Suzuki's why so popular

[SandStorm]

Ok I admit I haven't read the stats, I followed the crowd. I put a new zuke on my last boat. I'll probably do the same on my new boat, unless I'm swayed otherwise

But just what has made these outboards so popular globally? Clever marketing or are they quality that's built to last?

[chris69]

I think that it was the timeing of the new era of 4strokes that has helped even though honda and mercury were there before them suzuki had something to go by to make them better from the other brands mistakes,and yes marketing dose go a long way.

[SandStorm]

My concern is will they stand the test of time...

[Dan5]

My concern is will they stand the test of time...

Some of the early 70hp injected ones are now over 15 years old and still going strong..........How long do you plan on keeping one for?.......Dan

[SandStorm]

Some of the early 70hp injected ones are now over 15 years old and still going strong..........How long do you plan on keeping one for?.......Dan

I'm talking about the new lean burn engines

[Noelm]

I guess if you look at it from the past to the present, Suzuki have been in the marine market on and off for a long time, they had outboards back in the 70's, had oil injection for a long time (a throwback to their motor bike days) but their old 2 strokes did not have a great reputation, and back then, if it was not an OMC outboard, then it was no good (well so it was percieved) Mercury ws not exactly highly regarded either, rust ate them away before they got very old, Suzuki disappeared for quite awhile, and when the 4 stroke revolution hit, they already had a couple of lightweight motor that could be adapted quite easily, motors sourced from the old Sierra, they have had their share of problems too, don't be fooled into thinking they didn't, will they last long term? Don't know, I think corrosion is going to be their nemesis.

[boboncc]

I'm no expert, however I believe that the main four manufacturer's engines will all have their own individual odd problems, but will last pretty much the same as long as they are looked after.
My only concerns would be those that are made in China.
I have a Suzi 115 and it is running great, but then it has not done many hours! Hoping to put some more on as I start 5 weeks leave on Monday. ;D

[Salad Fingers]

I'm talking about the new lean burn engines

no reason why they wouldn't last as long as their old models? all they have done is whack an oxygen sensor in the exhaust like we've had in cars for the past 30 years or so.

[fisho64]

Yam and Suz are both solid Japanese engineering and excellent value

[FisHard]

I love my 200 Suzi! It's an outstanding piece of machinery. Anyone that thinks 4 strokes are sluggish, or lack the grunt of 2 strokes, should take a run with a 200 Suzuki!

[Lovey80]

I think the next evolution in engines will come in the form of alloy metal designs. I think Noelm is on the money that corrosion will eat the current engines before the engines die from old age.

I'm told of an identical boat to mine, I think he may be an Ausfish member also, where his F60 Yams have died a very premature death due to alloy corrosion. I have always flushed my engines for a lot longer that I used to with my older two strokes. I'm maybe a little paranoid about my F60's being eaten away. If I am going to fish two days in a row, the boat sits in the back yard over night and I won't bother flushing them. If the boats going back in the shed, it gets washed and the engines take me at least an hour to flush both of them. I want fresh water running through them for as long as possible after they reach operating temperature.

Onto the next evolution, I have read that Honda motor company has just developed a revolutionary way to bond steel and ally together in a new process. The result is an alloy that is many times stronger than aluminium but with huge weight savings on steel. The idea is to significantly reduce the weight of their cars. That technological leap will surely transfer over to boat engines. Those people with 5.2m Kevlacats should be salivating at the mouth at a light weight 90hp four stroke hitting the market in the coming years. That goes for any boat that loves the higher horsepower but doesn't perform well with extra weight on the bum.

[stang69]

Suzukis are popular for the same reason Hondas are unpopular. Price.
Yamaha is by far the most popular outboard in Australia and worldwide. No bad considering they are also the most expensive (along with Honda).
If Hondas were the same price as a Suzuki, I dont think there would be too many Suzi's on the back of boats.
Lovey, I wouldnt worry about your Yamaha F60 too much. Still one of the all time great outboards.

[Dan5]

Suzukis are popular for the same reason Hondas are unpopular. Price.
Yamaha is by far the most popular outboard in Australia and worldwide. No bad considering they are also the most expensive (along with Honda).
If Hondas were the same price as a Suzuki, I dont think there would be too many Suzi's on the back of boats.
Lovey, I wouldnt worry about your Yamaha F60 too much. Still one of the all time great outboards.

