How are the bearings? I have noticed my diplomat 430 has new bearings. Has your ring gear bean replaced with alloy gears? Wouldnt be hard to strip them if there plastic. I will inspect mine and see if I can shead some light on your problem. It's pulled down anyway the reel& bed knife are getting sharpened. Sounds like your clutch is slipping or belt. Bearings could be tight, dry.. If it has plastic ring& it's slipping then it wouldnt go at all.
I like how basic the diplomats are. They seem smoother than model 45's I used..
