Which Motor is best

[Kirsty]

Hi,

We are looking at getting our first boat and are considering the Honda, e-tec or a yamaha in 115hp. I am no expert and have been confused by the salesmen.

Does anyone have any personnel recomendations or advice especially on fuel economy?

[toymod]

e-tec ;)..........thats all i will say......... ;D

Good luck




GO THE RUDES ; :D

[Argle]

Dont forget to look at the Suzuki 4 strokes too, just to add to the confusion ;D
Sorry Im not much help, I run a Merc 2 stroke :-/

Cheers and Beers

[Tony_N]

Kirsty

This one comes up lots on this board. #Best advice is for you to go to the Search button above and type in kewords like 4 stroke (four stroke) etec (e-tec) honda, 115, EFI, #etc and check what people have said in the past. #

Most people are still a bit cautious about the etecs ( they say they have not been around long enough to know whether they are a long-term proposition) which are probably the the most fuel efficient. They also seem to require less servicing and have many less moving parts than 4 strokes which are the only ones that are comparable regarding fuel economy. This probably means less servicing charges and less things to go wrong. #It seems that if you decide on a 4-stroke, electronic fuel injection (EFI) is also the way to go rather tha those motors that are still using carburettors. Old technology 2 strokes guzzle and spit smoke and oil everywhere.

Not really sure why I am answering this post 'cos I am probably the site's least mechanically minded person #- At least you have received a low-tech answer.

My choice of a motor after I asked all the questions? #Suzuki 4 stroke.

FWIW

Tony

[rough_shag]

I was originally told to get a 4 stroke but tried a couple(Hondas) and then got into an Evinrude 115 V4 2 stroke on a 5.3mtr boat-there was no choice for me after trying them out-the 2 stroke was quicker to wind up and more responsive.Also the 4 strokes tend to be heavier and require servicing like a car engine(oil and filter) and may require other minor adjustments as they wear over time.
From what I've picked up over a couple of yrs looking and asking,if you are going to do some serious regular hours then the 4 strokes are the go but for occasional usage it's 2 stroke.I ended up with a 5.5mtr glass boat powered by a Johnson 115 V4 ocean runner 2 stroke which is quieter and less smelly than I was lead to believe it would be.As for fuel economy I haven't had her out enough to really comment but a few guys on here have the same motor and quote about 1-1.5 ltrs per n-mile depending on sea condition etc.
Good luck.Jace.

[marcus]

Kirsty,

Go the Yammie, reliable and well priced! ;D

[MulletMan]

For what it's worth, our marine rescue unit has run 4-stroke Hondas for over Ten (10) years and have yet to see one fail or have serious problems. They are now a similar weight to the 2-strokes and probably about par with fuel consumption to some of the later model 2-strokes. The following are AVERAGE fuel figues taken over quite a few years of accurate record keeping.
The only thing you don't get from Honda is after sales service - dreadful!

25 HP Honda 5 L/Hr
115 HP Honda 10 L/Hr
135 HP Honda 12 L/Hr

Yammie 4-stroke 200 HP 28 LHr
The latter are NOT my favourite motors but great after sales service IF and only IF you use their dealers (not always the best) for after sales servicing. There are far better guys about in Brissy than some of the Yammie dealers but use them and you will get wiped if you have an out-of-warranty problem. Think it is called blackmail!!

[sid_fishes]

for me , its nothing but suzuki 4 stroke ,,,its quiet and so easy on the pocket its not funny,, we have a 90hp pushing a 5.1 plate boat and it,s great, it pays to look around.......
cheers

[curly]

pink panther hi,im in the process of changing from a 150hp johnson ocean runner to a150 4 stroke,you say this is not your favorite motor ! can you speculate a little more for me as it not to late for me to change to something else or stay where im am,theres a problem getting new yamahas over here in wa thanks curly

[Oldyella]

Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki.. Great motorcycles.. But for marine application, a good 'ol USA made product for me.. Merc, Mariner, or Jonnyrudes They were around when the Orientals were still trying to make a decent car. ;) ;) ;)

[jefro]

I have 2 hondas 1 130 honda 98 model is a gem and great on fuel and a 50 honda 03 model go the hondas ;D

[craigie]

Kirsty,

These days there are so many good options in relation to outboards, it's a toss of the coin which one to pick.

