I paid $2350 with free delivery + tax for a 928WA so $150 off MSRP. They screwed it up during delivery so ended up with a 928WAS for the same price.

I don't believe there's a large margin of profit in the Hondas.

 

Performance and reliability wise they're very similar. To me the Honda makes more sense if for no other reason than parts availability.

Some of the Canadian Honda models also come with an onboard battery and electric chute controls btw along with hydraulic height assist instead of the pedal. They're not available in the US though and they're a fair bit more than a US Honda snowblower.

 

Billy Bob. I haven't bought either machine, but I have been checking out both brands up here in the Canuck land. There is a guy (coby7.. I think??) on the Yamaha section that has a Yamaha 624EJ. He seems to really like it and his last post mentions something about how it compares to a Honda 928.

As far as Canadian pricing goes....Dealers seem to be holding to MSRP $2599 on the new 624EJ. Many dealers have older 624 models discounted by $500-$600 because they retailed for $2999 - $3499 last year and they are too expensive when compared to the new EJ model. There are some dealers that are selling the Ys1028J model at a $600 discount, but that will probably end when the first storm arrives. You should be able to buy a YS1028J for about $3200 USD and a YT624EJ for about $2200 USD. I'm not sure how the duty or sales tax situation would apply to you.

All of the models have tracks, onboard 12 volt batteries, power chute rotation, manual chute deflection, and hydrostatic transmissions. I believe all models are made in Japan except for the YT624EJ. I noticed a made in China sticker on the ones I have seen. You won't find that info on the company website. There are differences in weight and auger height adjustment etc. All the specs are available at Yamaha Motor Canada .

I have used a Honda 928TCD briefly and I have briefly run a Yamaha YS1028J and a YT624EJ. The only comments I can make is that all of them are harder/different to turn than a wheeled machine. All of them are reasonably quiet at idle, but the Yamahas are much quieter at full throttle. I was shocked at how quiet the 1028 was. Anyways, I hope some of this info was helpful.

 

Billy Bob. I haven't bought either machine, but I have been checking out both brands up here in the Canuck land. There is a guy (coby7.. I think??) on the Yamaha section that has a Yamaha 624EJ. He seems to really like it and his last post mentions something about how it compares to a Honda 928.

As far as Canadian pricing goes....Dealers seem to be holding to MSRP $2599 on the new 624EJ. Many dealers have older 624 models discounted by $500-$600 because they retailed for $2999 - $3499 last year and they are too expensive when compared to the new EJ model. There are some dealers that are selling the Ys1028J model at a $600 discount, but that will probably end when the first storm arrives. You should be able to buy a YS1028J for about $3200 USD and a YT624EJ for about $2200 USD. I'm not sure how the duty or sales tax situation would apply to you.

All of the models have tracks, onboard 12 volt batteries, power chute rotation, manual chute deflection, and hydrostatic transmissions. I believe all models are made in Japan except for the YT624EJ. I noticed a made in China sticker on the ones I have seen. You won't find that info on the company website. There are differences in weight and auger height adjustment etc. All the specs are available at Yamaha Motor Canada .

I have used a Honda 928TCD briefly and I have briefly run a Yamaha YS1028J and a YT624EJ. The only comments I can make is that all of them are harder/different to turn than a wheeled machine. All of them are reasonably quiet at idle, but the Yamahas are much quieter at full throttle. I was shocked at how quiet the 1028 was. Anyways, I hope some of this info was helpful.

could u pm me where those dealers are for that YS1028J and how much are those yt1232ed's going for? apparently those have steering on them, way more machine than i need but would be so much easier to move around. That one made in china is disappointing to hear, is that the entire unit or just the body, motor?

 

Here in New-Brunswick Yamaha beats Honda on all sides. Reliability, performance, parts availlablity and price.

 

This is like Ford verses Chevy huh coby?

I love the color, if they had them down here I would just have to get one. But I would want one with wheels.
But if they only had tracks, I would have to get one just for the blue.

Though I would add some custom pin striping to mine.

 

There Is no ford vs Chevy.

Ram all the way

 

BillyBob -

Care to share some details in how the CA to USA transaction is being offered.
I've toyed around with considering taking a drive up north if the price was right...

