Which brand?

[20dauntless]

Thanks for the additional info. As a an owner of a Honda 90 with EFI, I'd also like to know what specifically goes wrong.

FWIW, I have spoken with several Honda dealers about this supposed issue and none of them said they had ever heard or dealt with the issue. Granted, they have a stake in ensuring a positive reputation for Honda outboards, but they have known that I already own a BF90D and indicated these have been reliable and trouble free.

I've also tried to track down internet reports of the issue to no avail. This engine has now been available for more than four years, and if there was really a widespread problem with them self destructing around 700-900 hours, there'd be angry owners posting or complaining about it online.

[dave]

I have a 60hp Yamaha on my Alumaweld and a Honda 150 on the Cape Cruiser. The Yamaha is far and away my favorite motor.

[hardee]

I bought my boat used, (barely 80 hours) from a guy in northern California who was setting it up to retire and fish his way to Alaska, and back, many times. It was his 34th boat, and he had been up the inside passage several times. He put TWIN YAMAHA's on it, for duplicate redundancy and durable dependency (Oh no, There he goes again

I think he knew what was doing he was doing and I have had no problems since I got over the initial stale fuel from a long sit in the sunshine.

Harvey
SleepyC

[potter water]

My boat has twin 50 hp Suzuki's that are absolutely terrific. Problem is that the only Suzuki shop is 500 miles away. Fortunately, I'm very good at fixing boat motors and care motors and airplane motors, so I'm comfortable with the Suzy's. However, if I was re-powering I'd be hard pressed not to buy a pair of e-tech's. I have so many friends with good experience with these very simple motors. The weight savings alone is very good and the 22's do get heavy in the back end with 4 strokes. The e-techs are two stroke, but terrific in terms of low polution. They are quieter than the 4's and smooth as silk.

I have a 25hp e-tech on my fishing boat and it snaps your head off out of the hole, even on a fairly heavily loaded boat.

I'd definitely re-power with e-tech. Parts count on those motor is way lower than the 4's.

Just something else to think about when you are talking many many grand in investment.

[My IRA]

The truth is that if you Google Honda 90 FI Outboard Reliability, you will find nothing but but rave reviews. We have a Honda and Yamaha dealer near us and I have posed this question to them and I have also checked with two dealers of both motors in the Portland area. There is no factual evidence that I'm aware of to support the rumors posted. As I stated earlier in another post, I have seen the hour meters on boats in our area with 1000-3000 hours of reliable service on their Honda 90 FI with no premature failures.

I don't have a dog in this fight but would like to have the truth prevail. I know that Honda is a company based on leadership in producing quality durable products for many years. Do any of you really believe that Honda would continue to produce an outboard with documented premature failures for 6 model years, without addressing the issue!

[T.R. Bauer]

I would say that if honda is having those troubles, it would be very easy to document in this day and age. There would be scores screaming from the mountain top about how horrible they are. But, this isn't happening. I don't know if the parts are bad or not; they could very well be. Something though, doesn't make sense. I have a lot of hours on my bf 45s and while they have not been perfect engines, they have been very dependable and good. I think with few exceptions, buying any of the major brand's outboards will likely work out fine. I'd by the one with local support from the local guy, but that is just me.

[richnkay]

My experience with Honda products, including numerous motorcycles, outboards, cars, and generators, has been positive over many years. For me they have been great products and I don't hesitate to go back to them. That being said, if I were to re-power our 25 cruiser from it's present 150 Honda I would probably consider something else based on the scarcity of Honda dealers, parts, and mechanics around our local central NY boating area.

[tomtom1941]

I should chime in here to tell you that I repowered my 25 with a 175 E-Tec last fall.

My boat is fairly heavy. The E-Tec will push it a little past 30 knots. Fuel economy at 6 knots seems very impressive although we haven't taken a long enough trip yet to really test it.

Had a 70 E-Tec on my motor sailer and fuel economy and performance there was my reason for this motor.

Good luck!

