Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Who has a Suzuki outboard and how good are they?

My last boat had a 70 HP Evinrude that was made by Suzuki. It was a good motor,and never gave a minutes trouble.

I do not have one, although had I been given the option of Suzuki vs. Honda and Yamaha I probably would have gone with the Suzuki for a couple of reasons. I run a boat for work. I did a lot of research on re-powering it. I found that any of the following would be great motors:

Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda, Evinrude E-TEC. I would stay away from the larger sized Mercury Verado's as I have personally seen US CUSTOMS and Texas Parks and Wildlife blow lower units at less than 100 hours. Mercury has then had to come back and replace them with a much heavier duty racing lower unit (motors are black but the new lower units are grey or silver).

Anyway back to Suzuki like you asked. I think they are the lightest 4 stroke you can buy in their class (check the weights of 150's and 225's). They also have an excelent warranty, and they are faster and lighter than the Honda and the Yamaha. I know lots of charter guides who run suzuki's and they love them.

The Evinrude E-Tec however is the clear winner in performance tests..so then why aren't people buying them up like crazy??? Reason is the oil injected two strokes are not as appealing to most people compared to a four stoke. Evinrude ETEC injects oil into the cylinder wall, which uses less oil, and is cleaner than most 4-strokes.

Bottom line, find the best deal you can find on a Suzuki, Yamaha, or Honda and I am sure you will be happy.

What size are you looking for? Are you looking to re-power or brand new?

Anyway back to Suzuki like you asked. They are the lightest 4 stroke you can buy in their class

Huh?? My F70 Yamaha is 100 pounds lighter than a DF70-90 Suzuki (356#).
For that same weight in a Mercury you can have a 115.

Sorry, that might have been too broad of a statement. At least in the class I researched...I guess one should do his homework on all makes and models before opening my mouth...

Anyway..I thought they were lighter than Honda and Yamaha 4-strokes...

GregF wrote:

Anyway back to Suzuki like you asked. They are the lightest 4 stroke you can buy in their class

Huh?? My F70 Yamaha is 100 pounds lighter than a DF70-90 Suzuki (356#).
For that same weight in a Mercury you can have a 115.

The guys around here have told me about some reliability problems with Etecs used in commercial service. It might not affect the casual recreational user but they had 2 blow up around 1400-1500 hours.

The Suzuki/Evinrude 4 strokes have corrosion problems in salt water. Fresh water may not be a problem. Two neighbors had them (a 40 and a 70). Both failed. The 70 was simply scrapped, the guy with the 40 rode the bankruptcy all the way down and finally did get some satisfaction from Bombardier and Bank of America.
The commercial guy with the Etecs loves the 225 Suzukis he replaced them with. They are still going strong, running several hours a day, almost every day. He even says they are better on gas.

After lots of research, I ended up between Yamaha and Mercury. Since the mid range Mercs are made in China I went with the Japanese, a subtle difference but a difference.

Honda does have the lightest 50HP 4S if you want something that small

I suppose we really should be comparing block size to block size since they get a number of horsepowers out of each block.

I do think you should buy the most horsepower you can get out of a block size. You don't need to rev it up that high but it is nice to know you can. In an EFI 4 stroke I bet for a given speed the fuel economy is comparable across a given block size range of HPs. You just have the opportunity to burn more gas for a little more speed if you want, in the higher HP size.
That is what kept me away from the 75-115 motors. I would have ended up in a 115 if I went with the 350# class blocks and that was way over the rating for my boat, in weight and HP.
Weight was my main consideration. When/if I build my new boat, I may regret that decision since I will go with bigger logs and will be able to tolerate more weight.

Thanks for the replies, We are planning on buying a new toon at the boat show & trading in our 2006 model. One of the boats that I have on my short list only comes with Mercury motors and another one is offered with Suzukies.
I plan on a 150hp motor and I have heard a few things about the Mercs that have me concerned.

