Honda outboards, your opinion

[Fenelon]

I have a Honda 30 with the new and improved ele choke and like Fenelon said it has issues. We had a 40 Honda with manual pull choke and a friend has a 35 Honda for longer than l owned the 40 and 30. I have had Yamaha also and it was an excellent motor. We used the ele choke 30 for mainly moose hunting up to freeze up and still own it. I called Honda and never got any help trying to make this choke work like it should but nothing worked. In cold it is harder to start but rest of weather l can make it work. The Yamaha we replaced throttle cable and impeller. Honda 40 one of the steering cables and the 30, touch wood nothing. Honda r good on gas and the 30 and 40 I owned had a spin on oil filter with easy access. I would buy depending on what u can afford, access to a dealer or best deal u can make.

Yamaha 20 1987, Honda 30 2004 on a Misty River 17, Honda 40 1997?, Honda 35 1990ish?

Yup. That electronic choke is a piece of shyte. If you don't disconect your fuel line it floods the carb. If you give it any throttle past start position it floods the carb. Takes 4 minutes to warm up after the POS finally starts. That's after pulling it for 50 times using words that rhyme with "buck" and "truck". My Scotish ancestry doesn't help the matter.I'd like to take an Ithaca 10 Auto-Mag, with magazine extender tube and four boxes of Challenger slugs to it. My wife just goes quiet and looks at the floor of the boat when she senses my building rage.

[Bowjob]

Yup. That electronic choke is a piece of shyte. If you don't disconect your fuel line it floods the carb. If you give it any throttle past start position it floods the carb. Takes 4 minutes to warm up after the POS finally starts. That's after pulling it for 50 times using words that rhyme with "buck" and "truck". My Scotish ancestry doesn't help the matter.I'd like to take an Ithaca 10 Auto-Mag, with magazine extender tube and four boxes of Challenger slugs to it. My wife just goes quiet and looks at the floor of the boat when she senses my building rage.

i havent laughed that hard in a while

only 4 boxes ? LOL

[Moosehead]

Hey Fenelon,

Could you do some more "product reviews?" Honestly, we need more of that on this forum which seems to generate less and less chat about outdoor adventures, hunting or fishing and looks more like Fox News.

Thanks again for the chuckles. I will never again think of buying a Honda outboard after that honest and heart-felt review....

[Fisherman]

Well, there's 2 sides to every story and then the skinny part between the two sides. I'm a firm believer of how you treat your kit is how it will service you when you want to play. I've seen people put their toys away neat and tidy and rarely have even a pinch of trouble with them. Then there's the ones that come home, dump their toys (especially in the fall) and and expect that things should fire right back up in the spring, complete lack of maintenance. The only product I ever had issues with was Mercury, a.k.a. Black Anchors, no matter how you babied them they are a not for me. On the other hand my 25Honda was flawless for the time I and my son had it about 20 years. My 3K and 2k Honda gennies same, lawnmower, same. If I want to know how you treat your kit, I look at your wife and see if you put her away wet and moldy too.

[Fenelon]

Well, there's 2 sides to every story and then the skinny part between the two sides. I'm a firm believer of how you treat your kit is how it will service you when you want to play. I've seen people put their toys away neat and tidy and rarely have even a pinch of trouble with them. Then there's the ones that come home, dump their toys (especially in the fall) and and expect that things should fire right back up in the spring, complete lack of maintenance. The only product I ever had issues with was Mercury, a.k.a. Black Anchors, no matter how you babied them they are a not for me. On the other hand my 25Honda was flawless for the time I and my son had it about 20 years. My 3K and 2k Honda gennies same, lawnmower, same. If I want to know how you treat your kit, I look at your wife and see if you put her away wet and moldy too.

I agree ! That's what makes it a shyte show when you buy what's supposed to be a premium product (my Honda outboard), maintain it meticulously, and it fails. Motor has only known ethanol free fuel, has a dedicated 10 micron water separator filter, plugs, filters, fluids serviced ahead of recommended maintenance schedule, and motor allways winter stored with a fogged head in a heated basement. Your 25 was probably pre-electronic choke system if it was 20 years old? This covid sucks. I want to dump this POS Honda and replace it with a Yammy. Problem is there isn't a single motor available in the province. I'll have to put in an order for next year.

[Fisherman]

Yes, pull choke 1996. Is there no possible way to manually control the electronic choke, maybe a stiff wire to hold it in place until it fires up. Just looking for a possible solution.

[meridian]

I have 50 as main motor , 8 as a kicker , no problems in 20 years, 8 is a little heavy at 95lb. But reliable.

[diverduck]

For anyone considering a Yamaha, be advised should you run into a very rare lemon that Yamaha Canada will pretty much hang you out to dry with warranty. As far as I’m concerned the warranty isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. They are generally good motors, but I had a 20 bought new for my 14 footer and it ran terribly the minute it got cold out. I went all the way to the top with Yamaha and they basically told me it was my problem. I’d never deal with them again even though I’ve owned and still own some great Yamaha products: