Outboard Choice, 2010

[Byrdman]

Traveling around a bit I like Yamaha..

If there is a town large enough for both a red light and a boat ramp, more than likely there is a shop with certified Yamaha mechanics and dealerships....and... they back up their dealerships pretty nice for warrantee...and maybe even some just out of warrantee work.

Not saying the others are bad....I do not think there is a bad pick on the list..

Byrdman

[Dreamer]

I have two Honda 150s, voted for Suzuki. When looking at new engines now, I look for weight, alternator output, larger displacement (cubic inches) and dealer service last.

I do most of my own maintenance so the dealer service is secondary. We cruise for weeks at a time mostly rather than fish or day cruise, so the battery charging output is important. If I was outfitting a new TomCat, it would get 2x 175 Suzukis.

The Hondas, by the way, are pretty near flawless.

[matt_unique]

So far I have 260 engine hours and 2500 nautical miles on my Suzuki's without complaint. I would not hesitate to get Honda's if my local dealer service network for Suzuki were not convenient.

[Mike...]

I have two Honda BF150s and a great Honda authorized service center nearby. When I repower down the road (waaaaaaaay down the road, hopefully), I'll probably do Honda again.

And if all goes well, I have all data from these BF150s on the N2K backbone here soon. Then, all them analog gauges are going away.
---
mike

[ramos]

We currently have a Honda and are perfectly happy with it. That being said, it is interesting to see the huge gains Suzuki has made if we were to all buy a new motor today as compared to the original poll.

[Wandering Sagebrush]

It was interesting to see the swing from predominately Honda to a more even balance between Honda and Suzuki, with Yamaha still up there, too.

[stevej]

My ETEC has been great just hitting the 200 hour mark and very pleased with it.
200 hp at 427lbs
NEMA 2000 is a must have these days 2 or 4 stroke
I can troll for salmon all day with it , what a kick 1.6 to 2.4 mph at idle using .16 gph 10 mpg hell I could make it almost half way to Hawaii. Just keep going west past the chicken ranch
Power is a bit scary on flat water but a thing of beauty in the ocean

And the best thing of all It's a two stroke

It really does boil down to dealerships and support. Lot of excellent products out there

[colobear]

We have had Hondas since the boat was new, zero problems, just turned past 700 hours. What I consider normal maint. issues, new impellers, etc.

But, were I repowering today I would very likely go with Suzukis, for the greater alternator capacity and the lower weight. I'd also probably go with two 50's instead of our two 40's.

[mjsiega]

I've had Honda, Suzuki, and Tohatsu 4 strokes, in the small (15 hp and under) sizes and while they were all good, liked the Tohatsu the best. I now have a Mercury 75 hp two stroke with about 400 hours and so far it runs good, only stupid complaints, like an oil tank that leaks from the fill cap. I really like Tohatsu, but they only make 4 strokes up to 30 hp. Greater than 30 hp, they have their low pressure direct injection engines, not sure how those are.

-Mark

[hardee]

Barry Said:

[breausaw]

[Doryman]

[Tommy J]

Unless I missed something, the Honda 40/50's weigh about 29# less (apiece) then the Suzuki 40/50 HP. Thats almost a 60# difference in favor of the Honda.

[Desolation Cruiser]

I'm suprised by the low popularity of the Evinrude E-Tech. Has there been problems with them or are people still a little scared of the reasonably new technology?

[rogerbum]