Since I bought the new boat with a SHO my dealer and a few mechanics keep saying I have to run it WOT . I have two si units and like to use them. If a SHO can't handle this then Yamaha needs to build a better motor. I have to change my oil because it is making oil at 56hrs. Who do we blame, Yamaha or Humminbird ?

Use the walleye boat approach - get a little motor on the back to do your slow work.

Downside to running WOT: greater chance for breaking reeds. Just sayin'.

In bass fishing, you have to do some idling. When you do, trim your motor up as mush as possible so you do not have your exhaust under water. This will allow the motor to breath better and less likely to cause some of the problems mentioned above.

Sounds like some folks might have some olde thermostats stuck open or have leaky blow off valves not letting their motors heat up properly when running at idle. Too cold of a motor is not good.

Sounds like your rings have failed to seat. Better get that addressed before you have a failure.

The 2 strokes don't like to idle. If you force it on em enough , long enough, they are going to protest. Ya gotta spend some gas money and blow em out regularly and run the manufacturer's cocktail to address the ethanol issue.

Guess we're going to have to follow the lead of the walleye fisherman and run a small outboard motor for slower SI speeds.

No way will a bass fisherman ever put a little outboard on there rig. Really,what are they going to remove.First they have a min.225 hp outboard, add to that 2-12 powerpoles, and the must have transom mounted 360 sonar and oh yea don't forget all the tranducers mounted everywhere. And last but not least the ladder mounted on back for when the partners fall in (thats my story).

X2 mine dislikes slow speeds... Or maybe that's just my right foot

Do lower horse power motors do better ?? I have a Mercury 40.. I dont seem to have any problems going 2-6 mph while side scanning.. Should I also raise the motor as much as possible when going slow ?

My motor is 12yrs old and never seen WOT. Never had a problem with it.

Really? You think that sonar frequencies are destroying your motor? Dumb.... Run 89 octane with Ringfrew and Biobar.

I believe he is referring to the amount of idling, not sonar frequencies. Maybe you should rethink your strategy before you post next time. Just a thought.

Their is no doubt that the fuel we get nowdays is a big problem. To add my customers that have started using Sea Foam I do`nt see near as often as those who do`nt use it.

Man SI is bad! I need to start fishing and quit looking. I'm with those that say always try to let the big dog eat every trip! Why pay for it if you don't want to go fast?!