best 4 stroke outboard

[bassman]

Hey gang,

 

I wanted to see what your experiences and opinions are with 4 stroke motors. There are a couple of manufacturers that have great reputations, but I wanted see what the community has to say.

I'd prefer not to hear from anyone that is sponsored, for obvious reasons.

 

Cheers!

Edited November 11, 2009 by bassman

[Fisherman]

It's not in your HP range, but I'll stick with the Honda products. 25HP bought in '96 it's on its second set of plugs, annual oil and fuel filter and lower unit oil, no repairs or adjustments in 13 years. I know they cost a bit more, and ya there's not a dealer on every corner like the black ones, but, then again, if you build them right....

[danbouck]

I have an 08 merc 50 4 stroke and I love it. I have no other 4 strokes to compare it to though

[GBW]

We have 2 Honda's. A 8HP and 4HP and both have been and still are great. Just like fisherman said, little work done so fay in the 12 or 13 years on both units.

My 8HP has a build in alternator that I plug into to keep my battery charged for the fish finder. As long as the Honda's running it's charging the battery...

[irishfield]

What HP range???

 

No issues with my 5 or 25 Honda.... but I have heard of, first hand, some issues with the 150 and ups

 

Also no issues with my 9.9 Merc Pro Kicker or 275 Verado.

[Fang]

One question first, what are you pushing for a boat?

 

talked to alot of boat owners over the years staying at my nephews old place on temagami. I'd say I've driven most models over the last 20 years up there but except for a 20HP evinrude on my first boat I and any of my folks have only every owned Mercs. Very reliable parts and service anywhere you go.

We try and forget the experiences we had with 1 Yamaha 115 and only chalk that up to poor service from the marina that failed to diagnose a simple electrical problem after being in the shop 6 times.

 

All I can add to this is that for the most part 4 stokes are great on gas and no oil needed. But if I had any money to spend on any motor it would be a Merc Optimax now. Fast on the top end and they idel down to do most trolling. Do yourself if your looking at at higher HP motor purchase. Buy a seperate trolling motor.

 

Who are we fooling outboards have only 2 speeds. Idle and wide open!!!!! There's never enough HP under you. Spend the money and get one suited for your boat. DO NOT UNDERPOWER!!

[bassman]

Thanks for the input, I originally had 90-115hp on the post, but I wanted to get an opinion on all HP's. I'm looking to purchase a 16-17 foot aluminum boat, and I'm confident that a 90-115HP would suffice. I'm leaning towards a Yamaha, Honda, or Merc, in that order. I just wanted to see what everyone thought.

[ld17]

consider looking at the new E-tec's. Pretty impressive I say. Check out their web site, lots of comperison's.

[Guest gbfisher]

Good choice with either the Merc, Honda or Yamaha. I've got a Yamaha 225 and a 9.9 and haven't had any issues with them yet.

I have heard that Mercs can be a little temperamental...lol I know the 225, 2 strokes have had issues.

Meegs has a Merc 50, fourstroke and after one season has had it in for coils.

My buddy bought an 115,2 stroke E-Tec and has had issues with it in the first 50 hours. Should be 300 hours with out service. That's what they claim anyway. It's been back twice so far. Maybe just a lemon.

Good luck with your choice.

[craigdritchie]

consider looking at the new E-tec's. Pretty impressive I say. Check out their web site, lots of comperison's.

E-Tec is a two-stroke motor, just like a Merc Optimax.

[moemoe]

I have a yamaha 100hp 4 stroke for 3 years, it's a nine year old motor, and it has been a dream, not one issue, starts right away, powers off well, I also have a 6hp yamaha kicker, great, motor, sips gas..I can troll for 6 hours on lake o for about 4 bucks

[Frenchie]

I've had Mercurys before but my last two motors have been Yamahas.... A 2007 25 which was great ... liked it so much I put a '09 Yamaha 90 HP on the boat I bought this summer ... so far so good... its quick, quiet, seems good on fuel ... runs great . If I were in the market again I d look to Yamaha for a third time ...

