yamaha vs. honda question

S

slapshot

New member
In the process of buying a 25-foot C-Dory.. Moving over from an Eastern; a nice boat but too limited for our present needs. We have been used to Yamaha engines for some time, but the dealer is offering a nice package with a Honda 135. We know nothing about Hondas save what we read in trade mags; not a big brand at our marina. We can get both engine models serviced locally. Interested primarily in fuel economy, but we occasionally need that little reserve to overcome a tide change or rain-enhanced current. Any help/advice/opinions re: the Honda 135 vs. its Yamaha counterpart would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks.
 
slapshot":1zdaumlo said:
In the process of buying a 25-foot C-Dory.. Moving over from an Eastern; a nice boat but too limited for our present needs. We have been used to Yamaha engines for some time, but the dealer is offering a nice package with a Honda 135. We know nothing about Hondas save what we read in trade mags; not a big brand at our marina. We can get both engine models serviced locally. Interested primarily in fuel economy, but we occasionally need that little reserve to overcome a tide change or rain-enhanced current. Any help/advice/opinions re: the Honda 135 vs. its Yamaha counterpart would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks.
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I bought a "03" 25' cruiser W/130 Honda last spring, Not enough motor for the size. I often wish I had a Yamaha 150 or 200. I have owned both & the Honda will be replaced with a Yamaha.
If you go with Honda get at least the 150. :wink:
Love the boat, just underpowered for my tastes & the way I have it rigged.
Good luck!!!
 
Both are fine engine brands. I would compare the specs including weight, block size, amps produced to run the electrical goodies and charge the batteries, gearing, etc.

Welcome to the site, good luck with your research. One tip - you never regret more horsepower but people often regret too little.
 
I agree that both manufacturers provide good engines. I'm a bit of a do-it-yourself kinda guy and found that Honda Marine and their dealers are very protective of any technical information. I talked to all the Honda dealers in Kentucky, several in Indiana, Ohio and Maryland and none were helpful. Yamaha dealers I talked to were more than happy to share information; Boat Boyz in Ohio - where I bought my kicker - said call us if you have any trouble and we'll walk you through the installation. Quite a difference...

That's my experience. If you're planning on having a dealer do all the work for you, I doubt it makes much difference between the two manufacturers; rather, it'll be the level of experience and management philosophy of the dealer.
 
Hi,
Honda makes great engines, for salt water use on the east coast Yamaha's seem to be more popular. A Florida dealer said he thought Honda's were a little heavier, slower, and had less resistance to corrosion. Florida has higher salinity than the northwest where Honda's seem to be more popular. I'm closer to a Yamaha dealer so I chose Yamaha on our last three boats. I like Yamaha's flushing setup which takes a standard garden hose. Honda used to require you to buy an adapter. I have no idea which motor does better on fuel. I have read on this forum that some the newer Honda's were not holding up and the commerical people were avoiding them. I own no stock in Yamaha but I have had good luck with them. The 150 hp Yamaha is a proven performer and known to be a good motor. I have never heard anyone say much bad about them.
D.D.
 
Yamaha offers a 2.7 L 150 hp ,whereas Honda offers a 2.4 L Accord engine making 135 and 150 hp one has variable valve timing that gives it the extra 15hp in upper rpm .

Suzuki offers 150/175 hp one has VVT the other doesn't

There are a lot of c-25 out there with 135 hp I think most are happy with it. (wild blue)Economy wise you probably will be in the 2.3-2.8 mpg I think others can chime in . Is the VVT really neccasery for that extra 15hp?

If the dealer is giving you a good deal with all the warranties i don't think you can go wrong with any of the newer engines.
 
Having spent a lot of time on a C-Dory 25 powered with a Yamaha 150, I can tell you any smaller motor will be under powered.I am a charter boat Captain and run lots of different boats, the Honda as a general rule is under powered,I would stay away,they make good dependable motors but ,don't have the power they should.
 
I have owned both brands and would agree with most of the comments. I seemed to see more corrosion on the Honda than the Yamaha. The larger displacement is a plus on the Yamaha. I had a 25 with the older 130 and it was marinal. The 135 is a better engine for that boat--and the 150 gives a better top end speed, and a bit faster on plane. I would choose Yahama of the two. However, I only own Suzuki currently. The 150 Suzuki will allow a larger diameter prop, as well as a different gearing, and I think it is in some ways a better engine. But if you consider Suzuki--go with the 150, not the 140, which is a considerably smaller block. You cannot go wrong with any of the modern engines.
 
If I were to repower my Tom Cat (not anytime soon), I would replace my Yamaha 150s with Suzuki 150s, maybe 175s. I like my Yamahas but everything I have heard here tells me that the Suzukis will give me better performance.

When I repower my 22, I am leaning strongly toward the new Yamaha 70, based on RedFox's good experience with it, weight, price, etc. I'd add a 8 hp Yamaha high-thrust kicker.

I would not buy another Honda. I had a Honda 130 on my Hewescraft and two Honda 40s on my 22. Do not like either of them, and like others have said, don't like the proprietary attitude of the dealers.

Warren
 
We have a 135 Honda on our 23 Venture and have cruised many thousands of miles with no problems. We recently had an issue with some bad fuel but I suppose that can happen with any motor. We have 2 honda ATV s 2 honda generators and have had a motorcycle and an Accord(same block as 135).I guess you can tell we like em.
Having said that both are top quality motors.
 
