250 sho vs 250 Pro xs??

I want a 4 stroke, but ive herd the sho blows powerheads like crazy. Makes me nervous . What motor would you have?

This should be a fun post

Get a SHO and enjoy. Mine is 3 years old and never missed a beat.
The first year they had some bugs but they have long been fixed.

I had Mercury on my previous two boats. The last was Z522 2012 250 Pro XS. The one before that was a 2004 Opti 225 on a VX 521. I have a 250 Sho now on a 921 Phoenix I bought new back in Oct. This is my take, the Mercury is a good motor and I have no complains with either one. The Mercury will resale better at this time I believe. I was scare of the Sho to for the same reason, but I got to talk to a couple motor guys at different boat dealers and they said the same thing. The Sho had problems the first couple of years but now they run great. They both did say you need to run the Sho hard for the break in to seat the rings, this is were the problems come, the rings do not get seat right so they let gas by and into the oil. This is what they call making oil and what the problem is. The oil gets deluded and takes the bearing out which blows the motor. The way you keep this from happening is getting the temperature up to seat the rings in the first 10 hours. I have close to 100 hours and my motor has never made oil. just my .02 good luck

Thats some very intersting info , i was set on the sho until the dealer told me 6 out of 10 sho motors will blow and he is a yamaha and merc dealear. Im kinfa leaning towards the pro xs now....

Pro XS for me, the SHO seems to be a good engine, I just like black and speed.

I do not know the true numbers but I would have a hard time believing that 6 of 10 are blowing for this reason. I think because of how many Skeeter's are on fork, if that was really the number they couldn't give away Skeeter's and we would spent all of our time towing them to shore. I know they had big problems in the beginning and I am sure their is still a few but nothing like 6 of 10. just my .02

The dealer is an idiot. If 6 out of 10 sho motors blew up Yamaha Marine would be out of business, Skeeter would be too.
Also if you want to see which has the best resale value go to Bass Boat Central and look at used boat pricing. The boats with SHO on them are all higher than with Mercury. They are both great motors but don't let rumors or bs make your decision.

Merc

It wasn't just the first couple years. My buddy lost the powerhead on his 2014 this spring. I believe it is more to do with how they are broke in. There may be some truth to what those mechanics said. If you do buy a SHO make sure you do exactly what Yamaha says to do during breakin. I know from racing that the new synthetics are so good even Chevrolet had trouble with ring seat on a lot of the Corvette engines. On our race engines we ran them on the dyno with conventional oil and switched to synthetic on race day. If you don't seat the rings I can see blowing gas by the rings therefore "making" oil. And any time you dilute oil you will have bearing trouble. I've personally seen some of the new SHO's go many hours with no problems and when you talk to them they will tell you they followed breakin to the letter and keep up on the maintenance. So I wouldn't be scared to buy either if I was buying new but would worry if I bought used.JMHO

Two months ago, Bass Angler Magazine did a product review on the 250 SHO compared to the Merc and Evinrude.
They were impressed and the overall power and hole shot beat the other two hands down.
I bought a new Skeeter with the 250 SHO and love it. It is a beast

I own Two bass boats, one with a SHO thats on the third powerhead, and one with a Mercury thats never had a wrench put on it, with that being said I really like the SHO and Yamaha is figuring it out, I have 20hrs on the current powerhead and Yamaha told me Do Not run synthetic oil unti I have 100 hrs on it to insure that the rings seat properly. And no a SHO will not run with a Mercury,

Go with the sho!

You want a 4 stroke check out the Verado Pro that thing is supposed to be a beast.

Do not own a SHO outside of a warranty. Period.

I've had both and never had an issue with the SHO, last years boat had a merc and I sold that boat quicker than I did the same boat with a SHO, may be a coincidence. I went with the Merc agin on my new boat and the SHO will not run with my mercs. Oil consumption in the mercs have been minimal as well as fuel consumption is better than my sho was. My next boat will have a merc, no question about it.

Can't think of anything I've ever owned that has been more trouble free and performed better than my last three 250 Pro XS Mercs.

