I disagree
The new motors are excellent, and definitely not worse, but better than the older pancake motors in my opinion. Have you ever had any bad luck with the newly designed one, or have you even USED one? Doesn't sound like it to me.
Or are you just one of those people that jumps to conclusion when they hear about something new and (literally) goes into an all caps rage?
And, how is re-engineering a motor being lazy? The laziest way for them to operate would be to continue building the same out-dated motor rather than to re-think a better one.
Let me explain why the new motors are NOT inferior to the older ones:
1. The upper bearing is MUCH more protected than the old motor, which used an entirely open-top bearing system that is prone to drying out and getting dust in it. I cannot tell you how many bearings I have seen go bad in the old pancake motors, something that I don't really see on the newer motor. That's why they changed the upper bearing plate that you seem to greatly complain about. Oh, and if you ever need to replace the upper bearing or disassemble the motor, which you will less likely need to do on a newer motor, it is just as simple to do.
2. The carbon brushes are enclosed. Same idea as enclosing the bearing, you know, to keep particles off the armature and carbon brushes.
3. The additional sealing of the parts of the new motor has resulted in much less of a scream than the older motors produced. As a matter of fact, I would say it doesn't scream at all. The new motors have a more pleasant and quieter sound than the older motors, at least in my opinion, and according to my dB meter.
4. 100% compatibility. In other words, these new motors can fit into ANY Sanitaire, Eureka, or look-alike that uses the older pancake motor. Same fan, same pulley, same gasket, and same footprint.
5. The new motors have no loss in performance over the older motor. In fact, both are 7amps and 840W, producing exactly the same cleaning performance.
I have a Sanitaire S661 that I acquired and rebuilt a while back in which I decided to install the newer style motor to replace the older pancake motor, which had screaming bearings and a bent armature shaft. Like you, I was hesitant about the new motors (not quite to your degree, but still hesitant), but I tried it anyways because I found one at a good price at Hesco. When I installed the new motor, I was very pleasantly met with surprise at the quietness and smoothness of it along with the amazing power it had. Over two faithful years and loads of hours of use later, the motor is still going as strongly, smoothly, and powerfully as it was on day one, and I predict it will last as long as I want it to.
Still not convinced? See link below.
http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?14745
