Honda 2.3 hp 4 stroke

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Like many here, I have gone to a Suzuki 2.5 versus the Honda with centrifugal clutch. I would have preferred a long shaft engine, but the Suzuki is worlds better (for us) than the Honda.

[Dora~Jean]

I have a 1988 Yamaha 3HP with neutral/forward gear shift, 2-stroke, bought it new (27 yrs ago!). So far, this has been the perfect motor for our uses. I have mounted it on numerous dingys over the years, from small to medium, pushing up to 7 people in the dingy, strong winds, rough seas too. I think it weighs about 33 lbs, don't quote me. It still has the ORIGINAL spark plug. I tend to run 50-75:1 gas to oil ratio, 100:1 recommended. Oh, and the motor is VERY quiet, most people remark as I go by.

I'm not trying to sell Yamaha or this size, not even sure it is still sold, but it has been by far the best motor I've ever owned and the reason I have twin Yami 80's on my CD25. They have also been excellent.

Short story why I selected this motor back in 1988. I had owned small Mercs, Johnson, Evinrude (same motor as Johnson) and a few others. Last was a 4HP Evinrude, 2-stroke, twin cylinder, built in tank, called a Gnat. I fought that motor for it's first year of life, never started well, always a pain, 15-20 pulls generally. I had a friend that bought his at the same time, different dealer, he had better luck, but nearly the same problems starting until he used a separate tank and primed the gas each time, then only about 5+ pulls. Nice motor when it ran. But I was afraid in any kind of emergency my wife would never be able to start the motor and fiddle with the lean/rich control to keep it running. That lean/rich control was absolutely necessary when the temperature or humidity changed from morning to afternoon to night. What a pain.

So on a whim, I went to a Yamaha dealer 35 miles away just to check them out because I had seen some on the water. I looked at the 3HP (and others), the dealer assured me the 3HP would suffice for my needs after I explained what I wanted it to do. I asked where the lean/rich control was, he said there isn't any, doesn't need it! Wow! Then I asked how many pulls generally to start it from a cold condition. He said when they pull them out of the box (in front of the customer no less), if it starts on 1 pull, it's a good engine. If it starts on 2 pulls, it's OK, but barely. If 3 pulls, it goes back in the box and is shipped back to the factory. I was impressed. Bought one on the spot, $650. He took me around back, opened the box, put gas in it, placed it in the test tank, pulled the choke out, 1 pull and it started. I nearly fell over, honestly! He said, yep, typical, a good engine, it will serve you well.

And it has. I've had the typical dirt in the carburetor problems, replaced a puny gas filter with a Honda filter(!), replaced the water impeller and differential oil every couple of years, plastic gas tank broke about 4 yrs ago, bought a replacement. Float valve hardened with the Methanol additives about 10 yrs ago, bought a new one. Other than that, zippo problems. It probably has 500-1000 hrs on it, not sure. I like that it's a 2-stroke, much simpler engine than a 4-stroke for the salt environment, although that would not swing a change to a new 4-stroke.

If/when this engine ever dies, I'll look closely at the Suzuki 2.5HP 4-stroke. I've been around several of them on the water, it looks and runs like a sweet engine.

[bridma]

I have the Suzuki 2.5. Love it, incredible little motor. Runs all day on a table spoon full of gas. Also one of the lightest on the market weight wise.

Martin.