Why a Honda 40, four stroke motor?

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Why a Honda 40, four stroke motor?

The 2007 Cruiser that we just purchased has a Honda 40, four stroke motor, so did the 2006 Angler that we just sold.

The Honda 40, four stroke motor did a wonderful job on the Angler, quick to plane with plenty of power, would I assume the same or similar performance on the Cruiser?

This 16 Cruiser (and I assume Anglers) are rated for motors up to 55 HP, at the same time it seems that there is a preference for Honda 40, four stroke motors on 16’ CD’s instead of a larger motor, any ideas why?

Regards,

Ron Fisher
 
I would guess if they were factory or dealer installed less inventory has to be a thought. The dealer also stocks less parts,props etc. I'm my thinking the extra 15 hp is a great idea but the the Honda 40 is a proven performer. I wonder if there were that many 55 hp four stroke engines available in earlier times. The four strokes are quieter, smell nicer, don't require separate two stroke oil and easier on the environment. I guess the ETEC motors were a big improvement but four strokes in general seem to be more popular.
D.D.
 
I think it is because it is tested, tried, and proven to work well on the boat. However, there are a lot of them with Honda 50s.....basically the same thing but costs more money. I'd love to have a CD 16.
 
The 40 is perfectly adequate for either 16 footer, cruiser or angler. We had a Honda 40 on a cruiser and now have a Honda 50 on an angler. I don't understand the technical differences between the two. From my non tech perspective I think the 50 achieves cruising speed (for us about 12-14mph) just a little bit quicker. We could go faster (over 25 mph) with the 50, but have essentially never wanted to. That said, I'll bet it's easier to resell a 16 with a 50 than with a 40, even though there's probably no logical reason for it except for the "bigger is better" meme.
 
If I recall, the Honda BF40 and BF50 are the same block but there's a slight difference in cam, valve size and carb on the BF 50 that give it the extra HP (for a little more money). Honda's never made a 55HP but Yamaha and Evinrude have.

As for why Honda? That's a combination of things. They are good engines with proven reliability. However (and perhaps more importantly), when the factory was equipping many of the boats themselves, they were a Honda dealer so many of the boats came with Hondas. Also, in the PacNW where many of the boats were sold, there are more Honda dealers so again many boats came with Hondas. Also, for either a 40 or 50HP 4-stroke, the Hondas were the lightest.

As for why 40HP and not 50HP? I think it was just that many didn't feel that the additional cost of the extra 10HP was justified or needed as most C-Dory boat owners rarely operate at the high end of the throttle and our nearly flat bottom boats plus typical water conditions often don't permit us to operate at the high end anyway.
 
From reading past threads on this the 40 & 50 both develop the same torque with the 50 adding the extra 10 hp through its ability to make more rpm from the changes Roger described. For me the torque is the most important & the increased rpm of the 50 not worth the additional cost as Roger stated.

Jay
 
If I understand correctly, the earlier 40's and 50's had different torque curves -- whereas the current (post fuel-injection) ones are more "the same" but for the extra 10 horsepower. So as long as you don't mind spending a bit more, there's no "downside" to the 50 on the fuel-injected engines.

However on the older engines there may have been more of "a reason" to go with the 40 vs. the 50 (if one wanted that specific torque curve, which apparently at least on the 22, suited a typical use perhaps a bit better).

Sunbeam
(Who does just occasionally daydream about a pair of Honda 40's or 50's on the transom :note)
 
Well “DUH”, take a look at the 16’ Angler or Cruiser specifications at c-dory.com and notice “Engine Recommendation: Single 40 HP”

Regards,

Ron Fisher
 
My old 1991 Johnson 40 on Crabby Lou still runs great, but the power tilt seems to be failing. If I were looking at repowering, not sure what I would get now. Maybe a Johnson 50 e-tec. I am hoping Gator at West Coast Marine can fix the tilt without breaking the bank...I might call on Monday and see about that.
 
This is semi-random trivia, but on the subject of the Evinrude E-Tec 40...