Last time I priced outboards in the 115-140 range Mercury were the cheapest and the other 3 were only a few hundred apart........So I don't think there is really a bargain basement outboard argument on that horsepower range IMO........maybe now there is the Honda/Tohatsu range there maybe a reasonable price drop and we will see more people buying on price alone............Dan

[MTAQ/BTAQ]

My boat is in commercial survey, I purchased a new Suzuki in 2007, the reason being it came with a 5 year warranty, the rest had 3 year warranties.

[Spaniard_King]

My boat is in commercial survey, I purchased a new Suzuki in 2007, the reason being it came with a 5 year warranty, the rest had 3 year warranties.

Honda came out with the first 5 year warranty, which led the other to change their support for their own brand accordingly. Initially Suzuki only had a 3 year warranty and the additional 2 years was gifted by The Haines Group who are the importers of the brand. Suzuki is not in Australia as a brand in itself.

[chris69]

I'm talking about the new lean burn engines


I think that with the new era of lean burn will be ok as the computer has a fail safe with temps and will change air fuel ratio when needed,honda has been doing this for a long time in there cars with lean air fuel mix and outboards i assume as they have been the masters of air fuel ratios i no in there car engines 16 or 17 to1 air fuel is the norm, if you want power 12to1 , normal is around 14 to1,with cleaner fuels with less deposites building up in the cylinder head and on the piston tops this has gone a long way to reduce hot spots aswell as better alloys and coatings for pistons and cylinders,theres a lot of white fella magic in modern motors theres days.

[seatime]

MTAQ/BTAQ,

That's a good deal for commercial use as it's not uncommon for warranties to be reduced when the unit is used commercially.

Can you explain your "commercial survey" statement?
It's typical in other states for commercial boats to get a certificate of survey every year which qualifies for registration. Qld treats it differently and allows registration annually without an inspection and certificates issued by the state qualified surveyor.

[davo]

I am going to jump the fence from Yamaha to Suzuki. The reason is that the engines are a better package overall. The old F80 Yamaha is a good engine but the design is too old and heavy.

[MTAQ/BTAQ]

Seatime - the boat (and me) do boat/jet ski licences, so it was built to commercial survey standards (flotation/safety etc) and is inspected annually by MSQ to ensure its suitability to be used to train members of the public. I recently had to complete all the paperwork for AMSA as all commercial boats and qualifications come under the banner of AMSA now rather than state authorities.

[stevej]

maybe popular for other reasons

like willing to give dealers engines under better terms and finance system
local yam dealer gave up Yamaha as the barcrushers all came with suzukis attached

always more to a story

[stang69]

When I was pricing up 200-225hp 4 strokes a couple years back Suzukis were about $1500 cheaper than a Yamaha. Hondas were the dearest. I never considered a Verado, but I think they were pretty dear too. I know in smaller HP that Mercury are pretty cheap.
I would imagine that Yamaha would be even dearer now with their new light weight 4.2 litre motors and new 200.
And remember, the only country Suzukis are popular in is Australia. Thats because of the Haines group packaging Suzukis on their Signature packages, and having a big dealer network. They also bought into the market by being alot cheaper than Yamaha. I remember one of the largest dealers in the country having both Yamaha and Suzuki and the boats were much dearer if you wanted a Yammie on the back, hence they dropped Yamahas in favour of Suzukis. This was due to price alone. And the reason Yamahas are so popular is due to one reason, reliability.

[stevej]

how do you prove that ?

from all he brand sold you see bugger all failures on these and any other forum a handful a year makes it to the forums

sure more fail and people just pay but how do you prove yamahas are more reliable then any other brand

[Noelm]

yep, I don't see Suzuki as only being popular in Australia, if that was the case, Suzuki would stop production right now, our market is just an add on compared to the US, reliability is not an issue, a Yamaha is NOT more reliable that (say) a Honda, SteveJ, I don't see how Barcrushers being fitted with Suzuki would make a dealer change brands, you would have to be selling a hell of a lot of Barcrushers to do that, I think the Yamaha business model might have influenced that decision.