[bassman]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the feedback.

[DRIFTER_016]

I need to repower my boat as well. I have been fortunate enough to guide on Great Bear Lake the last 15 years and have used 4 strokes from Mercury, Yamaha and Honda. My personal experience is that the Yamaha would be my first choice unless I can save a good chunk of $$$ by buying Mercury. It's nearly $11,000 to put a Yammie on my boat. If I can save a couple of grand by going with Mercury I will as they are almost as good a Yamaha. We found that the Honda's were a little weak in the lower unit to be using them at the lodge. We found that just about any contact with a shoal would demo the gears, This does not happen with the Yammies and Mercs. Living in shield country it's not if you are going to hit rocks it's when and how hard.

So there you have it. I pick Yamaha as #1 unless Mercury is a good bit cheaper. I would pay a $1000 more for a Yammie but no more.

 

 

P.S. This I'm looking at a 90-100 hp motor.

Edited November 13, 2009 by DRIFTER_016

[bassman]

Thanks for the great tip Drifter, and yes I do plan on fishing some rocky areas.

[Gman]

If you can hold off till November 20th at least see what Yamaha is coming out with it might be worth it as I've got good word their launching a new motor, supposedly all new high performance 4-strokes.

 

Cheers,

Gman

[AzuluSpookd]

I've had my 90 HP 4 Stroke for four years now (2005) and I have had no issues with it. I find that it's not as quiet as the Yammy's, but I'm still very happy with it. As Fisherman says, I just do what he does every year and I haven't had any issues.

[Sinker]

Mine is a '93 40 mariner tiller. Its been bullet proof.

 

When I upgrade, its going to be a 40 yamaha.

 

S.

[bigbuck]

Put the biggest Yammie that will fit on the back of the boat. DON'T UNDERPOWER!!! What will end up happening is that you'll have 4 people on the boat and it won't want to plane.

[troutologist]

Ran a 4 stroke merc 40 as a guide on great slave. Long hours of constant trolling it never coughed. I'll second the toughness of mercs lower unit, it takes alot to do serious damage. Drifter's comments echo what I have heard many times about the 3 big brands of 4 strokes.

 

Buying my boat, it was between the yammy and merc. Merc won out by about 3 grand....its been great so far and actually runs a little faster than the 75 yamaha on the same boat. Im quite happy with how quiet the 75 is also like the layout of the controls on the big tiller arm. No steering assist and its a breeze to control, even running rapids which require lots of maneuvering. Once the smart craft guages go in to provide the rpm control I should be able to forward troll to around 1.5 and backtroll under 1mph (2.2 and 1.3 GPS right now)

[lew]

I bought a new 90 HP Merc 4 stroke back in 2001 and ran it for 7 years on my Crestliner and in all those years it was absolutely flawless and never had a single problem with it......... Never had to touch a thing on it. Fluids & filters were changed regularily and new plugs every couple years.

 

I've got a new rig now with a 150 Yamaha 4 stroke and hopefully it'll perform as well as the Merc, and after the 1st season I'm VERY happy with it.

[craigdritchie]

I bought a new 90 HP Merc 4 stroke back in 2001 and ran it for 7 years on my Crestliner and in all those years it was absolutely flawless and never had a single problem with it......... Never had to touch a thing on it. Fluids & filters were changed regularily and new plugs every couple years.

 

I've got a new rig now with a 150 Yamaha 4 stroke and hopefully it'll perform as well as the Merc, and after the 1st season I'm VERY happy with it.

You should be a happy guy then. Yamaha manufactured Merc's four-stroke powerheads for many years.

[Gman]

Appears the leaks are starting -

 

http://basscatowners.yuku.com/topic/10809/...ne-250-SHO.html

 

Cheers,

G.

[danc]

My 2001 60 HP Merc (Yamaha power head) has been trouble free since day one. It's never been back to the shop since the day I bought it. It starts effortlessly even after 7 or 8 months winter storage.