Thought I might report an issue I just experienced. I decided to take off all the cowls for a thorough inspection prior to a planned extended inland camping trip in a few weeks time. The first thing I noticed was a nut missing off the top fwd stud on NO 1 cylinder. Interesting. Rang my friendly Rotax man who suggested I look on the opposite side of the engine and sure enough, there was a 'hole' where the head of the bolt/stud should be! This one goes right through the block and out to the other side with a locating nut/ferrel that is designed to spread the load over the whole length of the bolt/stud. Apparently the stud had snapped, on end vibrated out and went to earth (a God's Must Be Crazy moment!) and the nut on the other end following. One length of stud remained as it was restrained by the nut/ferrel arrangement.

I was assured that no damage will be done unless I decided to put on new nut on the remaining thread and tighten it. Glad I phoned for advice.

Anyway, the good news is that Rotax came to the party and covered 8 hours travel, labour and parts to fix it all as it is 'a known issue', even though my engine has approx. 400hrs on it after 2.5 years. I was also informed that Rotax have developed a new gearbox for the 912is Sport that is know to develop issues (I have already had to have a repair done at 150hrs). Apparently any problems post July will result in owners getting a new gearbox rather than a repair. On both counts I take my hat off to Rotax for nice service.

cheers

ross