"del cecchi" wrote in message
...



It is still a question unresolved. Is there a fundamental problem with
"clean" 2 strokes that would, under some conditions of use, lead them to
fail? Or was there a problem with manufacturing quality or design that
led to some models of Ficht having problems?



Del,

All hype aside, there has been no outbreaks of excessive powerhead failures
due to sooting or detonation with FICHTS. That was resolved after the 20%
problem showed up in '98. Since the redesign ( FICHT Ram) in 2000, the
motors have run OK. OMC has had problems with vendors and some motors would
experience sensor, pump, and electrical problems from time to time, but
nothing related to earlier designs or to the FICHT process of DFI. When
Bombardier took over 2 years ago and had the backing to replace "out of
spec" vendors and also built a state of the art production facility in
Wisconsin, the Evinrudes and Johnsons became close to bullet-proof. We have
fewer warranty claims than we do with Yamaha, especially this year.

If there were still problems with the FICHT design, you would be reading
about it here and in other forums constantly. The boating press would be
publishing stories about it and BoatUS would be "waving their arms". Have
you read anywhere that folks have had catastophic problems with their
Bombardier Evinrudes ? I still service many 2000 and 2001 OMC FICHTS for
commercial crabbers and fisherman, along with law enforcement and DNR, and
those motors have well over 1000 hours on them (one has over 2000) and they
are still in use. One tow boat operator has over 1500 hours on a pair of
2001 models. So no matter what you hear from "downunder", things are looking
good, and I keep in touch with dealers and techs around the country so the
news is not just from my area.

Evinrude replaced Honda as the motor of choice on pristine Lake Tahoe,
mainly because of fewer total emissions and better reliability. You see them
at the Bass Tourneys, check the 2003 winners, Walleye tourneys, and the SKA
offshore contests. If they kept "breaking down", they would not be used
since thousands of $$$ are at stake. There is a company in the Bahamas that
runs 4 FICHTS on the back of an offshore boat taking day trips from Nassau
to Exhumas daily.

Bombardier Outboard division has sold out production for 2 years now and has
made money since the first year. E-TEC looks interesting, the injector is
new and the electrics are new, but the rest of the motor uses internal parts
from the 175hp motors, and commercial or V4 and V6 gearcases for
reliability. The idea that it is magneto driven and doesn't need a battery
like EFI and other DFI motors, also makes things more reliable. Of course,
time will tell, but I've followed the testing since last Feb. at the Miami
Boat Show, where it won the Innovation Award, and reports from the field and
the media have been positive. Someone may call this "spruiking" or something
like that, but these are the facts.

Bill Grannis
service manager