 

I'm two hours north of Pembina nd.
If I can help, let me know!

 

well it sounded like the dealer was going to try to charge me canadian tax, being in the USA i don't think he's even allowed to do that, prolly just trying to get some extra cash out of me. Other than that it was just going to be freighted to me at $100 which sounded a bit too good to be true, i was expecting at least $200 for freight

 

I do a ton of usa shopping. I get double taxed.

I pay the state sales tax, then the Canadian tax when I cross the boarder.

So yes, he should be charging tax on whatever leaves his store.

 

Hey Billy, unless you're located near Quebec it probably wouldn't make sense shipping wise? I haven't shopped the YT1232ED because it's overkill for my situation. Some dealers use them as demos and then offer them with good discounts in Feb-March. BTW the msrp on the 1232 is $5299.

I had to visit 4 dealers to get a look at the entire line of machines. They tend to stock 1 or 2 1232's, 4 or 5 1028's and a bunch of 624's. As of 3 weeks ago the dealers said they had low stock on the 1028 ( some had none left with no more coming from Yamaha until next year).

As far as the "made in China thing" goes, the dealers I visited had different reactions. Some were upset that Yamaha would do such a thing and are not stocking that model. Others were saying ,"well you know everything is made in China these days, and by the way this is only assembled in China under strict guidance by Yamaha." That same dealer insisted that the engines were all made in Japan. Who knows for sure?? I did notice the auger gearbox is different and the chute controls are different , but nobody could tell me if there were changes in the transmission etc. It is $900 cheaper than the model it is replacing, so I suspect there must be other changes. I started the machine and ran it around in the parking lot and it seemed to be well constructed, solid, and quiet.

 

That 24" YT624 compares with the Honda HS724, not the HS928, it's kind of an apples to oranges kind of thing. Spec-wise the Yamaha has a few features over the smaller HS724, but it has less power/displacement and is made in China vs Japan. The HS928 has 50% more power! The Hondas and the HS928 haven't changed much recently and are well proven and highly regarded, whereas the Yamaha is a new model and made in China, so it has virtually unknown performance and reliability, although we expect it to be excellent. The pricing of the Honda HS928 in the US is pretty good compared to the Canadian pricing, so I wouldn't even consider importing the Yamaha. The Hondas are a bit more basic but are more capable machines and the reliability, support and parts availability will be top notch.

 

With current canadian pricing.
The Honda 928 is priced about the same as the Yamaha 1028.

 

Yup my bad.
I was just stating that the 928 should be compared to the 1028.

 

well i was comparning the 624 because i was comparing the canadian yamahas to the american honda's. The 624 shipped would roughly cost about as much as a 928. The 1028 blows the 928 honda out of the water, its really no comparison to me. little things like a carb drain on it

 

My HS724 has a thumb screw operated drain on the bottom of the float bowl, I would assume the HS928 has the same thing. Is this not a carb drain? Does the Yamaha have something different?

I think there is quite a bit of "hype" with the Yamaha blowers since they are being sold again and many people just want something different. The Honda machines have been available for so many years without interruption, which is actually a good thing, but many people don't see any value that. The Yamaha seem to be good machines, but that doesn't automatically make everything else bad and that they blow everything else out of the water. It simply makes no sense how they could be so much better than a machine that is already so highly regarded by so many. What makes the Yamaha so much better?

 

What else makes the 1028 far superior to the 928?

 

Better engineering I guess.

 

that 624 doesn't even exist to me once i found out its made in china. im comparing the 1028 to the 928 honda american.

if u read my posts, not coby's....... you'll clearly see thats what i was discussing last.

now, sure thats not entirely fair because honda makes canadian models too but everything i said applies to them as well, except the battery, and then comes a higher price, more than the yamaha from the sounds of it

 

As long as we exclude the China made YT624, and only compare the USA Honda 928 models against the Yamaha, then our opinions are not so far apart. I would not go so far as to say the 1028 blows the US 928 away, but I agree there are a definitely more features on the Canadian 1028 vs the US 928. That being said, there is a considerable price difference between a US 928 and the Canadian 1028. The Canadian HSS928 and the 1028 are similarly priced, but then there are less differences in features, although the power difference will still be there.

