I recently had a mechanic tell me that he thought yamaha was the best motor. He said he rarely sees them in the shop and parts are readily available when they are in the shop. Are there any outboard mechanics that can back up this claim or have another opinion. Thanks

Suzuki 4 strokes are very good, depending on the dealer, parts will be in stock like a tracker dealer stocks mercury and your yami dealer stocks yamaha parts, the Suzuki is a torque monster and that's why two stroke companies dont compare as much to the Suzuki I.e. The e-tec 4 stroke challenge. When it comes to two stroke, a yamaha can't be beat, that's just my opinion, some love their opti's and some love the e-tec, when I buy my new bay boat, I'm gonna get an etec cause they're cool, even though I should get a zuki 4 stroker

did I contradict myself enough?

Sounds like a ford chevy dodge argument to me, they all run they all burn gas, and they all break, pic your favorite and take care of it, it will take care of you.

matt

I don't know if yamaha is the best motor, however I don't think you can go wrong with a yamaha 2 or 4 stroke. If you are looking at getting a new motor in the near future I would give the 4 stroke some thaught, and if you are thinking about a 4 stroke I would look at Honda. I believe that Honda has the best 4 stroke outboard on the market. Suzuki 4 stroke is what I have on my boat and it runs good without any problems to speak of.

I'm not a mechanic, and you don't say whether you're talkin bout new motors or old, but if you want to go back to '70s '80s '90s vintage motors, there's by far more johnnyrudes still in service than anything else - they're bulletproof, easy to work on, and parts are readily available at reasonable prices.

They use Yamaha on the coast mainly. At least the people that have money do. The reason you see so many Mercs on the coast, is that they give good deals to guides, or so I'm told.

You cant go wrong with a Yamaha HPDI or a Merc Optimax, though.

I had a Yamaha 200 OX 66 now have a Mercury 200 Optimax. Never had a single problem with the Yamaha. The Opti seems to get about close to 3X the gas mileage. If it's reliable I will love it.

All new Mercs should come with a 50ft rope. That's so you can pull those Yam's home.........LOL LOL LOL
Actually the best motor on the market is the one that doesn't have to go to the repair shop on a constant basis. I've seen, in the last 20 years, more engines ruined by owner ignorance than mechanical failure dew to engine malfunction. So bottom line is; Learn your motor, know it's capitabilities, do your maintenance. It will in turn, give you great service.

Mike, I have always wondered what you're supposed to do with that rope with the wooden handle thats on the inside of the cowling on some older Mercury's.
Just kidding, I did have the chance to start my old tower of power 150 with the rope. I am pretty big enough but as hard as I could pull and the motor would just go blump blump blump. Only two blumps if you didn't get it just right. You had to have the motor primed and ready to start it with a pull rope.

I roped pulled my 225 merc once...good thing I carry ether in the boat, or it wouldn't have happened.

I won't bash the suzuki/honda lovers, but I would suggest before you dive into one, check to see what replacement parts on those motors cost. And if you can even get them. And sit down when you do.

Yea! We started our 1982 150 Mariner with a rope, during the last leg of a TABC tournament on Falcon one year. We had ran the battery down so far that it wouldn't turn over. That wasn't easy, it was like push starting an air compressor......

Whoa..whoa..whoa...Ford, Chevy and Dodge? Dodge? I own a Dodge and I can say there is no arguing about them being the best. Unless you're saying that Dodge's are the equivalant to those Force outboard motors.

One thing that might be worth mentioning is Merc and 'Rude both have parts houses in Dallas...Yamaha stuff comes from Atlanta area.

I have owned Yamaha, Merc and 'Rude and they have all been good, I think as mentioned above the owner's maintenance can make a BIG difference.

I have an '01 Yammy 100 4 stroke. I was a die hard JohnnyRude fan before owning it, and I don't think I'll ever go back.

It starts on the tap of the key, even after sitting for a month. Has never (knock on wood) broken, and the only work I've ever had to do on it was routine maintainence, plugs, oil changes and impeller every other year. Dealer always had them in stock