Yamaha or Honda

I would go see what the local dealer services. And what service is available where you want to go.

I have heard up here (BC) Yamaha parts are readily available almost everywhere quickly. Not so with Honda. Our dealer seems to be dropping the Honda line and is actively promoting Suzuki and Yamaha. Most people up here use Yamaha (fishing charter guys as well). I think price wise Yamaha is usually the better deal.

That being said I'd have been happy with whatever my boat came with as long as it was Suzuki, Honda or Yamaha four stroke.

I will say that the Honda BF 130 (on my last boat) was way too heavy (500 pounds) and didn't run very smooth at 300 hours.

Sometimes you can get deals on last years or discontinued models.
 
Peter.... my DF 70 is good, lots of torque and power. Completely trouble free. Saying that ..if i had the money to burn i would repower with a F90 ...there is a good Yamaha dealer here but no Suzuki dealer. Tug
 
If the old carbed Honda 90's were still being sold,It would be an easy choice for me.But I'm seeing too many dead 90 hondas in the new model.
At this point,if I had to buy new,I belive I would lean to the Yamaha 90,or 115.They seem to be lasting pretty well.
Good shoppin!
Lorne
 
I like my Yamaha guitar better than my Martin or Taylor guitars and had a great Suzuki 90 (motorcycle) in the 60s and come to think of it, my daughter had a Suzuki violin that was pretty good ,but I would still go with the Honda outboard. (Seriously - they are all good).
 
Wefings":2x25t4j2 said:
My Yamaha Piano has less corrosion than my Suzuki Violin . Marc
Click to expand...

Truth be told, I'm guessin' that you don't take your piano on the boat with you, but do take the violin, thereby causing the greater corrosion problem. :lol:
 
Well,I still lean to the honda,but unfortunately not the new 90 if your going to rack the hours up,for sure.I guess for a sport & rec application,you would have a few trouble free years and love it,but not like the old carb 90,where it was quite feasibly the last motor one might have to buy!
From all the reports of the commercial guys using them,and the amount of dead carcasses laying around my dealers shop,it seems it would die within a year to a year and a half with my usage!
Not good economics,IMHO!
Good travlin!
Lorne
 
Jazzmanic":z3cdr1sj said:
I don't dispute that Yamaha's are great engines but so are Suzuki's and I'm not the only one who thinks so.
Peter
Click to expand...

I'm with you on this Peter. As I stated in the new "poll" thread, we have twin Johnson 50 HP on our 22' Cruiser. (These Johnsons are actually Suzukis under a Johnson cover). Previously we had a Honda 50 HP on our 16' Cruiser although I liked it, I like the Johnson 'er :roll: Suzukis better. (in all fairness, I need to mention that the Honda was carburated, so I don't have experience with the newer Hondas).
As far as Yamaha is concerned we have a 225 HP Yamaha on our Fire/Rescue boat and it is a fine engine too!
So, as has repeatedly been stated numerous times when this discussion arises, be sure your choice has dealer support where you live/boat. I don't believe you can go wrong with the new 4 strokes that are available.

(FYI, the reason I chose the Johnson over the Suzuki was the color. Johnsons are white with a slash of red that seemed to compliment our vessels color scheme. Additionally, with the Johnson/Suzuki, the alternator outputs were greater than the other manufacturer choices at the time of purchase).
 
I voted Yamaha. Yes I did have some trouble, but it was a gas/ethanol problem, not the engine. I have really not had any engine trouble, and I like my twin Yami 40's. Still wish they were EFI 50's but Matt has to fix that :wink

One consideration hinted at earlier. Anyone going North up the inland passage or BC coast, or SE Alaska might want to know that the Yami's have much more service access available.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

IMGP1255.highlight.jpg
1_Honda_Power_2_B_ham_CBGT_2009_956.thumb.jpg PLI_and_SB_CBGT_2_683.thumb.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 1_Honda_Power_2_B_ham_CBGT_2009_956.thumb.jpg
    1_Honda_Power_2_B_ham_CBGT_2009_956.thumb.jpg
    11.4 KB · Views: 0
Lorne,

Had to see where Shawl Bay was and found your web site for Shawl Bay Marina and I gotta say, its nice to see a picture of your C-Dory on the web page.

Looks great.

As for power, we love our Yamaha 90 and 8 high thrust, Very strong Yamaha service area on Vancouver Island.