I have a 115 Merc Optimax 2004 (hi tech 2 stroke) and its fantastic. No smoke, quiet at idle, smart craft gauges, economical (2.3k's to the litre at cruise speed), super responsive :o & competitively priced.

Keep this one in mind when shopping for your new outboard.


Cheers
Craigie.

[Kirsty]

Thanks for your thoughts so far. So many options for a motor it has just about done my head in. :-/ We ruled the Honda out but that was partly to do with the salesman I think. >:(

So far we are leaning towards the e-tec there seem to be so many good reports, fuel economy, low fumes, low maintenance, enviro ratings & awards - apparently the only marine motor to win a clean air award, lighter in weight and it goes on.

Hopefully it's as good as it sounds ;)

[revs57]

G'day Kirsty,

If I was looking in the 115hp region as you are I'd include the Tohatsu LPDI (Low pressure direct injection) Tohatsu are as tough as nails, very reliable, very fuel efficient, not fumey and is used by many pro boats because of their bulletproof reliability. I've never heard a bad word about them.

Might be a bit on the lower end of the price market which is reflected in resale values...but certainly worth considering...

I have a 150 efi merc on the back of my 6mt platey...would love to upgrade to a 200 4 stroke Suzuki or Yam for fuel efficience reasons but not yet

Cheers

rhys

[dfox]

Rhys, i bet that oiler gets replaced a soon as the boss lets you ;D
Just missed meeting you at sundown today, apparantly you walked out just as i came in...

[MulletMan]

Curly, no it was not the Johno Mate, I wasn't all that mad about the Yammies but I have to be brutally honest, they all so good these days and Yammies seem to be favoured by a huge number of Boaties, that I might qualify by saying that several marine rescue units switched from the big Yammie 4-strokes to Suzakis and Hondas. Bear in mind that if a volunteer rescue group can't smash a motor in the first twelve months then it has to be a damn great motor!!! The strain on towing is huge and in the old days, I recall some of the Units getting 200 hours from a 2-stroke then into the dump.
The unit I was associated with got 2000 hours from an original 90 hp Honda and never spent a cent on it and it copped hell! Two more 90 Hondas on the larger rescue boat did 1200 hours each and never had a spanner out on them. The 135 hp Honda 4-stroke running now is superb! The Suzukis are getting rave reviews from those units who switched from Yammies but there are still many up along the coast who swear by the Yammy!
From a purely personal viewpoint my choice would be:

1. Honda
2. Suzuki
3. Yammie
4. Merc

I really have no experience with the new 2-strokes and would leave it up to the guys here who seem to be on top of the subject!!

Let us know what you go with!

[revs57]

Yeah Foxy,

You called it right ;D ;D ;D She who must be obeyed is the minister for finance...but I'm workin' on her and lobbying hard...

Sorry to have missed you at SM...man those guys (and girls) are tops...they really look after us Ausfishers hey. Maybe next time

Cheers

Rhys

[Rod_Bender]

Yammy all the way. Ask most fishing guides. Have a look at Water Police boats. Or even check out the dory's next time you pass trawlers..... 90% Yammy's. I've got one which is 6 years old (2 stroke) and had it from Brand new. Never had an issue with it and only service it every 2 years. Great on fuel as i only use it on average every 2-3 weeks. But its a hard choice. My mate use to sell Honda's and said his work shop would process at least 5-10 warranty claims a week. Suzi's would be my next choice after yammy's though. Try and ring up a mobile tech. in your area and ask him for his advice seeing as most times they won't be bias to one brand. I did!!! Roddy