[thylacene]

At the time we bought ours, there were a few factors that took us along the path of the 175 Suzuki. We did not want a two stroke, the Honda and Yamaha offerings were 150 or 200 only and the 200's were too heavy. Never been a fan of forced induction except on my drag motors. The 175 Suzuki was best fit, and there was a dealer within 100k's with a reputation for good service.

just had the 500 hour service done, stayed and watched, stuck a light into the anode holes and all looks fine, no corrosion. The only issue we have had was a stalling after starting issue that required a software reset.

i do run it with fresh water for ten minutes after each outing.

it is quiet enough (possibly more to do with the pitch of the noise rather than the decibel level), has minimal vibration and is a good fit to our hull. If I was in the market again, yammie would be a consideration, but again, proximity to dealer and "fit" to the hull would be key considerations.

very happy with the Suzuki, and a five year warranty adds to the confidence levels.

why are they popular, well in 2010, the 175 offered the best spec in a four stroke and was within a thousand of the competitors on the price tag.

i may have a bit of bias, having owned so many of their motorcycles over the years.

[Luke G]

On the north west coast you almost see more suzukis then yamaha 4 strokes.

My first experiance with suzukis was a 250 back in 05, the thing was so quiet and good on fuel we were all blown away. That motor still runs and has clocked up 2200 hours and still dosent miss a beat.

I've owned a 115, 150, 175, 140 and 140a, not once have i had any problems with any of them. The 140a is only 50 hours old, but so far so good.

I also currently have a F300 yamaha, i love the digital shift and grunt it has. Definatly a top notch motor too. My hull could do with a little more power, ive heard whispers that suzuki are going to bring out a 350, if thats the case i know what ill replace the yammy with!!

[seatime]

Seatime - the boat (and me) do boat/jet ski licences, so it was built to commercial survey standards (flotation/safety etc) and is inspected annually by MSQ to ensure its suitability to be used to train members of the public. I recently had to complete all the paperwork for AMSA as all commercial boats and qualifications come under the banner of AMSA now rather than state authorities.

Sorry, if there's no survey certificate, it's not "in survey".
Isn't it only the regs that come under the AMSA banner now, it's still state administration and state authorised surveyors.

[no chicken tonight]

How did u get 5 year warranty on an outboard for a commercial boat?
I shopped around, checked Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda, and even Etec. All would only give 12 months warranty except Etec got an extra 12 months from the dealer (for an extra $1000).
Chose Honda in the end due to good deal and excellent service network on a product that stood the test of time BETTER than all the rest.

[hainsofast]

I guess if you look at it from the past to the present, Suzuki have been in the marine market on and off for a long time, they had outboards back in the 70's, had oil injection for a long time (a throwback to their motor bike days) but their old 2 strokes did not have a great reputation, and back then, if it was not an OMC outboard, then it was no good (well so it was percieved) Mercury ws not exactly highly regarded either, rust ate them away before they got very old, Suzuki disappeared for quite awhile, and when the 4 stroke revolution hit, they already had a couple of lightweight motor that could be adapted quite easily, motors sourced from the old Sierra, they have had their share of problems too, don't be fooled into thinking they didn't, will they last long term? Don't know, I think corrosion is going to be their nemesis. they aint called a disprin for nothing

[stang69]

I thought the topic of the thread was a question. Yamaha has the largest market share worldwide by a huge margin, then Mercury, then BRP. So Suzuki arent that popular are they? Someone said that if they werent popular they wouldnt be sold in Australia. Thats weird because SUzuki cars are far from popular in Australia, yet they are still sold here. Yamaha and Honda motorbikes are much more popular than a Suzuki, but they are still sold here.
The marine industry is different than auto because people go boating, not outboarding. SO you buy the boat you like, and whatever outboard it comes with depends on the dealer's affiliation. (yes there are some exceptions, but they are the minority)
I wonder what will happen to Suzuki when/if the Haines group decides not to be their distributor in Australia?

[jclay1773]

I disagree stang69. I would never buy a hull without the motor I wanted.

[stang69]

jclay, I said there are exceptions.
I'm one of those exceptions too.

