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| The Honda 50 tiller model I put on was actually lighter than the Merc 2-stroke it replaced. That is a fine engine indeed and it is smaller than the Merc 60 2-stroke. I had a "problem" with this setup - I thought my gas gauge was broken becasue it indicated full forever (I took a 1 gal reserve tank along). It sips the fuel and with a full 23 gallons of gas that I can put in my inboard tank - it seems to last forever. IMHO the enormous hours of experience, engineering and emissions control is superior to the FICT, ETEC or any 2-stroke. The achilles heel of any 2-stroke is that the gas & oil run down the same track. THe 4-strokes use parallel paths. If a mutiple cylinder 2-stroke has a fuel flow failure to one cylinder it is running metal on metal in that dry cylinder - chances are high that the cylinder and therefore engine is destroyed or repairable with a several thousand dollar price tag. Whereas a fuel flow failure to one cylinder of a muliple cylinder 4-stroke is a non-problem. Other than it doesn't produce full horsepower and possibly run rough. That lesson cost me $5,000. I noticed Honda won an award for customer satisfaction last year.
Weight is the enemy in aircraft design and there is a very sound reason that FAA production licensed aircraft rely on the heavier 4-stroke technology-never 2-strokes(e.g., optimax/Etec) - to keep their pilots and passsengers safe and those pricey aircraft aloft. Honda 4 stroke is a simple design and is superb. (BTW- I have no vested interest in this product or Manufacturer - just a muskie angler who wants to fish w/o mechanical headaches)  | |
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