 

Even though I've had 12+years of near perfect Honda 11-32 operation, I'd consider a Yamaha if they were available locally. Just looked at the Yamaha website… their big machines are similarly equipped to Honda…and look similarly built (like tanks). Yamaha also makes a very reliable small engine albeit not nearly as well known as Honda. You'll be a happy owner (either way) for many, many years.

 

This is how I feel as well.

It's ok to think that both brands are at the very top, it's laughable to act as if one is terrible as some have already opined in multiple threads.

Fanboy: My brand is the best!
Observer: Why is it the best?
Fanboy: One time I saw the other brand break down/come up short!
Observer: Couldn't that be interpreted as the exception and not the rule?
Fanboy: No, because then the anecdote wouldn't serve my purposes- to make me feel superior based on products I use as my identity.

 

im pretty sure nobody has said a honda is terrible, but the yamaha has some clear advantages at the same price range

 

I never said one was bad or one was better. I said I evaluated both and found the Yamaha to outperform the Honda. I clearly preferd the Yamaha, I might be wrong but it was my perception. Plus there was $1100 difference which is quite an incentive.

 

I don't hate my neighbour south of me but we have mostly prevaling north, north west winds and he always waits until I'm done clearing my driveway before clearing his. He's an understanding fellow and if he needs to leave at 8 he will call me at 6 and ask if I would open my driveway early first so he doesn't have to do his twice. His driveway is over 200 feet away from mine. But he knows I own a Yamaha, he only has an HS928. lol
He used to own a Craftsman 12/30 and thought he'd do one better on me when he got a good deal on a Honda. He still walks with his tail between his legs to this day. The neighbor across the street from him both a YS928 to make things even worse.

My enjoyment comes from helping out the Hondas 928 owners once I'm done opening mine.

I must have completely misunderstood what you were saying.

 

What's your point, none of those quotes says Honda isn't a good machine they just state that I feel I made a better choice in my purchase and that my neighbours feel the same way. You can keep trying to inflame me but I'm not going to bite.

 

Not trying to inflame anyone. I guess I took your statments as meaning something totally different than how they read. I thought that you were laughing out loud at your neighbor "only" having a honda...

And for the record, I would totally try a Yamaha, despite relying on some China parts. Parts from China is probably one of the ways they are staying such a low price compared to Honda. Long term reliability would be the only question for the newer yamaha blowers. I think that Yamaha is trying to stay a major worldwide snowblower competitor, if only they decided that the US market was worth their time.
I am also intrigued by what Robert (from honda) has been saying about the upcoming Honda snowblowers having some nice upgrades.

 

when are the new honda's coming?

 

It'll take me a while to find the post because I can't remember what thread it was in, but I believe that he said next year if I remember right?

 

Feel free to read the Yamaha Snowblower Fan Club page at the following web address. I'm a member and enjoy reading the threads.

Yamaha Snowblower Fan Club

It's well known (common knowledge) that Yamaha is better than Honda. We're not talking a huge difference, but enough to warrant more research.

BCS and Grillo are the best snowblowers available for residential use. The Yamaha's are second best and Honda comes in third.

 

Everyone seems to be slamming anything made in China. Everyone wants a sticker saying " made in the usa".

Well, you really don't. You have proved that fact, and voted with your wallet. I read an article once, that stated, if the iPhone that costs around $500 was made in the usa, it would cost about 2 grand.

Labour in Asia is cheap. Unlike most other places. The guy at gm that bolts on the left front door on the car, expects 40 bucks an hour. More manufacturing is moving to anywhere else, but here.
Bombardier just opened a huge manufacturing plant in Mexico.

Just my two Canadian cents. ( .75 cents us)

 

Yes, but GM paid greatly for the ignition switches made in China. Hopefully a lesson learnt. You can't skim on decimal points when translating inches to mms.

 

Maybe you guys should get on board with the metric system!

 

Would be long over due. Especially when all the people you trade with are on the metric system.

Plus the metric system is so simple, Water freezes at zero boils at 100, 1 litre of water weighs 1 Kgm, a ton is 1000Kgms, I could go on The only place we lack is when your driving 60mph your also driving 1 mile per minute but when we are driving 60 km per hour we are also doing 1 km per minute.