Honda Top Mount Premium Control Does not stop in Neutral

I have a 2002 BF225 with the top mount "Premuim" remote control and from the beginning, I have noticed that this control does not force the operator to pause in neutral, that is, if not operated carefully, it can shift directly from forward to neutral to reverse in one motion, which would allow an inexperienced operator to shift too quickly from forward into reverse. I have avoided doing this by my experience, but I have a teenager who is wanting to learn to drive the boat and I expect there will be a day when it is shifted too quickly and damage resulting.

This control does not have a neutral lock button or lever, but I have called Honda and they say it is not supposed to allow you to shift directly from forward to reverse without forcint you to stop in neutral. When the cover is removed, there are two setscrews on the top of the shift mechanism and I am wondering if these are out of adjustment.

The control works well in all other aspects.

Thanks for any ideas.

Someone at Honda was smoking something funny. There is no lock in neutral on that control. There is only a detent. It doesn't stop you from doing anything.

Generally, this becomes a problem when the shifting is hard to come out of gear and it is pushed too hard one way and accidentally goes into the other gear. I sounds like you already know that though.

Make sure that shifting out of gear is done after the engine settles down to idle speed. Also make sure the the shift cables are not wire tied or connected to anything at least 18 inches from the shifter and the engine.

Basically, the shift cables have to stay loose coming out of motor or shifter. If they are held tight, shifting becomes harder...especially going out of gear.

The two set screws on top of the shifter are full throttle stop and reverse throttle stop adjustments.

MIke

Hondadude,

Many thanks. I was trying to figure out how a neutral stop would work on that shifter without a neutral handle. Two Honda techs have vehemently said that this control would not let you shift directly from Forward to Reverse.

Depending on how much I want to pursue this problem, I was thinking about purchasing and installing the S Model control, which is a top mount from the early 2000's era my motor is from, but which does have the neutral lock handle. The link to this control is here:

http://greatlakesskipper.com/en_us/...e-top-mount-boat-remote-control-w-trim-switch

It is an obsolete control, but it does have the neutral lock, unlike any of the presently produced top mount controls.

I did not know if anyone had any experience with this S control or why it is no longer produced. I am not sure if I would have to purchase new control wires, but I assume I would.

Many thanks for your ideas and clarification.

The S control was not as smooth operating as the Premium control. It did seem to cause shifting problems, expecially when it came to working with the 90 HP. It was and is still made by Teleflex. I think it is called SL-1. It does lock in neutral.

All I can say is...when we had shifting issues with the S control installed, we changed it to a Premium and the shifting issues went away.

Teleflex also has a little nicer shifter, but has similar guts, that would connect the same way as the SL-1. Here is the installation manual location so you can see what is involved. http://www.seastarsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/CH1700_7500_7600_instruction_manual.pdf

The S model footprint is a little smaller than the Premium control, so you might have to make an adapter plate to fit over the Premium control's hole.

The newer version, above might be a better fit...although, probably more expensive. You should do very a close comparison before you make your decision.

Here is the template for the Premium mount. Hope this helps.

Mike

The side mount Premium control does have lockin neutral. Maybe that is what the others were thinking.

Mike

Hondadude,

This is a perfect solution, and your help has given me a direction to solve this problem. For about $400, I can make this change and feel a little better about the gears not getting ripped out of the motor, which would be a 1500-2000 ordeal.

It is hard to understand why Honda would not offer the neutral interlock on the top mounts, or why their techs are clueless even though I explained exactly which control I had, but this Teleflex will make a great unit and it looks like I can use the same control wires already installed.

Thanks again.

whh333

In the techs' defense...many techs never actually rig a motor from scratch. Majority of dealers have the motors prerigged on the boat at the factories. Since, in general, Hondas never have an issue, they may never really have the opportunity to install one.

We are so small here, we do it both ways...and do a lot of repowering.

Make sure you read the directions carefully, when it comes to where to connect the control cables to the control. You will have to remove the ends at the engine before you put in the shifter, then make any necessary adjustments at the engine.

Mike

Will do.

A million thanks for getting me past this dilemma.

whh333

Regarding the top mount type DBW shifter (without a neutral lockout lever) ...what happens when the engine is on, warming up in neutral at dock and your grandchild says "what's this for" and rams the lever forward - or any number of things that could happen to inadvertently move that lever suddenly into gear - with serious consequences? My new (used - 2020) Bennington 25 tritoon with Honda BF250 runs fast and is responsive and its shifter has smooth action with subtle detent in all the right places including neutral, but no lock. I've been around and/or owned boats for 50 years and never saw a small boat throttle without a neutral lockout button or lever. This seems like a safety oversight but I must be missing something.

Tom