Warren,
I only rated what I have direct experience with. If there were a way for us to collectively agree on a rating scale we could run a master list of ratings. I have looked under the cover of some Suzukis and they seem to be well designed, I just don't have any experience with them, the same for Mercury. When I compare the 150 Hondas on a charter boat I own to the Yamaha 150 on my CD25, there are some notable differences. I get almost no water ingress under the cowling on the Yamaha, but it is a constant issue with the Hondas as it leads to corrosion. I haven't found the source, the cowling is tight, but after every trip there are water droplets inside. The Yamaha after almost 700 hours looks new inside. I've treated a couple of bolt heads with Corrosion X but that is all. The Hondas with about 900 hours have to be treated with Corrosion X on a recurring basis. The ETECs have the same problem with water ingress as well.
I only rated what I have direct experience with. If there were a way for us to collectively agree on a rating scale we could run a master list of ratings. I have looked under the cover of some Suzukis and they seem to be well designed, I just don't have any experience with them, the same for Mercury. When I compare the 150 Hondas on a charter boat I own to the Yamaha 150 on my CD25, there are some notable differences. I get almost no water ingress under the cowling on the Yamaha, but it is a constant issue with the Hondas as it leads to corrosion. I haven't found the source, the cowling is tight, but after every trip there are water droplets inside. The Yamaha after almost 700 hours looks new inside. I've treated a couple of bolt heads with Corrosion X but that is all. The Hondas with about 900 hours have to be treated with Corrosion X on a recurring basis. The ETECs have the same problem with water ingress as well.
