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Now have to repower, convince me to stay with Honda!

mcgyver

Contributing Member
after my issues with my '05 thrust bearing failure, i have to repower...starting to look at options (honda/yammi/verado) the lack of the abilty to deal with the internals of my engine lead me away from honda (honda doesn't offer a small block at least in Canada) (mercury i could have one the next day.....) honda doesn't offer me the abilty to have my crank machined because they don't offer oversized bearings.... at this point it is coming down to price and warranty and service......I know this is a honda forum but convince me why I should stay in the Honda camp.....
 
Because over all they make the best product. There service parts are 80% less the Yamaha. IE.....Yamaha fuel injectors $245.00 Honda Fuel injectors $43.00

Just purchased a new Complete lower unit for a Honda BF130, cost me $1680.00

If you are going with 4 Stroke outboards, here is my advice, Honda First, Yamaha Second, Mercury Third, Suzuki NEVER.
 
When I went searching for new power back in 2008, I quickly narrowed the search to Honda and Yamaha based onm performance and repitation. Though the internal technologies are somewhat dissimilar, their performance and maintenance was very similar, and their user ratings were very similar. The decision on which to go with boiled down to the dealer I would be working with, their reputation for good service, and their customer satisfaction (from talking with a lot of folks that dealt with one of the dealers or the other.) I picked the Honda dealer, and I am very pleased with the results - good service, good advice, and backed up all needed warranty work, including a block replacement early on (due to a very rare manufacturing defect.) The Yamaha dealer went out of business last year. The Honda dealer is still thriving.

So, in my opinion, if it's between the Honda and Yamaha, pick the best dealer. BTW - I elimiated the Mercury Verado because of a mixed reputation on the engine when it was first introduced.
 
Honda does have a quality product and certainly reasonably priced components. On the other hand the thrust bearing problem on the 115 to 225 has never gone away. Efforts have been instituted to reduce the failure rate however, never a fix. Suzuki builds the most powerful 225 hp on the market today. However the cost of parts is in outer space. Yamaha has the most accepted product line, but I have several of the new 4.2 litre engines making oil with no fix in sight. Mercury certainly builds the fastest with their optimax. So if I were to use all of that info and wanted the best of all worlds I would choose EVINRUDE, check out the new E'TEC. Thanks Martin
 
Talked with a dealer some time ago.-Said that people are now coming in asking for a " simple to own " motor.-----You can not beat a 2 stroke from the 80's and 90's -----sure they use more fuel , but you save on maintenance.
 
Just a comment on the two strokes, having owned quite a few over the years. Yes, maintenance is simpler and cheaper, BUT, they tend to develop issues when not run consistently and often. So many owners haul out and store their boats and motors over the winter without proper prep of the engine, or leave it set for many weeks without using it. In those cases, I think a four-stroke is better choice for several reasons.
 
Selling and repairing five lines of outboards, with the average season being nine months is some what different than in other part's of the country. Being located in the middle of the United States offshore energy market I see failures that go beyond reasonable. Yes, everyone has a favorite, and so do I. Honda would be leaps and bounds ahead of the rest if they would fix, their thrust bearing failure issue. Finally, after ten years of failures did they get off their butt's and fix the gearcase issue on the largest engines. Engineering groups from all manufactures come to my dealership to see and review failures. The funny part about that is, they never want to look at their product. It's always someone else's. I guess I am too pratical, and should stop. I have a Cheveron client that has a pair of 225 Honda's that have over ten thousand hours, of oilfeild destruction. Honda is not the fastest nor the most popular or the most powerful. But what they do have is a high quality outboard, with cast iron liners that can be repaired at very little expense. Thanks Martin
 
martin, well put, thank you. that's the problem though, and all manufacturers have "their" issues, the thrust bearing. why can other manufacturers design a crank system that has loads vertically/axially and not have issues.... maybe because they didn't take an accord/crv engine and turn it on end and expect it to work. should have been a simple change of the thrust bearing (and in industry, there are engines with much larger axial loads than the 2.4Litre) and I agree they have a product that is beyond all others....but that damn thrust bearing...the achilles heel. Every time the engine would make ANY kind of hiccup my first thought would be that damn bearing! Don't know if i can get past that. And I've read that the thrust bearing is suppose to show up within the first 100 hrs or so...not from what I've seen....100, 300, 1000, 1500 hrs makes no difference except in the warranty! To keep customers happy they should take all failures on a cases by case basis but if it is ever the thrust bearing...warranty the thing.
 
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