2010 BF60 Idle Adjustment

Hello,
I've got a 2010 BF60 on my 15 foot Whaler Dauntless. It only has 50 hours on it but seems to shake the boat pretty good when idling. The idle speed seems to be within the specified range but I wanted to adjust it up or down 50 or so RPMs to see if it would help with the vibration. Can someone please point me to the idle adjusting screw on this engine? Do I have to do a certain procedure to adjust it (like the auto Honda engines)?
Thank you!

Sorry, I don't have any info on your engine to help you do what you want to do.
But, can't you just throttle it up a few more rpm to see if it smooths out without going through an idle "relearn"?
I would be concerned that it may have a miss or a dead cylinder if it is shaking that badly.
You might want to hook up a timing light to each spark plug wire to see if one might not be firing properly.
Or, take a look at the spark plugs to see if one might be fouled.
Just a couple of thoughts.
Good luck.

Thank you for the reply jgmo.
It doesn't really do it (or I don't notice it) when in gear - only in neutral. It runs great and is very fuel efficient. I don't think there are any serious problems. It's under warranty, so if I don't fix it by adjusting the idle I'll take it in to the dealer.
It just feels like if I drop or raise the RPMs by 50 or so, the rattle will go away. Notice how I said rattle this time instead of shake. I guess the intensity is different to different people. I do notice it when laying on the bow with my head resting on the hull.

Use a pillow and it will not sound so bad....

Sorry, I could not resist.

There is a way to change the idle, but it is in spec, I would not touch it. It is something your dealer should do if necessary.

I have found, one of the biggest problems I have is vibrations on boats when we put Hondas on them. The resonance caused by the engine on various parts of the boats are sometimes remedied by trimming the motor up a little off of full down tilt; tightening up some of the things rattling on the boat; and sometimes even changing the prop. Changing the gear lube to semi synthetic might also help.

Sometimes, the vibration was there before, but it could not be heard due to the loudness of the two stroke motor.

Make sure your prop is tight.

Bottom line....check back with your dealer and see if there is anything that they can do about it. It is evidently bothering you, so see what they can do. They may have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Mike

Thank you for the reply hondadude!
You are right, a pillow would help! I'll try to trim it next time I'm out to see if that helps. The vibration was there before (with the previous 4-stroke BF50) but I expected it to be gone with a new engine.
If that doesn't help and it still bothers me, I'll take it in.

An update to this thread -
I finally took the boat in where I got the engine installed to have them take a look at it. Three days into them having it, I called to inquire and they told me that they could not figure out the issue. A week into them having it, I left a message and got a reply several hours later. Here is what the service manager said. "We couldn't figure it out for a while and later found carbon build-up in the cylinders. We used some de-carb to clean it out. Have you been trolling a lot? Also someone messed with the idle mixture screw so we adjusted it back. So now its running pretty good" Oh and by the way, they are charging me 2 hours labor because Honda warranty won't cover this type of thing....

The engine has 110 hours in about 13 months of use. I have been idling it a lot more lately (I got into fishing recently) but know for a fact that no one has messed with any screws.

Do you guys think I should be changing shops now?

There's a loaded question if ever I saw one.

What we don't have to ponder is; did you take the boat back and try it and like it or not like it? I mean, results can be everything. If, indeed the engine was "carboned" up, what was done to "de-carbon" it?

I really don't think it should be too carboned up even if you had idled it for most of the 110 hours so I would question them as to how they determined that fact. Such as, did they use a borescope to look inside the cylinders? Was the compression too high? Was a valve hung open because of it? Did the carbon bunny come out and talk to them? Don't give them ideas, just ask.

If they are the dealer that sold you the motor and hung it on the boat and got it ready, THEY are probably the party that "messed" with the base idle screw. So, why in the world would YOU have to pay for them putting it back where it belongs?

But, the bottom line is if you are now happy with the way the engine runs and the problem got solved, it might not be an unreasonable charge at all, depending on what exactly it was that they did. If they ran an upper engine cleaner through the intake to knock out the cobwebs and the problem went away, I would say two hours labor MIGHT be in order.

It really doesn't matter what we out here in cyber land think. It's YOU that has to be satisfied. And, if you are not, then you will need to go to bat for your convictions. If you think they are not being honest, you need to call them on it and, yes, take your business someplace else or, at least, get another opinion from a shop that has a VERY good reputation. Which, in the outboard world, can be fairly hard to do. Honda does have a system in place for a regional guy to take a look at your case if you feel ripped off by one of their dealers and getting them involved may be something to consider.

Thank you for the input jgmo. I am picking up the boat tomorrow. If the problem is still there, I will not pay. I will also ask them how they determined that the engine is carbed up.
A couple hundred bucks is not worth spending much time worrying about. I will take my business elsewhere next time. Hopefully it is running well now.

Just another observation based on my experience with the bigger Hondas. If you started trolling before the motor was fully broken in and everything seated properly, then it would have more of a tendency to carbon up due to blow by on the rings. With only 110 hours, this is highly likely. As Jimmy said, if you get it back and all is well, then let it pass. But, regularly use Sea Foam or similar decarbonizer in your fuel and take it out and run at WOT whenever conditions allow. Sea Foam will also keep you fuel feed system clean.

Picked up the boat on Saturday and took it out fishing just outside of Ventura Harbor. Runs smoother but still not completely steady at idle. I paid but will not return to this shop for more work.
Thank you for the replies.

Well, at this point I would just start running hard as possible given sea conditions, and see if it smooths out. A can or two of SeaFoam i the tank IAW directions on the can may help.

Does it still smooth out when you put it in gear at idle?