You can never go wrong with a Mercury.

Ok.... I say merc.... But that is my second choice... Evinrude would be my first... That new G2 is a BEAST!!

A friend of mine bought a new boat a little over a year ago and put a SHO on it. No problems at all in that time. I've never been so impressed with a motor.

Mercury. All day. Everyday.

Resale is definately better with Mercury when I got my new boat and sold my Skeeter that was the first thing the dealer asked was if you have a SHO what powerhead you on although I sold it out right that still bothered me that dealers still dont like taking those motors. I was always a Yamaha guy until the SHO come out now Im a Merc guy and love the Pro XS.

How come no one is mentioning the Verado? I have yet to hear anything about them blowing up. Look at all the Verados on the coastal boats. With that said my last boat FX20 had a SHO. My next boat will have a Merc either Verado or Pro XS

Numbers like that would drive Yammy broke just like ficht drove Johmrude to Bankrupcy.

YAMAHA is a more diversified corp. than OMC was. It will sale enough drum sets and organs to stay in business. Go with the Mercury.

Ordered my new boat with the 250 Pro XS. Last boat was a 96 model I had since new. With a Mercury. Motor still runs great. Have now idea how many hours on it. At least 500+. Only bought a fuel filter and plugs a few times. And a primer bulb. This last spring the carb linkage broke and I just decided it's time for a new boat. Sold it as is. The new owner made a linkage from parts from Ace Hardware and has been boating all the while I wait for my new boat. 4 1/2 more weeks.

Thats why Brett Hite and Randal Tharp yanked there's off. Merc will out run the sho. They both have there pros and cons

I am on my second SHO. No problems at all. As mentioned SEAT the RINGS! There were some issues and bugs on the first series of the SHO. Most of those have been worked out. Not saying it can't happen and I hope it doesn't. I can say I am pleased. As with the SHO also. DO NOT lugged them at low RPMs. Open it up and let it run. This was a problem in the Motocross world when the SHO was introduced into them. I have found it gets better MPG also at higher RPM than running it at 40 MPH & 4000 RPM. Also, another thing, when it is cold, let the SHO warm up for a few minutes before you open her up to run full throttle.

I was a Mercury guy for years. But, with the issues of being cold natured and cranking one up. A problem I have never had with any of my Yamahas, 5 and counting. I will stay with Yamaha.

Another thing with any engine. Pay to have a Micro Water Separator. Ethanol fuel is a killer. They will pay for themselves Ten Fold! Also use either Sta-Bil Marine or Biobor EB, which I use both. Sta-Bil is making a new 360, I haven't tried it. Just my .02¢ worth.

This ^^ Out of warranty powerhead for 250 sho is around 12K

It's my understanding when breaking in any motor, it's about heat cycles. I've owned both motors and they both performed flawlessly for me. If I can get the same boat,same price with the same options, hours etc I'm taking the SHO. But I won't pay 2k more for it. My only complaint is there aren't many yamaha certified places around me

Isn't the SHO about an 1800 upgrade? I don't understand why you say it affects the resale value?

Well. For starters, you'll have -$1800 equity(at least, probably MUCH more) as soon as you sign the papers.

Most of the posts are a ford vs Chevy post. I've owned both a 250proxs and a 250sho. I've had several friends blow powerheads on the pro Xs as well as the SHO. In my case I never blew a powerhead on the pro xs. It had 250 hours when I sold it. The SHO has 200 on it and hasn't had a issue. Fuel economy is about equal. Merc maybe a little better. Hole shot is SHO all the way. Top speed merc all the way. If Skeeter sold a boat with a merc I would own it....... Both good motors. And honestly I wouldn't own either out of warranty...