When I was shopping for a 22, I was hoping to find one with twins. Most of the boats I looked at with twins had Hondas, and a couple had Yamahas. One had twin ETEC 40's, and so - like I did with the other engines - I looked up the specs. Since one of the (rightful) claims to fame of the ETEC 90 is its light weight, I was expecting the 40 to be light too. But oddly, it's rather "heavy" for its size, coming in at 250-260 lbs. I guess somehow the lightness didn't scale down.

Evinrude ETEC 40 = 250#-260#
Honda 40 and 50 = 215#
Yamaha 40 = 214#-223#
Suzuki 40 and 50 = 229#

(Yamaha 50 = 249#, but it has an additional cylinder so not really in same class)

Not that weight is everything, but, like I said, I was just surprised when I looked them up. And with twins, it meant even more at, say, 430# for a pair of Hondas vs. 500# -520# for a pair of ETECs :shock: In contrast, an ETEC 90 would be 320# vs. my Yamaha at 369# or a Honda at 359#, so it's definitely "light."

Sunbeam :hot
 
Sunbeam":znqx4jry said:
This is semi-random trivia, but on the subject of the Evinrude E-Tec 40...

When I was shopping for a 22, I was hoping to find one with twins. Most of the boats I looked at with twins had Hondas, and a couple had Yamahas. One had twin ETEC 40's, and so - like I did with the other engines - I looked up the specs. Since one of the (rightful) claims to fame of the ETEC 90 is its light weight, I was expecting the 40 to be light too. But oddly, it's rather "heavy" for its size, coming in at 250-260 lbs. I guess somehow the lightness didn't scale down.

Evinrude ETEC 40 = 250#-260#
Honda 40 and 50 = 215#
Yamaha 40 = 214#-223#
Suzuki 40 and 50 = 229#

(Yamaha 50 = 249#, but it has an additional cylinder so not really in same class)

Not that weight is everything, but, like I said, I was just surprised when I looked them up. And with twins, it meant even more at, say, 430# for a pair of Hondas vs. 500# -520# for a pair of ETECs :shock: In contrast, an ETEC 90 would be 320# vs. my Yamaha at 369# or a Honda at 359#, so it's definitely "light."

Sunbeam :hot
Click to expand...

Sunbeam-

Yes, the ETEC does seem heavy by about 20-40 pounds over the others, which is really puzzling, considering the ETEC does't have the valve train that usually makes the 4-strokes considerably heavier than the 2's.

I wonder if they're using a larger displacement powerhead from a higher hp motor adapted down, or if the lower end being used is from a larger hp motor?

I know manufacturers do such things to save development and tooling costs and to consolidate and simplify production.

Perhaps one of our participating dealers like Matt, Marc, or Les, that handle several different brands of outboards would know the answer to this.

Of course, other than the weight, a particularly robust powerhead or lower drive unit would actually be a real plus in some or many situations, so might well make up for the weight disadvantage. (!) Such thinking would also apply to the 90 hp models from various manufacturers, as well as the rest of the various power ranges.

Don't dispair about your single Yamaha 90 at 369#. I have one too, and it's a great engine, so reliable that twins don't seem necessary or certainly not worth twice the upkeep/service cost.

With the reliability found in modern 4-stroke outboards, twin motors on most boats are about as necessary as twin exhausts on a car. But if you HAVE to have them, enjoy……………and don't forget the fuzzy dice, too! :lol:

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Sea Wolf":1ckwxel1 said:
[ I have [a Yamaha] too, and it's a great engine, so reliable that twins don't seem necessary or certainly not worth twice the upkeep/service cost.
Click to expand...

Good to hear you've had good service from your Yamaha. Chris from Rana Verde also spoke highly of his. 'course that said, it seems like all the brands are very good these days so you can't really go wrong. I guess that's why I ended up noticing the weights - because they do vary.

I do actually still have two engines, since the boat came that way. They're "fraternal twins" though, since one is a Yamaha 80hp and the other a Honda 8hp :mrgreen:

Sunbeam
 
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