No they are not that bad. You definitely want to change the con-rod as soon as all metal pinch is gone. You don't want to put an aggressive race tune on it until all metal pinch is gone. You want to change the bearings at about the 2 gallon mark or at least the front one. The case, head and carb are sub-par but they do work. It's not a bad engine but IMO for $50 more there are much better options.