Tom

[starcrafttom]

Tom, It does not look like Florida in your photo album???

[tpbrady]

I have owned and worked on:

ETEC 90
Honda 90 EFI
Honda BF150 (2)
Yamaha F150

Of the four I put Yamaha on top for design, engineering, quality, ease of maintenance. I have 802 hours on the Yamaha 150 and inside it looks new. The Honda 150s have 900 hours on them and look like it. Water is able to get under the cowlings of all the Honda I have owned making corrosion control a recurring task. I keep trying to find a corrosion problem on the Yamaha and was finally rewarded with a trim sensor that needed about a hour to remove clean up and replace. That was after 6 years in salt water. The ETEC was the one engine that suffered from design and engineering problems that made maintenance harder than it should be. I work with another boat with twin ETEC 200s that has similar problems not to mention it likes to consume parts, fuel, and expensive oil at a much greater rate than the older Honda 150s running beside it on the same type hull.


Service availability being equal, I would pick Yamaha. I don't have any experience with Suzuki, so can't comment.

[Will-C]

I have had four Yamaha outboards a Hi thrust 4 stroke 10hp, a 4 stroke 2.5 hp dink motor which we still have ,a Saltwater II 115 hp on a previous boat and our current 150hp 4 stroke. Keep good fuel, run ring free on a regular basis and maintain them they will run a longtime has been our experience.
Yamaha's have good corrosion resistance,usually lighter and faster than a comparable Honda.
I have great respect however for Honda in general. We have a Honda Civic,CRV and a couple Honda generators a 2000 watt and a 3000 watt. Plus my wife's Yamaha student model piano. But for a boat motor I'm liking Yamaha no surprises. People come up to us all the time at launch ramps and docks and say I love you boat and that our 150 Yamaha is a good motor. For me that says a lot.
Yamaha outboards in our area at least, have more dealers and I think boats with Yamaha have better resale value because they are so widely accepted.
When I bought my boat, a repected dealer on this site who will remain nameless said don't let them sell you a Suzuki outboard. It was not the dealer I purchased the boat from. I have no exerience with Suzuki but I think they are a good engine, just not for me.
Some folks like the ETEC's but some say that for cruising they emmit a different sound that some find annoying. Some have said the are like a race motor not as nice as a 4 stroke for at least our style of cruising. I do know that being down wind of two stroke exhaust is something I won't ever miss. Where go in Mexico (Holbox and Isla Mujueres) is almost all Yamaha Enduro 2 stroke outboards as the want the simplist of mechanical systems. Yamaha parts are little more expensive but other than that you don't hear too much bad about the brand.
D.D.

[Matt Gurnsey]

Being down wind from an E-Tec is no different than being down wind from a four stroke. The E-tec's are not like the two strokes of old.

We're lucky, that as a dealer we can sell four different lines (Evinrude, Suzuki, Yamaha, and now (ugh) Mercury) so we can fit the right motor to a boat based on customers' use.

[20dauntless]

[Aurelia]

Tom and Susan use that engine but then the 27s are not very numerous.

I had one good Merc, the later 3.5hp unit Oh wait, that was a Tohatsu.

I still cringe a bit when I hear the word "Force" and outboard in the same sentence but I guess Mercs have had their ups and downs and are likely relatively solid these days.

I really look at the details more than the brand personally but I am still brand bias of course. I love the the latest Yamaha 70 and Honda 60 and most dream of boats to mount one or two on.

If you are mechanically handy and willing to carry some basic spares, I think the service availability importance withers away some. We have Hondas on the boat and service options are limited in the south sound. We have made due with our own maintenance and haulouts in the past and paid for a tech to come out once in the beginning. I still wouldn't hesitate to put another honda on a boat down here.

I would like to know more about folks experience with Suzuki outboards. I have never owned one but am driving my 8th Suzuki car and have owned a couple of two wheelers as well with nothing but increasing admiration for the underdog but dependable brand.

[Jazzmanic]