a yamaha, but you will pay three to four hundred more for the essentially same motor.
I guess what im trying to say is, Hidea are a good outboard for those on a tight budget, more than acceptable quality, and I would buy another without hesitation. tom. cornwall.

[HCD Canada]

Originally Posted by tommyd181

Hi everyone, I am new here and thought it was high time that someone had some praise for the hidea brand of outboard.
I recently purchased a new Hidea 4 hp 4stroke outboard, and I have to say how impressed I am with it.

At almost half the price of well known brands, it is well worth considering if money is a key factor- it was in my case!! I needed a 4 hp kicker motor, with reliability, affordability, and warranty.......... Hidea offered it all.

When it arrived- 3 days after ordering online, I was keen to get it into the test bin and see how it behaved, firstly I was impressed with the overall look/design, the weight is reasonable and the paintwork certainly acceptable, after oiling and fueling, three pulls and up she fired, and ever since its one pull.
If you are considering a Hidea, bite the bullet and try one, alot cheaper, work well and reliable too!

As they are basically clones of the yamaha engine, most parts are interchangeable, the four year warranty is fair, and they do the job well enough.
I am under no illusions that the resale value of these motors will be alot lower than a comparible yamaha/suzuki etc, and if you want a yamaha.......buy a yamaha, but you will pay three to four hundred more for the essentially same motor.
I guess what im trying to say is, Hidea are a good outboard for those on a tight budget, more than acceptable quality, and I would buy another without hesitation. tom. cornwall.

how do they warranty the motor if it was bought online? Do they have a dealership network were you can get parts or do you have to ship the motor back to them ?

[clydeoutboards]

Hi

They have a dealer network and its growing. As stated above by others we don't get enough in to make any solid judgement.

What I can tell you is that they devalue quicker than other engines, so I am not sure the saving at the front end is worth the pain when you sell and that's if all things i.e. build quality was equal to the other makes.

Dave

[Alan Priddy]

They do represent good value for money but they have not been around long enough to see if they will last the test of time. I am sure that if you wanted to use on an "Occasional" basis it will do the job. As for corrosion and general wear and tear of componants, well? I have a 20 year old Mariner outboard that doesnt get used very much at all, probably every two years or so and and all I do to it when I want to use it is replace the petrol with new, blast compressed air into the carb and it normally starts. Alan P first time.

[Nos4r2]

Until Chinese material quality equals that of the big makes, I wouldn't buy one. I want to know it's not going to corrode so badly it seizes all the bolts and blows gaskets.


Of course, I could be missing a trick here-they COULD be identical to Yams in every way. However, until someone hands me one to dismantle that's had extensive salt water use I'll be avoiding them like herpes. I've seen too many Chinese copied bike engines turn to powder in UK conditions-some in as little as 18 months.


It's amazing how it always seems to be the 1st post from someone praising these things too.

[willk]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

It's amazing how it always seems to be the 1st post from someone praising these things too.

thort that too...