[jclay1773]

Yeh no worries. For the record I have a suzuki

[FNQCairns]

Agree with stang.....boating is all about the hull if one buys because of the OB they are new players...I like the 2 stokes because for the price of a fuel rail and injectors i can own a whole new powerhead :)

And the prop has no clue what brand or style makes the thrust for the hull.

[odes20]

Is this view from research or just an IMO? Not discounting your view, just never heard a soul pining for a Honda with a beaut purring Suzy on the transom! Also Stang theres a heap,of Suzys purchased for repower. Not everyone buying a boat gets a newy either.

Suzukis are popular for the same reason Hondas are unpopular. Price.
Yamaha is by far the most popular outboard in Australia and worldwide. No bad considering they are also the most expensive (along with Honda).
If Hondas were the same price as a Suzuki, I dont think there would be too many Suzi's on the back of boats.
Lovey, I wouldnt worry about your Yamaha F60 too much. Still one of the all time great outboards.

[stang69]

Been a while since I saw the figures, but feel free to do a search yourself.
Last time I read, Yamaha had 40% of overall outboard sales with 50% of all sales over 150HP. That doesnt leave much for everyone else to share does it?
I never said one outboard was better than another, just that some are more popular than others for pretty obvious reasons.
I think new outboard sales were 85% from new BMT packages, leaving only 15% for repowers.
If someone with an old boat wanted a 175HP 4 stroke, they would prefer a Suzuki over a Honda because of weight. Same goes for a 135-140hp.
The new Yamaha 175HP will be light, but I reckon it will be alot dearer than a Suzi.

[Spaniard_King]

Agree with stang.....boating is all about the hull if one buys because of the OB they are new players...I like the 2 stokes because for the price of a fuel rail and injectors i can own a whole new powerhead :)

And the prop has no clue what brand or style makes the thrust for the hull.

There are many reasons that people buy new technology over old, some people shouldn't comment on things they know nothing about ^^^^^

2 stokes... new players in the market or are they the brands you support!

[myusernam]

while i think the suzi 140 would be a great match for my hull, i have serious concerns about the quality of alloy and corrosion issues.

[Salad Fingers]

while i think the suzi 140 would be a great match for my hull, i have serious concerns about the quality of alloy and corrosion issues.


Just FYI there is a guiding operation up here that runs DF140's with many many thousand hours that never get flushed and no corrosion issues that I am aware of. In fact if you do a quick head count of all the guides up here most runs suzukis.. must be a reason.

[myusernam]

guides amdpros are the last people to worry about corrosion. they wear a motor out. it's the recreational user that has a motor for 15 years or more

[Noelm]

I guess (in my opinion) popularity comes down to advertising, not how good a product is, as an example, you think of a hamburger... Maccas, you think of hardware.... Bunnings and so it goes, TV shows and compares promote a certain brand, it is in every second shot, and they tell you how fabulous it is, even when they swap brands, the new one is fantastic, look at Hook Line and Sinker, watch that show, and Yamaha is the only motor on the planet, River to Reef and they jumped ship from Suzuki and Barcrusher to Honda and Surtees, and my bet would be people would buy on that false crap that dribbles from their mouths,, its on TV, and XXX says its fantastic, so it must be.

[Greg P]

Corrosion issues on the DF140 related to a specific plug put in place of a sensor other than that I havent heard of anything else. I had an issue with the casting on my DF150 on the engine holder. Motor was out of warranty and Suzuki came to the party very quickly and decisively was back on the water ASAP.

If you want to see corrosion issues then look no further than Yamaha 225 4 stroke engines on THT - holy shit and not just one offs !!!!

http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/280320-yamaha-f225-corrosion-teardown-old-thread.html

[ozynorts]

Corrosion issues on the DF140 related to a specific plug put in place of a sensor other than that I havent heard of anything else. I had an issue with the casting on my DF150 on the engine holder. Motor was out of warranty and Suzuki came to the party very quickly and decisively was back on the water ASAP.

If you want to see corrosion issues then look no further than Yamaha 225 4 stroke engines on THT - holy shit and not just one offs !!!!

http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/280320-yamaha-f225-corrosion-teardown-old-thread.html

Holy crap that is an eye opener.

[Marko888]

The plug which corroded on the DF140's was removed from the design several years ago. I'm not positive, but think this happened for the 2008's.