evinrude 2 stroke still king.
I bought the 1st Yamaha outboard I ever saw on KY Lake in 1984 from a dealer in TN an hour from home that also carried Skeeter boats. I wanted the Skeeter Starfire and even had the Mercury outboard that was on it on the showroom floor taken off so I could get the boat with the Yamaha. I didn't have a single issue with the Yamaha until there was a warranty recall on the oil mix system. When I went to contact the dealer I bought it from, they were out of business. There was then a Yamaha dealer less than 2 miles from my house. I took my warranty recall card to that dealer. The guy who owned the place met me in the showroom but as soon as he found out why I was there, told me he would not touch my engine since I didn't buy it there. I asked him if he was a Yamaha dealer? He said yes. I then told him I was going straight back to house and call Yamaha. He walked out to my truck as I was pulling off his lot and told me to bring the rig and they would do the recall. I drove straight to my house,hooked up to the boat, and took it back to the dealer. He had me park it on the back side of his lot in an open area. My boat had never been rained on unless it was while I was fishing. It sat there, unprotected, for almost a month. When I got it back, it was covered in dirt, bird crap,etc. Needless to say I never darkened his door again and it wasn't too many years later he was out of business.
That event made me figure there were other dealers out there who would relish the chance to do the same. I hope I'm wrong but when a dealer 15 miles from my house asked me $4000 more for his Excel with a 115 Yamaha than I paid Bill at Big River Marine for the Excel with the 140 Suzuki, I figure they are still around.
www.crappie-gills-n-more.com
Podunk Ideas Pro Staff /test platform
PICO Lures Field Rep
Excel Boats Pro Staff
I love my yam I 150
The company I worked for last year brought out a brand new plate boat with a 90 Suzuki on it last year to move the barge around. Motor immediately had warning lights coming on. Keep in mind we are about 150 miles from where boat was bought. They spent about two hours on the phone(lake Shelbyville area) and could not find any dealer, had to haul it back to where bought to get serviced. Dealer and service should be really looked at when making a purchase!
I am in my third season on my Suzuki 90. By far the best motor I've ever owned, no comparison. Last year I had a day where I fished for about 12 hours, and the motor was running most of the time, trolling or running around on a huge lake. I filled the tank at the end of the day and had used 2 1/2 gallons.
The striper guides on Texoma run their boats hard, and run them nearly every day. They are mostly switching over to Suzuki motors. Look at what salt water folks are running. Not the ones on TV with big sponsors, look what the men buy who pay for their own motor.
The ONLY drawback to Suzuki (or Honda) is the sparse dealer network. I'm lucky to have a good dealer close by.
Tracker Panfish 16
Bonafide EX123 Kayak
I had that happen on mine, all the warning lights flashing, beeping, etc. I immediately shut it off and was scared to death I had done something to damage the motor.
I called my dealer from the water and talked him thru what was going on. Turns out it was the computer telling me it was time for scheduled service, dealer told me how to reset it and made a service appointment right then. Told me to finish the day fishing and not worry about it.
Tracker Panfish 16
Bonafide EX123 Kayak
Dad's uncle is commercial fisherman on the Ohio. He runs a mix of motors. Two mercs, two yamahas, and a back up suzuki. 50 through 150 tillers.
We fished with him below smithland one day and I was surprised by how quiet they are.
I have a 60 hp 2 stroke Yamaha that hates to just putt around. Can't hardly use it to troll or cruise around looking at the graph or it will shut off.
Yamaha
If I told you how many hours are on my Tohatsu built Merc.
You would not believe me
Last edited by Machine; 03-30-2016 at 02:54 PM.