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How Good is the BF20 ?

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2cylpropulsion

New member
Hello,I just joined and ordered a new BF20D3SH from the web. I read some bad reviews (about 5)...few in number and don't know what percentage of the population of this model they would represent. [Cam pulley and valve mostly]

I've owned 5 Civics and a Honda lawnmower (all worked well) but not other of their products.

I realize any product line will have some problems and assume the BF20 is overall a reliable engine.

Thank you for any replies you may want to offer.
 
2cylpropulsion said:
Hello,I just joined and ordered a new BF20D3SH from the web. I read some bad reviews (about 5)...few in number and don't know what percentage of the population of this model they would represent. [Cam pulley and valve mostly]

I've owned 5 Civics and a Honda lawnmower (all worked well) but not other of their products.

I realize any product line will have some problems and assume the BF20 is overall a reliable engine.

Thank you for any replies you may want to offer.
Click to expand...

MANY different motorcycles, 2 CRV's, a Pilot, lawnmowers here as well.

I've found I like the Honda outboards just as well as the other products.....
 
Hi,
I worked on BF20D outboards for several years. Most were in a fleet of rental pontoon boats. Those outboards suffered more abuse than any others I've ever seen.

From no recorded maintenance until I came along to groundings, collisions and you name it, they took it all in stride.

I liked the BF20D so much, I bought one and still have it. It's a 2006. While yours is a short shaft tiller model and much newer than mine, I would expect the same quality from Honda to have carried over. Honda seems to always produce superior products whether they be cars (got one) lawn mowers (got one) roto tillers (yep) or any of their machines.

I personally rate the BF20D as THE BEST twin cylinder outboard out there.

It does have what some might call a weakness and that is the carburetor.
The carb is designed for delivering top performance with great fuel economy and low emissions. As a result, it is from a family of carburetors manufactured by Keihin that are constructed with very small fuel passages. If the carburetor isn't fed clean, fresh fuel and then kept clean inside by draining the bowl prior to not being used for a month or more, it can give problems and be difficult to get clean.

However, if you go in knowing that and do your due dilligance as an owner then problems will be few.

I hope you enjoy owning your Honda 20 as much as I have mine.
 
Oh, they will tolerate ethanol no problem but ANY "pump" fuel is going to harbor some water content from condensation and I have seen older and poorly maintained in-ground tanks that leak and are allowed to get very low on fuel. When that happens, ground water can enter through.the defect. Since the pickup is located at the bottom, it picks up the water. And, I believe, the protection and alarm devices are often overridden.

Water contains minerals that will fall out of solution and those minerals are the primary contaminant that disable these carbs.

So, besides being careful about where you buy fuel and using it up in a timely manner, you should utilize the the nice built-in carb drain that Honda provides with that outboard.

Hint: avoid pump fuels at lakes and marinas if possible. Especially remote facilities.

It's funny but it seems that many in-ground tanks located on county and state properties seem to get less "oversight" than you might think. I've done repairs at one lake that wouldn't allow their employees to use their pump gas in their rentals or support vehicles. They would drive 20 miles to fill gas cans to run their equipment but they would pump gas to private boaters all day long. I know for a fact that they had copius amounts of water in the gas at times.

At least that's what I've observed.

Good luck
 
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