Andrew
 
Hi Andrew! How are things in Port?Thanks for having a peek at our site!Yes,There is good support on the island.I hear that there are great mechanics over your way!
Ok,As to the EFI 90's.
Well,from what My mechanics have told me,is that the EFI 90 has an internal timing chain,instead of an external timing belt.
Apparently the chain is wearing and breaking.When it does,being internal,it goes thru the motor and takes out the powerhead.Apparently this doesnt happen untill you rack up a good amount of hours on the motor.600 plus.(Less than a year for me,and a bunch of the other commercial guys)
Another problem I was told about,but not sure if its a mass problem or a couple isolated incidents is oil pump drive failure.Another one that needs a good amount of hours on it as well.As a result the commercial guys here that are using 90's are getting all the old ones rebuilt and buying up what they can of them,or otherwise,some have left Honda and are going to the 115 Yamaha.
Anyway,I have been cautioned (at least for the business Im in),not to buy the 90 model until its proven and the bugs are out of it.Hopefully Honda will come thru,because I have been real happy with thier service and warrenties on my older motors.
Have a great weekend,all!
 
since my purchase of a 22' cruiser a week ago i have posted twice for some help. I have been overwhelmed with the response's i have recieved, and even though i probably most likely had already made up my mind about the engine question, i truly did want to know others opinions. One thing all the serious responses had in common was to make sure there is dealer support within close proximity. So it looks like the has won. This boat i purchased has great potential but it's current state has a bit to be desired. So my next request for help: is there any sort of wonder wax, polish, rubbing compound that will help restore the once luster of the gel coat. The person whom i got this boat from had a really nice heavy canvas cover that was probably never put on the boat, thus a lot of fading. So is there hope or do i just settle for a dull boat? As long as we are on the subject of cleaning is there anything that can be done to the cabinetry on the inside, its all the marine grade plywood, now that i've cleaned it real good it has no luster. Can this be oiled, varnished, something?? Thank you all in advance for your help..
 
When I bought my Yamaha EFI 90 in 2005 (1st year they offered fuel injection in the 90 hp 4-stroke), I actually thought the Suzuki was superior in (one respect) that it had an internally mounted steel chain and sprocket cam drive, as opposed to the Yamaha's external drive fiber belt and notched pulley design. What could be more trouble free than a steel chain with internal oiling, etc.?

Well......

1. the fiber belts have proven themselves in autos,

2. the ability to replace them easily is obvious, and

3. apparently not all chains last forever (did they ever?)

Interesting question:

Notwithstanding a disintegrating chain or belt, which modern four stroke outboards have interference valve designs where the pistons interfere with the valve travel if the valve timing is off?

A broken chain or belt (especially) wouldn't be the end of the powerhead if the design was a non-interference one.

Just curous!

Joe. :teeth :thup


waterdweller1":2o6w4sl8 said:
Hi Andrew! How are things in Port?Thanks for having a peek at our site!Yes,There is good support on the island.I hear that there are great mechanics over your way!
Ok,As to the EFI 90's.
Well,from what My mechanics have told me,is that the EFI 90 has an internal timing chain,instead of an external timing belt.
Apparently the chain is wearing and breaking.When it does,being internal,it goes thru the motor and takes out the powerhead.Apparently this doesnt happen untill you rack up a good amount of hours on the motor.600 plus.(Less than a year for me,and a bunch of the other commercial guys)
Another problem I was told about,but not sure if its a mass problem or a couple isolated incidents is oil pump drive failure.Another one that needs a good amount of hours on it as well.As a result the commercial guys here that are using 90's are getting all the old ones rebuilt and buying up what they can of them,or otherwise,some have left Honda and are going to the 115 Yamaha.
Anyway,I have been cautioned (at least for the business Im in),not to buy the 90 model until its proven and the bugs are out of it.Hopefully Honda will come thru,because I have been real happy with thier service and warrenties on my older motors.
Have a great weekend,all!
Click to expand...
 
DOI,

Those issues have been covered on this site extensively. And yes, there are both products and processes where by you may have a nice shinney new looking boat again. There is a current thread on Scum removal. One on Gel coat scratches and older ones on cleaning waxing and on and on and on and on and .............

Might be better to take those questions to those threads. Go up to the top "title" box and click on search. List in the (I usually use) the top right box, and put in "Gel AND coat AND cleaning" and click search. There may be other ways, that work better, but this is how I do it. There are several products the turn up as favorites.

For my interior, Which was done in teak, I us a "Golden Teak Oil" that really shines things up, about twice a year. Wipe it on and do the whole boat then wipe what didn't soak in off. Takes me about 20 minutes. for my whole interior. For out side, I use McGuires #49 Cleaner and Light compound (I think -- the #49 is right, just not sure of the name) and it works well. I do that by hand so it is a long process, but worth it. It works well, for me. For a covering, I use PTEF. not sure if I think it is great, but it seems to last well. You will find many preferences.

Like I said, check some of those threads, for way more pro quality help than I am on that.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

January_2010_476.thumb.jpg
 
I am curious:

Why are there few Honda outboard dealers in British Columbia as well as other places (for instance San Diego)? On Vancouver Island, specifically Port Alberni, there was a Yamaha dealer, but no Honda dealer. I started to note that there were fewer Honda dealers, and they (such as the one in Oceanside,) had limited parts and service available.

The motors are great, and I found a good dealer/service place. As I said above, just curious.

Also, I've noticed that when you ask for opinions on this side, you get 3 pages of answers. I'm not curious about that.

Boris
 
Back
Top