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Former Honda BF50 Owner.....If not Honda, what?

S

SoCalAngler

Regular Contributor
I post this here because I respect the opinions and advice provided to me here by several members.
I recently sold my boat that had the '98 Honda BF50. It was a very nice motor and I began to become very comfortable working on it. It was fun to work on and once tuned, it was very nice!

Now I am considering a few different used boats for local SoCal lake fishing. Boats such as Crestliner, Lund, Tracker, Gregor, Klamath, etc.

Motors primarily include Suzuki, Mercury, Yamaha. I try to keep it four stroke as it is required in many CA lakes/reservoirs. One Lund 1850 did have a Mercruiser 4.3L I/O.

There have been some nice boats with Mercury Opti-Max motors or Evinrude E-Tecs. Not sure about these direct injected motors.

There is a '99 Suzuki 4 stroke DF70 EFI (Made in Japan) on a '96 Crestliner 1650. It appears to have 90 hrs based on hour meter, but not sure if it is correct. It fired right up and idled/reved smoothly.

What advice can you provide on these motors, such as the Suzuki above as well as the others?

Too old? Parts too expensive? Etc.

NOTE: I looked up injectors for the Suzuki.....$250 each (x4) !!

Thanks!
 
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Clearly I'm pretty partial to the Honda. To answer your question, there's a pontoon fleet operator not far from here that have several of the older DF 70's and they swear by them.

IMHO, any of the 4 stokes should be fine. I am completely spoiled by them and would no longer consider a 2 stroke anything unless it were temporary or on a fishing boat with less than 20hp.
 
The opti-max is direct injected.-----I would never consider owning one !-------The E-tec is direct injected and I was looking for a 150 / 175 one to rebuild.-----Now not too sure anymore.-------I know an Evinrude dealer ( now Suzuki ) and will have them look for one.-----I am looking at weight as a 150 model 4 stroke is about 150 LBS more.-------I have no issue with 2 stroke and think they are great for me.
 
I’d first be looking for a brand that has good dealer service and parts support locally.
Within those brands, check out those models that have a problematic history. There are some models of Mercs, Yamaha, Evinrude, Honda probably too, that have a bad history and good history. For instance there are some 2016ish Yamahas with bad blocks in the 115-150 range. Some have been replaced while still on warranty which is unusual for any brand?
 
I need a 4 stroke for reasons mentioned, so smokers are out.

My goal is to perform as much repair to it as possible and as needed. Parts appear to be readily available for 90's vintage motors. Now, the cost for parts, is another story. That is where I would save; by learning to make repairs myself.

Whatever fishing boat I get will have between a 20hp and 90hp, as I'm looking at boats between 14'-22'....everything from a simple 14' alum fishing boat, to multi species 16'-18' windshield boats (like Lunds, Crestliners, Trackers), to 18'-22' Fishing Pontoons.
 
What I've found is that the price for genuine Honda parts are noticeably cheaper than Yamaha or Suzuki. I'm sure the quality would be much the same, all being Japanese. The same goes for genuine Honda car parts, compared to the likes of Toyota, Suzuki, etc.
The cheaper parts prices makes it a little less painful when you need to do repairs.

Bob
 
Thanks Bob, good to now about price differences between brands.

I'm finding here in SoCal that most engines on fishing boats, and most boats in general, are of the Mercury brand.
 
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