anyone know the difference between a hyperdrive and a sd like hunter or light? i see quite a few 35 hypers for sale for around 3g was there a defect in them or just flat put bad motor?

since mud buddy uses joe public as der R&D dept. dey are constantly "upgrading" to newer models......... making older models worth.... nothing.

dey started off with a quick-fast, shitty copy of a gator-tail, then made a less-shitty copy of a gator-tail, then moved up to a cheap, crappy, copy of a gator-tail, now dey offer a cheap copy of a gator-tail but still no reverse.

Dat's it in a nutshell.

A buddy has an original balanced Hyper. Never had any problems.

New ones have a more weighted back design to help keep the lower unit down. Handle is fixed. Original had no clutch. They all can break, and the dumping on MB has everything to do with the company owner and not so much the motor.

Balanced = a design where it takes very little downward pressure on the tiller handle to raise the prop out of the water. Advantages are that without using your electric or hydraulic tilt/trim you can more easily pull up the prop as you pick your way through boulders, stumps or other obstacles.

Weighted back = a design where the prop stays down in harder mud and weeds...situations where you want the prop to stay down and get bite. You can pick the prop up by pushing down on the tiller, but it is more of a chore.

This description is simplifying it, but hopefully you will get the picture.

Mudbuddy's original designs (2004) were balanced. Then came the Sport, with a weighted back design (2005-present) and now MB makes different models with varying drive lengths and degrees of weightedness. I have lost touch with which is which, but I think they are described on their website.

ifin I was you .......... I would wait fo a wore out Gator-Tail that's still gonna last you 15 mo seasons !!!!!

Just Mines Opinion and does reflect anybody or anythang affillated with this
site on the www. .............. !!!!!

My Hyper has served me well and I don't baby it.

As was posted there are different frame designs on the MB motors for different applications. Many manufacturers have had issues with the trim units- seems to be a point of failure and you see alot of different designs/versions on many brands over the years. The old Bear trim motors on the MBs would fail (I had one replaced under warranty). They use a Thompson motor for replacement of that unit now- it has a longer travel and has held up for me over 110 hard hours .

If you are buying any used motor you really want to concentrate on the number of hours and the maintenance on the frame. The powerheads are basically the same. Have the shafts/gears been lubed, has the belt been tensioned etc... All these motors are designed to run hard.

You will like the surface drive over the longtail.

fortunately yes.... I have never owned one. lol

my beef is with the jackass in Utah that copied someone else's idea, tried to buy another, but when failed miserably at both procedeed to run around the country and the www talkin shit and when confronted would kiss ass, then at da first opportunity would shove a knife in a man's back at da drop of a hat.

I'm not sorry if my resentment offends some folks either.

Darrell from Meraux, u got 3 major MM players right here in ur own state. why anyone from here would buy a mm made in Utah is beyond me.....

Stumpy raises a point about buying locally. These things can and do break (as fortune has it, usually on the eve of the opener). I would think that all 3 of the Louisiana manufacturers would get a fella back up and going if he carried his motor to their shop. I have heard stories of that kind of extra effort provided by all of them at one time or another.

Something to think about.

I had a balanced hyper. had several issues with the frame and outdrive.
I have a hyper sport lite now. Had multiple clutch issues, but most likely the same problem that never really went away. I think i have it beat now, but my confidence level is not too high due to past experience. Only time will tell.

Having a dealer local is a big part of the purchasing picture. sooner or later you are going to need something changed, fixed, replaced. When you do, its nice to know someone is right around the corner. Good luck with whatever you choose.

you all have made excellent points and seems like yall really know what your talking about. id live to buy locally but my problem is gatortail(my fav) are built so well no one around here sells them and cant justify buying a motor for a new price. pd iv heard from a few friends are like outboards, lower units are always having trouble and need more upkeep. and id NEVER own a gd sd because like their longatils there built out of steel and a year in my salty marshed and they look like a bucket of rust. this is why my second choice is mb. but if i came across a good deal on gt mb or pd id definetly jump on it.

[quote="darrel from meraux"]hey man it could be i have no evidence to support it other than aquaintences replacing theirs. also i heard they dont go through as much mud because of the angle it's on as opposed to a gt or mb sd. maby you can clear that up for me .[quote="darrel from meraux"]

This should clear this up for you. BTW, this was with a full hunting load.
http://www.allmudmotors.com/blogs/videos

now no one can deny the posts on here and especially the old mmt that had several people having water in lower units, seals busted, broken gears. Yea most of them made it home, unlike some others on here.Yea, they all take a beating but denying facts is just wrong. We all know all of them can break. That is a fact. This place is getting ridiculous. I am surprised any pd issues arent deleted immediately like some places we use to frequent. No one is standing on a soapbox badmouthing, just stating facts we all know, but some deny. He's not saying they fall apart every day, just stating that they have trouble like the rest of them. Good luck with your choice. Be careful what you say over here. People get defensive about their babies.

If you say anything bad about pd, you are a mb lover.

I've said it once and I'll say it again. ANYONE who buys something based off opinions over the www gets EXACTLY what they deserve. Do yourself a favor and go test drive and look at in person what you are about to buy.


With that said, I'm one of the few that has trashed multiple PD lower units. Evidently these things are NOT made to hit old concrete bridge pilings and boulders in rivers. The first time it happened I called KP at Pro-Drive. He told me to send him pictures as he couldn't fathom what I was telling him. Once seeing pictures, he put a new lower unit in the back of Peck's truck and sent him to TX that day to replace the lower unit and have me back teal hunting the next day. Not a penny out of my pocket even though I told him I hit a bridge pilling just under the water with it. It got me back to the ramp also with a 2" gap in the knuckle. The next time it happened they overnighted a new lower unit to me and told me to just send my other one back in the same box since I knew how to change the lower unit out. All it cost me was shipping back to them.

Not ONCE did I hear, oh we've since up-graded to a NEW balanced lower unit and yours is obsolete. That will be $$$ for the new super duper lower unit. If you want to hear those horror stories give T-mac a PM about his old hyper!

If I hadn't developed the relationship I have with the boys at PD, I would look at a Gatortail. I've meet and talked to Kyle and Hoyt at GT several times.........good people also who I hear treat their customers just like PD does.

you most likely wont be able to tear one up on a test drive. Unfortunately longevity and durability are anybody's guess unless you already own one or talk to others who have. you will be able to see how you like it and if it fits your needs and preferences on a test ride though. All are very different, have different features, and perform better in one area or another. In terms of preventative maintenance and upkeep, they are all minimal no matter what brand. As far as breaking something, that is up to the user and the situation at hand.

Man I miss these days............... seems the older hypers had issues (balanced and hyper sport, lite), trims, belts (goodyear used on early balanced mb's) and some clutch issues (harness would fail and casue the clutch to kick in and out causing the clutch to blow) , but so did all of the other mm's, Pd had some issues with the fpr and seals, I remember hearing GT had some trim issues.... the gd's never heard to much, that or I never paid attention .....and everyone is aware of the dam leaky rear case seal, but thats a Briggs thing.....As far as what your looking for in a used MB, Bubby hit it for ya...............They all do a great job, must say though reverse is the cats azz and worth the extra cash if you have it...................and I have a MB.....what its worth