One other thing that you might want to consider is the power to weight ratio. For the 22 weighing 1925 lbs for just the boat with a 115 HP it would be 16.74 lbs per HP. With the 25 at 3600 lbs for the hull with a 135 it would be 26.66 lbs per HP. You would need a 200 HP to get to 18 lbs per HP. I'm just using the weight of the boat as a comparison. When you look Fuel capacity and motor weights and the fact that you can carry more crap the numbers will move around a bit. I use my boat at altitude and it works fine, but at Strawberry and Yellowstone you can feel a big difference in the way the boat runs. Changing props helps but you never get back the HP that you lose. If you read some of the Lake Powell threads you can see where the folks with 25's and the 135 were trying find the right props to get some kind of performance out of their boats. That being said if your plan is never to run at altitude the motor will work fine, but I think it needs to be bigger.
 
Note that the only difference between the Honda 135 and 150 is the performance over 4000 RPM. The 150 changes it's valve timing over that RPM so as to produce more HP. 10% at 5500 RPM. Other than that, mechanically they're identical.

The way we run Journey On the 135 would have been the smarter choice, but being a SoCal hot-rodder, I went for the biggest HP. What's another $1000 for more HP?

Selecting between the Yamaha, Honda 135 and 150, I'd go for the price. Honda (or the dealer) may be giving a rebate on that engine. As you can see from the above comments, they're all good. Just make sure that they service the engine where you bought it.

Boris
 
Service is key, and your choice of the motor dealer is probably at least as important as the motor brand.

It's vitally important to buy the motor locally, from a dealer you expect to have a long-term service relationship with. When you call for a service appointment, the first question they will probably ask is "did you buy it here?"...and if the answer is "no", the conversation goes downhill fast.

Many over-booked service departments give first priority to their own engine customers...all others often get placed in a long queue.

I first learned this painful lesson with both Honda and Yamaha motorcycles...both were purchased out-of-area, and local service was almost impossible to get on a timely basis...the Honda dealer actually had a sign that said "we only service what we sell", despite that being in violation of Honda warranty policy which allows "roaming".
 
You guys aren’t making me feel so good about the Honda 90 I just purchased for a repower. My nearest marine dealer of any brand is 100 miles one direction and 130 miles the other direction, so service was not that big of a consideration. Fuel economy and quiet operation were top on our list.

Kev
 
If you are into networks and the like, the Yamaha is NMEA 2000 compliant meaning with some cabling and connectors, you can show some engine data on NMEA 2000 compliant multifunction displays. With Hondas you have to use Honda gauges. I currently have my engine data running to a Raymarine C-80 and to Coastal Explorer.
 
Kev, that Honda is a good engine and you'll enjoy it. The Honda 150 on Journey On has done well, hasn't had any problems and gets the same gas mileage as the other motors. The weight difference is in the eye of the beholder.

Service up to 450 Hrs:
Replace spark plugs @ 200 hrs (cause the manual says so, plugs looked great. I'll not do that again, since those plugs are $12 ea and are guaranteed in a car for 100K miles.)

~400 Hrs: Got new control electronics to fix a recall.

350 hrs: new impeller, old looked great.

Changed engine oil, gearcase oil regularly.

Important thing is to change all three fuel filters (for EFI): external, internal low pressure and internal high pressure. I do this about every other year. Doesn't affect engine life but sure affects performance.

I've owned a few Yamahas and got rid of them because they weren't too fast. Handled well though.

Boris
 
I bought a 25 Cruiser last fall with a Yamaha 200 HPDI two stroke. I mainly compared it to the Honda 150 four stroke. I always power my boats with the largest motor that it is rated for believing that if I need the power I want to have it. The Yamaha with 50 more HP still weighed 125lbs less than the Honda. I like that a lot. It also cost between 2 and 3 thousand dollars less. I like that a whole lot. The 4 stroke gets better gas mileage but not by that much. The 4 stroke is quieter at idle, much like a car, but there is little difference at cruising speed and beyond. The Yamaha comes out of the hole and onto plane very nicely (and I'm comparing it to a bass boat with a 225 hp motor). I am told that the Yamaha HPDI "does not like to troll", I fish alot but never troll. I am on the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay and just got back from a week in the Keys. I love the motor.

And finally, top speed is 37mph by GPS. (Need smooth water for that!)

:shock: :D :shock: :D

Hope this helps,
 
I'm sure that the Yamaha 200 hp engine is a very good engine. I also try to get the most HP I can, so I think that's great. The following weighs are all from the factory specs, on their web sites.

The Yamaha 200 is a V-6 that weighs 593 lbs.

The Honda 150 is an in-line 4 that weighs 478 lbs. This is the motor Journey On has.

The Honda 200 is a V-6 which weighs 588 lbs.

The Suzuki 200 weighs 580 lbs.

All are for a 25" transome height. All those 4-strokes weigh about the same.

My Yamahas had 2 wheels and were for the desert.

Boris
 
I have heard many boat owners comment that they wish their boat had more power, but have rarely if every heard one say they wish their boat had less power. I for one wish I had a 115hp vs. my 90hp Honda, but money spent for that upgrade just doesn’t make sense.

Spend the money now for the extra hp; it will save you a lot of mental anguish and wishful thinking later on.

I have never bought an outboard, car, truck, boat, plane, bike, motorcycle, snowmachine, etc, etc based on the availability or quality of service, that’s just me. I do all my own maintenance and minor repairs, and if push comes to shove I’ll crunch into the bullet and find someone who knows how to fix the dang thing.
 
Boris, the Yamaha 200 weight you quote is for the four stroke I believe. The engine that Joe Fish has is an Yamaha HPDI 200, which is much lighter I believe.

Yamaha's HPDI series is a direct injected two stroke, similar in concept to Mercury Optimax, Evinrude FICHT (and ETEC), Tohatsu TLDI, etc.
 
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