Always amazed at how defensive people get when the topic of boat or motor brands gets started. Amazed at how personal some start taking everything. Act like you just slapped one of their children. Did not know so many people on the forum owned stock in Mercury and Yamaha or Skeeter and Ranger. I have a Merc 250XS and have not had a problem. I have two friends with SHO's and one blew a power head very early. One did not. So simple deduction: Mercury's are 100% trouble free motors and Yamaha SHO's blow up 50% of the time, right? :-) Everyone just post your experiences and don't take anything personal. It's not a reflection on you just because you bought the crappy one! :-)

My issue is with the Yamaha Corp. period. They make explosives and call them outboard motors. HPDI SHO sure they honored their warranty that said it was the boat owner that was without use of their boat callous for sure. Any outboard that cannot be run at all rpm ranges is useless for the average fisherman. For this reason I would chose the Merc. Honestly for 4 stroke power my choice would be Honda the very best made. My opinion ragged edge preformance means nothing reliability at all RPM means everything.

1st off both are great motors. But there are trade offs with both. True there have been a ton of SHO's that have blown up. I don't think anyone will argue that point. But has anyone know of ANY SHO owner that has had to pay for their repair? Yamaha has covered ALL SHO power head failures! Even if you have multiple power head failures on the same engine!
As for Merc. the week link is the lower unit. It is common on the PRO XS to snap a drive shaft. No an inexpensive repair. Also if you trash a lower unit on a PRO XS there is no rebuilding it. You have to have a complete lower unit $3500 repair.
It's up to your pick your poison!

yea actually I do 2 friends had to buy there powerheads

How much were they and how long is the warranty on a new power head for a SHO?

I've got a '08 boat with a '12 225 Pro XS. Blew 2 power heads before I got one that would stay out of the shop all the time. Mercury stood behind it 100%. It sucked that it happened but is what it is. I would not be scared to own any of the big 3.

That has nothing to do with anything when you sell the boat just look around and read on used boats most all with a SHO has a hard time selling it most dealers if you trade that will be the first question what motor SHO then they will ask what powerhead you on. My dealer won even take a trade if it has the SHO because of resale problems its hard to get rid of them.

oh my

Mercury

Threads like this are usually useless to the original poster. Which is better, this boat or that one, Revos or Lews.
I made my final decision based in part on the article in Bass Anglers Magazine that reviewed the 250 SHO a few months ago. I have owned Yamahas and Mercs before, and with a good boat dealer nereby, (Fun n Sun), and reports from folks that I knew, I chose the Skeeter/Yamaha.
I passed on the Triton with the Evinrude Gen 2, which I hear now is more reliable, and a Ranger with the Merc.
Buy the dang rig that you want and don't look back.
I just don't think you'll get the true picture here
Anyway. Good luck to you

First I ever heard bout a weak lower unit on a merc. The solid hubs are un forgiving the verado cases with the flo torq hub is the way to go. I did snap a drive shaft after hitting a stump. It was rebuilt.

I have a 2013 SHO and no problems so far. I really like the performance of the SHO.

I think he is right about Mercury blowing housing a part. I lost one a few years ago the first question the shop asked was is their a hole in the side of the housing? He said when they blow up the gears go through the side of the housing and you have to buy a new one. I believe he told me if it just lose a shaft you can rebuild it. I had a buddy blow is up on a guide trip a few weeks ago and same thing their to. The gears went through the housing and he had to get a new one.

thanks bro for your info

Folks I think they all are building a good motor now. They all can blow up or have problems. The problems each company had or is having will be fixed under warranty. I would have no problem buying a Mercury, that is what was on my last two boats and loved them, I like my Sho now and the performance of the motor. I am not sure I would own anything else at this point. I will say if I start having tons of problems maybe I change my mind but right now all I can say is WOW on the difference in performance between the two motors on take off and low end torque. I am sure I would also like the performance of the new G2 its all in what you like and get use to. My last two boats were Rangers and love the boats I run a Phoenix now and it is a great boat and I have no intent on going back to Ranger at this point but you know things Change and a person should never say never. LOL I have eaten them words many times. just my .02

B. Hite went from E-rude to Yamahammer now he's rollin the Merc! Took him a while, but he finally made the right choice! haha

In my boat owning years I have one Rude, 2 Mercs and 4 SHOs. Never blown any of them. Break them in right and keep up with maintenance. They'll all blow if you abuse them.