Honda or Ficht?

[Steve C.]

Joe - To a point I agree with you but 5000.00
was just to much to leave on the table.

[John R]

Joe - just as Steve said, there is just TOO much money sometimes not to do what he did. I would sure want to buy local but there are a few crooks out there and more that create their own market of colusion.

You say "Support you local dealer and it woill be a win / win for everyone". What is the break point for what's fair business and not watching out for your money? 5K might not be much for a guy like you but it's a big deral to a guy like me.

[Mark]

I have to side with John R on this one.

There comes a point at which MY economy is more important than that of a barely-breaking-even dealer.

I agree in principle, and if the premium paid to shop local is merely a few hundred dollars, fine. However, if I can save thousands by shoping elsewhere, point me the way.

I suppose Walmart and Amazon can be blamed for the corner store going out of business, but in today's business climate, if you can't be competitive on a national, or at least regional level, someone else will be.

For any dealers reading, don't worry: I bought my engine 200 yards from where my boat is. They just happened to be the cheapest I could find though.

[Steve C.]

Joe three local dealers told me basicley the same thing.That motor is almost impossible to get. We just happen to have one , one on the way in ,one we just took off a new boat. Translation pay this price or forget it

[ocuyler]

I demo'ed the 225 Honda on an '89 Grady 24 offshore walk. Nice boat. The motor was a 2002 with 130 hours. It started instantly and we cast of after only 1 minute of warm up. The binacle control was smooth and the motor never hesitated.
It was VERY quite at idle.

The hole shot was more gradual than the punch I'm used to with the 2 stroke, but it was fine. The sweet spot was probably 22 MPH at 3500 RPM. A normal conversation was posible, which I thought was cool. A fast cruise was around 28 MPH at 4750. Still quiet. WOT was 35 MPH at 5800. Still quiet. I thought the WOT was a little slow, but the vessel probably weights 1000 pounds more than my 23 with 1/2 fuel, etc. Coming off plane to a stop, you really could not hear the motor and instinct would tell you that it had stalled.

Maybe it was the boat (which I loved), but I was a little disappointed by the apperant lack of "kick" that even the old 200 Yamaha still has. However, there's not doubt that this motor was a serious machine and you could not make a mistake buying it as long as you knew what to expect.

It weighs just over 600 lbs and looked HUGE. The Ficht weighs 530 and the current 89 Yamaha weights only 460 pounds.

It was incredably luck that the NY, NJ, PA Honda Marine rep drove up just as we finished the trial. I spent 20 min. with him and asked every question I could think of. The most interesting thing he said was that they don't have a problem with the motor being run at WOT for hours on end due to the rev limiter and the engineering that has gone into it. I think that tells me that i could get a fast cruise comperable to a Ficht.

The other interesting thing I found out about the Ficht is that only 10% of the oil used is actually consumed. The oil is pumped into the motor and returned to the the tank except the 10% that is directed to lube the piston/cylinder walls. That's pretty cool.

I'm going to investigate the Yamaha 250 3.3L HPDI (540 lbs) before making a decision. Any comments on this motor?

John R - That old 200 would sit nicely on a bracket on the new 20' Seafari and lose the 4 cyl I/O.

Finster - I was only kidding. You're a great guy (as my Dad used to say), when you're asleep. If the Honda is not thought of well down there, what's the favorite?

I'm still leaning toward the Ficht.

[ocuyler]

Gentlemen (you too Chris),

Thanks for all the excellent info. I've thought for years that one of the problems in America is the difficulty making decisions when buying big ticket items. The technology is so good in so many competative products, that's you can mind**** yourself for weeks or months. Cars, trucks, computers, on and on...

First, I agree with the Suzuki 250. However, there are no dealers within 200 miles and none on Lake Ontario. Further, the Hudson, NY dealer said November before availability. So that's out.

The Honda 225 installed is $16,800. The Ficht 225 installed is 15,800. Guage packages are 550 to 1100. Evinrude has a guage package called Helmsmen Gateway with fuel management, error codes, etc. that looks pretty nice.

For the sake of comparison, I'm getting a quote on a Yamaha 250 HPDI.

Ya know, it's amazing the oppoisite pros and cons you get from different regions on various motors.

John R - I'm demo-ing a Honda 225 on a 24 Grady walk today. Good suggestion. If I don't choke, I'll consider selling the '89 200. Like I tell my kids, we'll see...

I really appreciate the constructive comments and continued support you guys have offered. Will advise... [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[ June 04, 2003, 12:13 PM: Message edited by: Otto Cuyler ]

[Finster]

In general, I would have say Yami's all round,for the big 2's & 4's. Suzuki's making a strong second for those 140's and 115's.
I haven't heard anyone say anything positive about Honda's in years, though I have heard quite a few negative's.

[barnacle]

If there was a 5,000 dollar difference it was a engine that was sold to a dealer with the boat also. THe boat dealer in turned took it off the boat and sold it that way. THe industry is cracking down on this way of doing business and im surprised someone is still doing this. And yes 5,000 is alot of money to me. Would I have done it probley not. I would have though to good of a deal to be true. Good luck with it.

[John R]

Joe what do you mean? A dealer with a 35K boat isn't going to break a 16K motor off it and sell it for 11K? Then he throws on a different motor and charges 20K for it? It doesn't add up. I can see a couple maybe even 3 but 5

[Steve C.]

Joe I wasn't born yesterday the motor is still crated, It"s siting in my garage and he has a few more at that price. Oh ya I probaly will have good luck with it and the $5000.