Looking to buy a new bass boat

[Stephen B]

Looking at buying a brand new Falcon F205 with a Suzuki outboard. Anybody have any experience or know anyone with a Falcon (F195, F205, F215)? How do they like it? My backup plan is a Skeeter ZX200.

 

Thanks!

[Cory Doras]

I can tell you this, Suzuki's in my opinion are the best motors hands down. I've owned nearly every brand and my 2 suzuki's were head and shoulders above the others. 

 

[Stephen B]

Definitely agree. I have been impressed with Suzuki's fantastic reputation and they consistently get rave reviews. I am curious about Falcon as they are on a lot of their boats from the factory. 

[NHBull]

Don't have any first hand experience with Suzuki, but they are almost  non existent in my neck of the woods and I know the appeal is its price point 

[Jig Man]

A couple of things you might want to consider,  (1) is there a good mechanic in your area who services Suzukis (2) don't buy anything unless you take it for a test ride.

[Yakalong]

I have heard great things about Suzukis, and would buy a boat if it came with it.  However, I agree with Jig Man, make sure you have a place to service it before you buy. If you were to run into trouble it would not be a great situation to not have a place within reason to take it to.  

[Logan S]

No experience with Falcon or Suzuki...Although I've heard Suzuki's are a little tough to prop on bass rigs, but obviously possible since people are running them.  Supposedly bulletproof and those that do have experience seem to love them.  

 

Only thing I'm seeing is that you're underpowering the Falcon 205 with only 200HP.  IMO this is a recipe for regret down the road, not just a speed thing...All aspects of performance will take a hit.  Not sure if it matters to you, but underpowered bass boats also tend take a huge resale hit if you ever go to sell it or trade it in.  

 

I love my ZX250 and can't recommend Skeeter and the Yamaha SHO highly enough...If you go that route I can vouch for the fit, finish, performance, and fishability of the ZX series.  

 

 

[Stephen B]

Yea there are 3 authorized Suzuki dealers/mechanics all within 50 miles of my house. My main concern is the build quality of Falcon boats. I don't hear/see a lot of them so unsure if they are a quality boat. They are manufactured in South Carolina, so only about 3-4 hrs from my house. Looking at making a trip to take a look at them and definitely going to buy out of state to avoid paying sales tax in Georgia. 

9 minutes ago, Logan S said:

No experience with Falcon or Suzuki...Although I've heard Suzuki's are a little tough to prop on bass rigs, but obviously possible since people are running them.  Supposedly bulletproof and those that do have experience seem to love them.  

 

Only thing I'm seeing is that you're underpowering the Falcon 205 with only 200HP.  IMO this is a recipe for regret down the road, not just a speed thing...All aspects of performance will take a hit.  Not sure if it matters to you, but underpowered bass boats also tend take a huge resale hit if you ever go to sell it or trade it in.  

 

I love my ZX250 and can't recommend Skeeter and the Yamaha SHO highly enough...If you go that route I can vouch for the fit, finish, performance, and fishability of the ZX series.  

 

 

Definitely. Thanks for the insight. I haven't decided on the F195 or F205. I think the F195 is only rated for a 200HP, I am not sure about the F205 but I am currently leaning to the F195 just due to price. My knowledge of boats is very poor haha. 

[flyfisher]

I hadn't heard of Falcon boats before this post and after checking them out, they look pretty nice. 

Also, maybe you do things differently in GA but here in VA you pay taxes on vehicles, trailers or whatever when you get them registered and titled here in VA no matter where they are bought.

[Stephen B]

7 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

I hadn't heard of Falcon boats before this post and after checking them out, they look pretty nice. 

Also, maybe you do things differently in GA but here in VA you pay taxes on vehicles, trailers or whatever when you get them registered and titled here in VA no matter where they are bought.

The main thing that attracted me to them is they are built relatively local as well as I want to try a Suzuki outboard so bad. I've been told that Yamaha is behind in manufacturing the SHO so Falcon is utilizing some Suzuki's on there boats as they typically have a SHO. No idea if that is true. Definitely intrigued. Likely need someone that lives in South Carolina. North Carolina, or Coastal Georgia to chime in as they would/should know more regarding feedback. 

[TOXIC]

I have a friend that fished the Elite Series and now fishes FLW (needs to re-qualify) and he runs a Zuke.  He likes it but as has been said their gearing is different and they are finicky about props.  

[Further North]

The gearing/prop thing is very much a fact...also, props are not as easy to find as for other motors.

 

I've had two Suzukis in a row, and really like them, I feel like it's worth the little bit of fiddling around it takes to get them dialed in.

[JLBBass]

Love'en my Zuke!

[Further North]

39 minutes ago, PolarKraft195Pro said:

Love'en my Zuke!

My current one looks just like that...'cept it says "Johnson".

[NH-Fishin]

On 8/7/2018 at 9:01 PM, flyfisher said:

Also, maybe you do things differently in GA but here in VA you pay taxes on vehicles, trailers or whatever when you get them registered and titled here in VA no matter where they are bought.

Yep, buying out of state anywhere doesnt alleviate sales tax. All states that have it have a sales and "use" tax, meaning if it isn't withheld on the transaction you still have the pleasure of paying the tax for the use/storage of your boat in GA. If you don't pay upon registration, many states make connections in their system and will realize sales & use tax hasn't been paid on your new boat you just registered, and they'll send you a bill. Maybe you can get away with it, but certainly plenty of opportunities for that plan to bite you.