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| Getting ready to purchase a new boat. But one of the choice boats has a Honda 90. I was set on either a Merc Optimax or Yamaha. What are your opinions on the Honda vs the other two?
Thanks,
Guide |
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Posts: 618
Location: Bloomington, MN | I love my Honda, but it is a 40. The Honda 90's are heavy for their class, but very reliable and quiet. If you like quiet, avoid the Opti. |
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Posts: 298
Location: Not where I want to be! | I had a 30 honda on my second boat, worst motor I ever owned (2003 model). Started hard after a few days of no use, was hard on gas, needed a water pump after two years. Consider Yamaha or Suzuki. |
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Posts: 3480
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | The new honda BF90 was reviewed a couple years ago by Bass and Walleye boats magazine. It got really good reviews and with the VTec Engine (same design as in some of their cars) was at the top of it's class with fuel economy, and when the throttle is punched, would do really well (if memory serves me correctly on that). I wouldn't hesitate to own one....in fact, it would be one of the first choices for a 4 stroke engine if I had to go 4 stroke as my only option.
Weight isn't something I would say to be too concerned with because a heavier stern pushes the center of gravity of the entire boat rearward, allowing the bow of the boat to trim up or down easier.
Steve |
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Posts: 1638
Location: Minnesota | given the choice i would go with merc or yamaha if you on a trip and hope it dont happen but your motor craps out on you there are merc or yamaha shops all over you might have to go a long way to find a honda shop i had a yamaha f150 on my last boat just bought a new rig went with another f 150 yamaha thats my 2 cents |
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Location: Green Bay, WI | I've had Honda (130 & 200), a Yamaha F150 and a Mercury Verado. All were very good engines, but each had its little idiosyncrasies. The older Honda 130 was anemic for its weight, but incredibly dependable. The Honda 200 was a very powerful engine, started instantly every time I turned the key...and ran whisper quiet. The Verado was a powerhouse at any RPM, but I found the Smartcraft gauges problematic with various alarms occurring seemingly for no reason to require a power-down in order to investigate the problem. The point here is that all of the engines were very good, but each had little issues from time to time. These things are complex machines, and the systems on today's boats can add to the level of complexity and compound the problem. But the major outboard engine manufacturers wouldn't stay in business long if their products weren't on par with those of their competitors. So buy whichever engine comes with the better boat package--and is supported by your dealer of choice. Then go fishing!
TB |
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Posts: 18
| The updated Honda 90 is a very nice engine and it actually shares the same engine as the Honda Fit car. I would purchase one without any hesitation. I had the updated Honda 135 on my last boat and it was a great engine. Some of their older engines were a bit doggy compared to the competition, but I think their new designs are much more competitive and even lead in many cases. I'd have no issues whatsoever with one hanging off my transom. In fact, I would have gone with the new Honda 60 on my boat but for a couple reasons (slightly more than the Yamaha 70 I went with and would've taken longer to deliver). |
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| I was/am shopping for a new boat. I found out that the new Honda 90 is lighter (16lbs) then the 90 Merc Optimax 2 stroke. A 4 stroke lighter then a 2.....nice work Honda.
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New Honda 90