Who is the Toyota of small outboards 9.9-15 HP 4 stroke?

finner said:
Tohatsu. I believe they make the lower hp motors for Nissan as well. Have a 15 and a 20 that run great with minimal maintenance.
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They make all the mercury’s to 60 hp also. And some for Honda. But I’d buy the Merc version before the tohatsu or Nissan. Nicer overall in my opinion of using both.
 
I have a couple Suzuki's that are 11 years old and have been problem free on my big boat. With that, I would go Yamaha if buying again for no other reason than the testimony you are seeing above. Many people will say the same.
 
Having owned Yamaha, Evinrude and Honda…Yamaha without a doubt. I agree that the Suzuki and Mercs are starting to get some attention, but no experience with them. The Honda was the worst outboard I’ve owned.
 
Tohatsu 8 Hp's seem to be the go-to drift boat motor in my area for some reason. They must be the lightweight option?
 
I've been mapping some stuff out, so normal trip would be 5ish miles on the water, longer in the 15mile range. Have some interest in the Stryker Brand as well with a 15-20 on it. As you guys know as you go up in HP, the weight is going up and makes it much less portable.
 
Coveyleader said:
I've been mapping some stuff out, so normal trip would be 5ish miles on the water, longer in the 15mile range. Have some interest in the Stryker Brand as well with a 15-20 on it. As you guys know as you go up in HP, the weight is going up and makes it much less portable.
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a 9.9 is basically a reduced power 15hp. So depending on the inflatable you go with i would get a 15hp minimum for the same weight.
 
I'd say Yamaha as well, but currently have a 9.8 Tohatsu that has been pretty good
as long as you run the gas out of the carb EVERY time you use it.
 
The Yamaha are great these days, for older pre 1995 motors, i vote Honda. The 10 HP's were ridiculously reliable. Heavy, slow, overbuilt and BORING. Best suited as a kicker really.
 
Bull_n_heat said:
Yamaha. Hands down.
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I've put together three microskiffs in the last year, for myself and friends. All engines were brand new, two Mercury 15 EFI four strokes and my most recent came with a Yamaha 9.9. I used to run Yamaha saltwater series engines when I guided, so I gave it a shot.

I hate it. The tiller is on the wrong side so I have to steer left handed, it doesn't have an oil filter for some reason which is a weird design, and I had to pull it about 20 times yesterday to get it started- this is with brand new plugs and ethanol free fuel, about a week after it was run last. It does okay once it's gotten to temp, but runs much more like an older engine than it should as a '24 model.

Mercury engines 20 and under are actually just Tohatsus that are imported and given a better tiller. That one is big in my book- I find it much more intuitive to steer right handed, and you can adjust the offset to whichever side you prefer. Plus they are bulletproof... my buddy flipped the boat we build and the only ill effect was about an ounce of water he had to flush out of the fuel system. Thing now runs like a top.

My vote is Mercury all day.
 
20hp Suzuki. I have one I run the piss out of all spring and summer and it has been reliable as a claw hammer.

One of my best friends owns an outboard shop in one of the most inclement places in the US. He services and repairs all brands and sells Suzuki. His take is that in the last decade Honda has clung to old tech until recently, they were the last to run carbs. Yamaha are riding their old rep and not what they once were. Suzuki made a push to modernize and take some market share and when they started were a bargain because they were cheaper than the others. He says he sees very few warranty claims from Suzuki and many happy customers.
 
Slickhill said:
20hp Suzuki. I have one I run the piss out of all spring and summer and it has been reliable as a claw hammer.

One of my best friends owns an outboard shop in one of the most inclement places in the US. He services and repairs all brands and sells Suzuki. His take is that in the last decade Honda has clung to old tech until recently, they were the last to run carbs. Yamaha are riding their old rep and not what they once were. Suzuki made a push to modernize and take some market share and when they started were a bargain because they were cheaper than the others. He says he sees very few warranty claims from Suzuki and many happy customers.
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Thanks for the feedback
 
I bought a Suzuki 20 HP tiller about 4 years ago to put on my jon boat. I got tired of dealing with carburetor issues on an older Johnson 2 stroke that kept me off the water. I don’t get out a lot, but when I decide to go, I want something that just works. I bought the 20 HP because it was the same size and weight as the 9.9 for a few hundred bucks more. I kept it simple with pull start rather than dealing with electronic start. I figured one less thing to break and worry about. I don’t have a ton of miles on the motor, only about 36 hours in 4 years. Over the summer it wouldn’t start and after trying to troubleshoot it myself I ended up just taking it to a shop to get it running again. It turns out it needed a new fuel pump and with parts and labor it cost me close to $1,000, which is ridiculous for a motor that only cost me $2,500. I say all this to mention, that I don’t think a Suzuki is the Toyota of small outboards. I bought the motor for reliability over an older motor and with minimal hours on it, keeping it covered and doing the 20 hour maintenance on it should be running good without issue, but that’s not the case. If I were buying new again I’d spend the extra money and get a Yamaha.
 
Current boat has a Yamaha 10 hp kicker.
My old Zodiac had a Nissan 18 hp two stroke. It weighed 92#.
Semi managable to take off motor dolly and throw on inflatable transom.
On a lake at 5000' elevation it would push 20 mph WOT according to GPS.
It was a fun boat and miss hunting out of it some days.
I would recommend 2 stroke for power to weight ratio
DSC00293.JPG
 
Coveyleader said:
As I'm running on the ocean for the most part, with giant tides, dependability is key. In a lake you can row to shore. Weight is surely a consideration but dependability is paramount.

Looking over prices. Objections on a 1-2 year old motor? I'm seeing a lot of used that were kickers for big boats.
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I owned a bigger Suzuki 4stroke and it was awesome.
With regard to used, what I've seen is kicker-sized engines get used A LOT and really don't depreciate.
I would buy new.
 
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