Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Outboard preferences

Have a Yamaha 25 new this year, traded a 10 year old 20. No complaint

So thanks for the fish and fauna pics.

My Suzuki came with a 3 year non commercial warranty when I bought it in 2019. Don’t know what they have now.

We were looking at an old Merc 18 hp on my 16 foot Lund. No power outlets on it. Mechanic said it has just enough juice to fire the coils.

Things must have changed. It was an old motor with the blue band on the cowl.

Here you go Jag. Buy a new Suzuki and this could be you.

I've wondered about the 2 stroke outboards on Amazon. I'm surprised they are legal and wonder how well they work. 2 strokes are pretty simple and the Chinese predator motors at Harbor Freight are supposedly pretty good.


Amazon Link

Thems some nice Eyes.

These ones are also interesting.
https://www.cukusin.com/collections/outboard-motor

I still like 2 stroke motors but admit some of the new 4 strokes look good.

All of those are top rate motors. But Yamaha is in a class by itself (I've had their 3, 4, 8 and 250 hp motors). I believe Tohatsu builds the small Mercury's and Honda's.

Sounds like availability and price are the biggest variables; reliability seems to be good across the board, at least in the 4 stroke realm. There are dealers around here for all of them, so that's not much of a consideration unless you know something about their mechanics. I've seen a '17 Suzuki that's been used in salt water for a few years, don't know if that'd be an issue; I'm thinking on it.

Thanks for all of the responses.

On the offshore fishing boats I see at work it used to be all Yamaha. On the newer ones we are seeing mostly Mercury.

I have a Suzuki DF70 on my 22' pontoon. Its EFI and is an absolute joy to own and maintain. Starts very easy and runs like a top. Will push my toon about 23mph without a load.

I change the lower unit and engine oil once a year. Both come out looking just like they did when I put them in.

I wouldn't be afraid to own another Suzuki.

I have a 2022 60/40 Merc jet

It's nice but made in China

I had a 1988 40 Yamaha jet that was still running great when I sold it last year

The only small outboard I've ever owned is the 2012 carb'd 9.9 Yamaha kicker on my current boat. It's never failed to start, and starts easy. I pump the bulb a few times, pull the choke, press the starter, leave it choked until it "chugs" a little, then push the choke off and go. Nothing more than an oil/lower unit fluid change every spring and always run non-ethanol fuel.

I do try to run it at least 5-10min every weekend just so I don't have fuel sitting in the bowls getting "old". Use it to get back to the start of a drifting or trolling run, or pull cranks/plugs for a while. The only change I'd make if I were buying new today is I'd get a motor w/EFI instead of carbs.

Current boat has a Yamaha F-200 3.3L V-6 EFI 4-stroke and my previous boat had a Suzuki 150HP EFI 4-stroke. Based on the reliability of those 2, I'd not have any issue at all owning a smaller EFI from either manufacturer.

I've wondered where/how the 4 stroke motors' oil pans are located since outboard motors are essentially on their sides compared to most other motors? Do they completely depend on an oil pump to lube the top cylinders or do they have some kind of special oil pan?

I have had or been around many motors I prefer the Mercury hands down
My fishing partner has Honda 90 and 9.9 kicker
They run good but not as user friendly as merc
And the 9.9 throttle lock is cheesy and never did work
Had a 25 Yamaha for a few years reliable and powerful never liked the side shift and it was a gas hog

Yamaha because of all the a’s in the name

That’s all they run down in Mexico, dive boats, fishing, etc

The 4-stroke Tohatsus I've used have been okay. No problems, but some minor details could be better. Currently running a Yamaha 4-stroke 6hp on the 15' inflatable and the 20' sailboat, and have zero complaints with it. I don't understand people having problems with carb'd 4 strokes. Sounds like a gas/maintenance issue. One thing I like about the Yamaha 6hp (and the Suzuki equivalent) is the option of using external fuel tank or the internal fuel tank.

Buddy of mine calls Mercs welfare motors because they only work a few days each month

I don’t think 20 years ago we would have been talking about carbed 4 strokes having issues. But today’s gasoline is such a crap shoot. Even the supposed non ethanol stuff still can have traces of the corn squeezing in it.