Outboard With Grunt
Illawarra Mercury
Tuesday October 20, 1998
Honda has unveiled its long awaited BF115/130 four-stroke range which includes the biggest four-stroke outboard motor ever manufactured.
As the world's largest engine manufacturer, Honda has enormous experience and resources to call upon when moving into new areas of technology.
In the case of the BF115/130 models (now on the South Coast at Kro Boats in Corrimal) the company was able to borrow some structural design aspects from its successful 90hp outboard motor and was even able to turn to Honda passenger cars for other well proven components.
The design objectives of the BF 115/130 outboard motors were to meet American Marine Emission Standards for the year 2006 and deliver first-turn-of-the-key starts without noticeable exhaust.
Most of the new features of the new Honda models were clearly apparent to dealers who marvelled at the low levels of noise and exhaust emissions when testing the engines recently at the Sanctuary Cove launch.
Many a test driver had to walk to the back of the boat to assure themselves that the engine was running.
Test performance figures released by Honda Japan state that the new 115/130 models were using just 25 per cent of the fuel consumed by traditional two strokes at trolling speeds and 75 per cent at cruise speed.
This results in major reductions in running costs for the sort of offshore fishing and cruising boats that would normally fit engines of this size.
Fitted to appropriate hulls, the performance of these engines is impressive.
© 1998 Illawarra Mercury