[Gundog]

What is the deal with these motors on another thread I get the feeling they have a bad rep. There is a boat on boat trader that has one of these motors I think it is a 225 or 250 HP 2002 vintage. Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks Mike

 

[Backlash2]

Long story short, the troubles they had with these motors are what forced Evinrude to sell out to Bombardier.

Obviously, they weren't all lemons, but enough of them were to bury Evinrude. Kinda similar to the problems Merc had with the first Optimax's...Merc just endured and got them fixed.

The newly designed Evinrude's have developed a pretty solid rep, but I would advise a little 'buyer beware' on the Ficht's...

 

[BigWaterBigFish]

As you are probably learning, Evinrude came up with the FICHT as a way to keep the two-stroke alive with the new emmission requirements. Great idea and eventually developed into the ETEK that seems to be an excellent product. Unfortunately Evinrude did not have the capital to work through all the bugs and if not for Bombardier buying them out, would have completely gone under.
I have a 115 FICHT and have had some problems (check my previous posts) but for the most part, compared to newer outboards, my problems are not that far out of the ordinary. The larger FICHTS like the 150, 175 and 200 are noted for having some serious problems - my brother - in - law had to have his rebuilt and then a new ECM put in, only to have it completely run itself dead first trip out after the rebuild.
If you have one that hasn't had problems and survives a mechanic's check-over, would be probably ok. However, make sure your mechanic is a Bombardier dealer and has access to ALL the new codes and can upload all the computer fixes/patches ...

 

[tomictime]

OMC went bankrupt. The creditors sold what remained to Bomb. Ficht pushed them over the edge. Lot's of VERY unhappy customers who had lab rat motors with developmental testing being done in the field. The 150's were probably the worst w some people having stories of 4 powerheads to get a reliable engine. Some never got there. I had an 1999 200 that "made it" to 700 hours. I did have major recall work, upgrades, etc..

One thing you may want to consider is comparing blue book values on used 225 etcs vs, say a Yami F4-225..that might tell you what the market thinks....