Just wondering if anyone has compared the newer Athearn Genesis and RTR motors to Mashima motors for performance and noise level?
I don’t know about RTR, but I do know BB. Putting a mashima motor in a BB locomotive is a big upgrade. The mashima draws less power, puts out better drive power and is quiet. Some of the BB locos I have sound like small can openers.
Athearn’s main weakness in the past has been their motors - cheap. Even the excellent Buhler motor used by Stewart was cheapened for Athearns Genesis F-7s - with developing problems. It’s now a Chinese motor.
Has the ‘lepard’ changed his spots? Athearn’s quality problems have always been with their 'cost engineering.
The Mashima motor is an accepted level of quality and should exceed the OEM Athearn where ‘cost is the main goal’ .That being said, one of the benefits of Athearn, is like motors (and drives) run together better.
Check out this link for mashima motors at walthers.com
The motors currently in Genesis diesels is a very good motor. The motors are made by Roco, and they are smooth, silent, powerful and don’t draw much current. The RTR motors are the same gold motors Athearn started making 25 years ago, so the Mashimas are better motors.
Jeff,
Thanks for your replies. I have Mashima motors in all my BB locomotives. I have an Athearn SD45-2 undec. coming, possibly tomorrow. I’m sure the new Athearn motors are better than the older BB, but is the Mashima still far superior?
Gary Taylor
Darth,
Thanks for the info.
Gary Taylor
IMO The mashima is still far superior. The new Athearn motors aren’t as bad as the old ones, but they’re still developing problems because of cheap manufacturing processes. I have one of the new ones. It was very quiet at first but over the space of four months it started getting noisy. I haven’t done it yet, but I will eventually change all my Athearn motors out with Mashima’s.
I concur with Jeffery Wimberly. The Mashima motor is arguably one of the finest motors used in the hobby. They are quiet, and draw low current. Their efficiency is better than many of the other motors used. They are ideal for use with DCC decoders.
The Roco motors used in Athearn Genesis and others is much improved over the BB units, but several people have posted experiences where the motors were noisy. Also they are not can motors but a newer style of open-frame, 5 pole skew wound motor.
I have a considerable collection of Athearn BB locos (still in the box!). I have had these pieces of motive power up and running and I know the difference in performance between those and my Atlas and P2K units. I do have plans to re-motor the BB units.
I would like to know: 1. where may I get the Mashima motor; 2. how easy (or difficult) is it to drop one of these into a BB unit and; 3. what should I expect to pay for a Mashima motor?
Proto Power West has the motors and mounting accessories for upgrading Athearn BB units (as well as others). Check them out at http://www.ppw-aline.com/re-power.htm
Check with your supplier for actual pricing. You may find several items for less than the MSRP posted at the Proto Power West website.
I use walthers.com. Here’s a link.
As far as mounting is concerned, double-sided tape works wonders. The motors are pre-equipped to connect to Athearn drive lines. A litle soldering is all that is needed to connect them electrically. If you do it properly, the whole process will probably take about 30 minutes.
I also find the Mashima motor far superior to the motor used in the Athearn BB’s even the more recent ones, but…as quiet as the Mashima motor is, the gear noise that makes most
Athearn BB’s noisy engines does not disappear. There are a number of well known and often discussed tricks to remedy that problem but a new motor is not the cure-all.
I’ve found that if the wheel trucks are completely disassembled and the gears and bearings washed and cleaned in alcohol to get the dust and grit out of them, makes a lot of difference. Also, installing better gears makes a world of difference. I have an Athearn BB F7-A I did this with. People think it has a P2K chassis until I pull off the shell.
This is the route I’m taking for one of my two remaining Athearn BB U33Bs.
I’m glad I found this thread, I just purchased on ebay an Athearn GP40-2 with a Mashima motor installed. Also, like Antonio, I am planning on remotoring my Athearn BB FP45 with a Mashima motor. I guess I’ll have to see how this GP40-2 performs.
Lets see a photo of that Mashima.
TRY A-Line
Try the link listed above.
Jeffrey,I don’t have any issues with the newer Athearn motors and the RTR Athearn at the club seems smooth as well except for one AC4400 that was needing a ton of TLC(talk about howling!).I showed the owner how to service the engine and now its a smooth runner…
Maybe the Athearn motor and DCC are not good bedfellows??
This is a SMOOTH BB drive.
http://s105.photobucket.com/albums/m210/Brakie-2/?action=view¤t=100_1060.flv