This man spent $800 on a fake Yamaha engine from Alibaba despite not seeing a single review for it

Despite knowing the notorious reputation of the Chinese site Alibaba, this YouTube personality thought he netted a steal when he blindly bought an $800 fake Yamaha engine.

Yamaha engines are up there among the most sought-after in the marine world.

Known for sharp power and reliability when pushing boats to their speedy limits, the Japanese brand uses its motor expertise to excel on the water.

But would you get the same performance out of a Chinese fake?

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YouTuber gets delivery of fake Yamaha engine from Alibaba

Alibaba – the Chinese version of Temu – is renowned for questionable car and boat dupes.

Supercar Blondie has already put the site to the test by buying a $4,000 Range Rover clone and comparing it to the real deal.

But this time YouTuber ‘Boat Buster‘ has put his faith in a blind purchase of a fake Outboard Yamaha engine for $800.

Off the bat, you can tell it’s not a true Yamaha, as Outboard fanatics will notice that the Japanese brand has never sold a 9.8hp engine – only ever 9.9hp or 8hp.

Oh, and it’s called Yamabisi.

Still, to buy the real deal from Yamaha, you’re looking at just under $3,000.

So, does the knock-off hold a torch to the real thing?

The verdict

Well, Alibaba hasn’t disappointed this time. Not too much anyway.

The YouTuber offered up his very honest review of the Yamabisi, and got off to applauding the very affordable alternative engine.

The four-stroke build is great for emissions and is permitted on most bodies of water, whereas others have been outlawed.

The fake Yamaha engine was also quite good in performance, being a ‘quiet and smooth’ ride while also being easy to set up.

However, there were some flaws too.

The fuel line ‘sucked’, as it was ‘squishy and flimsy’, which resulted in the engine continuously cutting out when accidentally being blocked.

But for the most part, the YouTuber was impressed and even noticed that some parts could be swapped out for real Yamaha or Mercury replacements.

It has proved not to be the worst deal ever involving a (sort of) Yamaha, but it’s certainly not the best, as one man sold his YSR on eBay for an impressive $130,000.

As for Alibaba, its reputation might just be shifting as the products continue to get better reviews than when it first dished out more questionable stuff.