Honda BF2

[sailor-d]

Thinking of replacing my Yamaha 2hp, 2 stroke with a Honda BF2, 2hp, 4 stroke. Primary use is on my tender, an Avon Redstart inflatable. I see the Honda is air-cooled - any noise level issues? Anything good, bad or ugly about this motor?

thanks - Dave

[Chuckpacific]

It's a great one....the only disadvantage (which I imagine holds true for any 2 hp engine) is the self-contained tank which doesn't really last for any extended periods of time. I've had mine almost ten years.

Chuck

[Valkyrie]

Dave,

We've had a Honda 2 for about 8 years and love it. It was first bought to power our canoe, so we have the long shaft model. Since then we have also used it on our Achilles LT-4, which also calls for a long shaft.

It is bit noisy, but not nearly as bad as our old Cruise 'n Carry 2.7 HP. Also, the Honda seems to run forever on a tank of gas pushing the canoe at half throttle. We carry a gallon can of gas though.

We would buy another one with no hesitation.

Nick
"Valkyrie"

[Grumpy]

Dave,
We have one and it has had no problems in 1 year of service. Good feature of the aircooling is that you can run the carb dry prior to storing without needing a water tank or "ears".
Noise is nominal. Power is what it is. (it just runs at WOT all the time)
Ours probably needs a service now as it has some bloody mindedness about hot starts.

Possible critique for me is that my mooring is a long way from launch site and the gas tank is so small so you have to take a small tank with you to be safe. Not a biggie but it would be nice if it offered the option of connection to a big tank.

Merv

[C-Hawk]

I have one that I use on the dink. It is noisy. It is good for getting back and forth from the dock, but------- I got stuck in the current a couple of times. Would like a little more power in those situations. I also carry a gallon can of fuel when tooling around the harbor.
It was running when I flipped the dink in the surf a few years ago- sucked up a lot of seawater. Took it home and drained the fuel and oil, removed the spark plug and carburetor. Sprayed WD40 in the spark plug hole and pulled the cord a few times. Disassembled the carb and blew it out with compressed air. Reassembled everything and it still runs great.

[lloyds]

Same experience as roger. Got hit by some extreme afternoon winds in BC. Was towing the dinghy with the sailboat. Dinghy lifted off like a kite, spun about 20 times and landed upside down. I assumed the motor was gone so continued to tow it for a couple hours till I was in a sheltered area. The motor was still there. Opened it up, WD 40'd it good, changed oil and gas and used it. No problem. Tough little buggers. But noisy, bad vibration, obnoxious at anything other than idle. That quart of fuel or whatever it holds will run for probably 4 hours or so. I would like to try the one with the clutch and see what they are like.

[Chivita]

Dave,

We have used the BF2 with our 7'11" inflatable for the last two years. Our observations are as follows.

Good:
Light weight, easy for me to hand up from the inflatable to my 5'2" wife standing in the cockpit. My 11 year old could probably take it as well. We place ours on the lip of the splash well when we are not using it as you can see in our photo album

Will power the small inflatable with three adults or two adults, two kids and a 40# dog in mellow water, of course hull speed is, oh, maybe 1 knot with this load. Have not tried this in a fast current, spouse won't allow such nonsense

Since there is no reverse, the motor rotates 180 degrees making it very manuverable

As stated before, very easy to clear the fuel out of the carb and we do this at the end of every trip.

Starts quick when it is cold.

Things that might stand some improvement
Our throttle is VERY touchy, takes some getting used to as ours either idles or takes off. Remember this when you are first getting used to things before spouse reminds you of the last time you forgot

Ours is a real pain to start when it is warm. I should probably take it in for service. Remember this too when you push off from shore and then expect it to start up immediatley. Can get interesting when a bear is coming down to check out if you taste like chicken. In such incidences be prepared for no physical assistance from spouse, she can be found hanging off bow. Spouse will however offer verbal assistance and at a volume level higher than any known outboard every manufactured. As such, listening for motor to start will do you no good, instead look for propeller movement. Remember touchy throttle though or you will find yourself on your head in 1 foot of water with boat and spouse headed to sea. Bear at this point will have sat down in amazement trying to decide if you are contagious

Would I buy a Honda or a Yamaha?
Well, I have twin Honda's on the stern, Honda Gen, Honda snowblower, Honda quads and Honda bikes. Honda realized early on that I had landed on my head one too many times falling off early Honda dirtbikes. I'm also afraid to bring ANYTHING other than a Honda into this mess. If it were not for my concern for angering the Honda spirits, I would be as happy with a Yamaha as a Honda. This is not a genetic ailment, my father has all Yamaha, go figure.

The only challenge I have with Honda is that they don't make snowmobiles and, you guessed it, we live in Alaska.

[oldgrowth]

[Doryman]

FWIW, Jim King from Alaska Series Inflatables recommended the 2hp Honda for use with his 8'10" tender. Incidentally, he told me his booth at the SBS this year would be in the East Hall, maybe #1509 -- he wasn't sure.

Warren

[Grumpy]

Chivita,

Thanks for reminding me about that little quirk where you start it up and the rpm is high enough to engage the clutch which tends to drive you up the beach or stretch the Admiral's arms.

Another little trick I was told is to file a notch in the throttle twist grip with the location of the cold start position because the stupid little label disappears after a while thereby enhancing the probability of the above trick.
I might have to use the dink on Saturday as I run safety boat on a sailboat race, (keeping the polar bears away).

Merv

[thataway]

I had one and although I really love Honda products found two problems with the 2 hp,and went to a Merc (Tohutsu) 3.5. First was the centrifical clutch--had to rev up too much, could not idle along side a boat in the current or wind--Second is that 2hp is not enough for an inflatable if there is significant wind. Once I almost didn't get in the wind shadow of the boat--and would have been carried far away, because the 2 hp was not enough to push against the wind. As long as you either have a manual clutch or don't go in windy areas--it is a great motor. (but this is a personal preference issue)

[hughpenk]

I recall coming into the maria and noticing EVERYBODY on the docks standing up to see what the heck that noise was, briggs and stratton lawn mower? It is loud. The forty seems quieter.

[mmitchell]

We purchased one in the fall and feel for the price it has been a very reliable motor (as all Honda's seem to be) The noise was our only concern and brought it back to the dealer to make sure that maybe there wasn't an exhaust problem. They checked it out to find out it was operating properly. We enjoy the light weight but the noise is our only complaint. It is not the most peaceful engine on the market when anchored in a quite cove in Prince William Sound.

[Flyer]

Look at the Yamaha 2.5 its a superior product. Its probably about 10 years ahead of the Honda. I used one for a season and it worked well, then they fixed my outboard and I had to give the Yamaha back to the shop. I have recently purchased a 4 hp Yamaha.

[Dora~Jean]

Speaking of Yamaha...I have a 19 yr old, 3HP that I've had since new. Can't tell you all the 'adventures' its had but 98% of its life has been in saltwater, flushed after every trip of course, never 'rogered' though. It has forward and neutral, starts on first or second pull after sitting for 3 or 4 months, runs like it was new -- still. And quiet, people can't believe it's a 2-stroke. Weighs under 25 lbs (need to verify). Perfect dink motor for me, portabote or raft.

Just my 2c.