50 HP Boat Motors ??

[s219]

When I was shopping last fall, Yamaha seemed to be the golden child in terms of what was hot and what was best for resale. I also had the option for Honda or Suzuki, both of which would have been fine with me. But Yamaha seemed to have the best dealer support and reputation out on the water. I am told they mounted a massive marketing campaign years ago when Johnson/Evinrude folded, and have really captured a large part of the market.

I got a Yamaha 115 4-stroke with fuel injection, and so far it's been awesome. Only have about 50 hours on the motor though, so that's not much experience. But the price/performance was good.

 

[nybirdman]

Remember;four strokes are heavy for their horse-power,require yearly service.They are quiet and good on fuel.Evinrude doesn't require service for three years.I have a two stoke Johnson,one friend a Evinrude two stroke and the third a four stroke Mercury,a fourth a four stroke Yamaha.Thel Mercury's yearly service is $200.00+, that alone will stop me from purchasing any four stroke.
I would rate them.
Evinrude(Johnson)
Nissan (Tahatsu)
Yamaha
Honda
Mercury
Suzuki

 

[coobie]

Remember;four strokes are heavy for their horse-power,require yearly service.They are quiet and good on fuel.Evinrude doesn't require service for three years.I have a two stoke Johnson,one friend a Evinrude two stroke and the third a four stroke Mercury,a fourth a four stroke Yamaha.Thel Mercury's yearly service is $200.00+, that alone will stop me from purchasing any four stroke.
I would rate them.
Evinrude(Johnson)
Nissan (Tahatsu)
Yamaha
Honda
Mercury
Suzuki

Weight would not be a real issue,the motor is going on our pontoon boat.I have a two stroke now but leaning towards the 4 stroke.Thanks.

 

[roadhunter]

I've run a lot of smaller outboards when I owned a marine construction business and hands down the most dependable motors we used were Honda.

 

[bucktaker]

I dont have much experience with outboards other than my 1996 25 hp mariner 2cycle but I can tell you that on Norris lake Yamaha is by far the most popular outboard mercury a distance second few Hondas with only one Suzuki spotted

 

[IXLR8]

I live on the coast of Maine. When I was looking for a boat a few years ago I looked about the harbors to see what the 'working' boats were using running on their boats. The majority were Yamaha, followed closely by Honda, Suzuki and Tahatsu were down a ways on the list, very few Merc's about. I ended up with a wooden boat with a 30hp diesel Yanmar.

 

[sld]

If you are close to a Bass Pro or Cabelas they can have some good deals on outboards. I'm not sure how small the Optimax goes but they are the cat's meow. I have one and it has been trouble free turn key starts for 6 years now. Very good on gas too.

 

[clemsonfor]

isnt a suzuki an OMC copy or a sister to the new motors now? I know its not OMC really anymore with the Bombadier takeover...really hated that but ohwell

 

[clemsonfor]

yamaha is basically the fad thing now a days...like costa sunglasses or Iphones. its what others have and those that want what others will have will flock to it to be like the in crowd. That said i am not saying Yam does not make a good motor, but i have seen some problems with a few close to me. My brother in law had 2 on a Cat he had those motors were nothing but trouble after a few years. My friend had one he bought in high school and mounted on his boat it was a 2 stroke and this was 10 years ago but it threw a rod out the side just 10 hours or so out of warrenty...they did nothing, not even a partial payment toward a new powerhead. He wont own another.

Mercury were have become big since the OMC bankruptcy as they captured a lot of thier market share before they started back with the new line and were proven. Also in the last 10 years or so they were the cheapest big name so thats what many put on boats. Pontoons almost always had a merc on them from what i can see the last 10 years at least around here, unless the buyer speced something else or the boat dealer was a yam or honda dealer or something. Its a pricepoint thing. That said there not the cheapest i think Tohatsu is cheaper and make a good motor (is thier 4 stroke a johnson copy...im not as up on boats as i was years ago...been to busy to use and keep up with mine).

Honda is popular cause of thier reputation...they build a good motor, but its pricy!!!

I dont know how small the evinrude line of E tecs goes now, use to only be the really big motors..maybe down to to the 50/60 class but not sure. If i were to buy another it would be an evinrude/johnson Etec 2 stroke. THere way more fuel efficient than the old ones and even current ones and they dont have the drive train to fail like the 4s and there way more effecient and dont have the exhaust like the old 2s. Its gonna be way easier than my 1991 Johnson 150GT that i have on one of my boats, you can watch the gauge go down on that thing!!!

 

[coobie]

Well I ended up buying the 4 stroke 50hp Suzuki this morning for $7,000 plus tax.I also liked the 2 stroke Evinrude e-tec 50hp but could not justify paying $1,000 bucks more.Thanks for everyones input.