My boat manf. buddies swear by suzukis. When I upgrade, I will go to 'em based on cost/performance, especially if I go to twins

Outboard motors are like Dodge, Ford, Chevy trucks--they're all good, and will do the job. Two are in more demand, and pull much higher resale values. One is probably faster than the other two. One will last longer than the other two. Two have great dealer bases, and one has fewer, lower quality dealerships doing service.

Boat motors are better than ever, and pontoons appear better suited for 4 strokes. Now, all brand engines are high tech animals, with many motors having CAN/BUS electronics, variable camshafts, direct injection. They perform much better, but the day of a shade tree marine mechanic are over. Future engine repairs will require engine scanners and other equipment available only at a dealership.

Three (famous) Bassmaster Elite tournament fishermen stay with me when they're fishing locally. Two run Merc XS 250's and one runs a ETEC 250. The Merc guys are sponsored by Merc, and they have great things to say about their 2 strokes. They (and I) have seen tournament fishermen running ETEC's towed in during a tournament--something professionals cannot afford. They believe the Mercs holdup better--but there again they're supported by a Mercury factory mechanic at every stop. They all say nice things about Yamaha's, and I can tell you the 200-225-250 hp SHO Yamaha will be a boss engine when they put it out with a 25" foot.

Boat dealers are a diminishing lot, and only the best will survive in this economy. No engine is bullet proof--and sometimes requires a dealer's service. Like I said, there will be no more independent shops working on outboards in the future. This should be what you base your decision.
If you have a strong dealer that sells all 4 brands, I'd pick Yamaha first, Mercury second, Suzuki third and ETEC last.

I think the "days of the shade tree mechanic are over" thing may be overstated. If you were not afraid to tackle your outboard before, you will be fine on the new 4 strokes. (I can't speak for the high tech 2s)

For the most part they are just going to run and the things that fail are going to be the screw on parts like starters, relays, tilt/trim and the dreaded lower unit stuff.
If you do have an engine related problem, some will actually flash out the code or beep it out. The flow chart in the shop manual took me right to the bad high pressure fuel pump that crapped out on mine and replacing it was trivial.
Personally I would rather have a computer telling me where it hurts than the Easter egging that goes on when you are looking for a sneeze stall problem on a carburated 2 stroke.

Greg F:
Modern marine engines often obtain their high horsepower, efficiency and low emissons by the use of direct fuel injections and variable timing systems, and these are now controlled/linked by CAN/BUS systems. For simplicity sake, this is where numerous electronic modules on boat engines communicate through computer wiring--not electrical cables. The CAN/BUS cables allow communications between the modules at maybe a million signals per second. Every module must work as designed, as they're dependent on each other. They're also dependent upon the general mechanical condition of the engine. You can also throw in Fuel Trim--which requires a balance between all fuel injectors, receiving signals from the Engine Control Module, Exhaust Sensors, and other modules. Module problems, CAN/BUS shortages (wiring and polarity problems) and mechanical problems can be a nightmare to diagnose. You can also throw in fly by wire throttles and electric gear shifts on some new boat engines--they're very, very complicated.

I am the owner of a very high line European convertible. My car has approximately 17 electronic modules--many cost $1,500-2,500 each. I've been fighting an ABS problem code, and the ABS module feeds into the ABS pump, Engine Control Module, Speed Control Module, Traction Control Module and Transmission Control Module. Such minor problems can be a diagnosis nightmare--and finding a qualified mechanic at less than $110 per hour is rare. Mechanics can spend days figuring out these complicated issues, even if minor problems.

Every automobile on the U.S. market since 2008 is controlled by CAN/BUS, and the role of auto mechanics has just changed. Auto mechanics have evolved into parts replacers in the past 20 years. But when an electronic module cost $1,500, they've got to be fully trained diagnosticians. Mechanics just cannot throw parts at the job any longer, as the world doesn't have the money to pay for mechanics' "guesses". Out of all the luxury car brands, it appears that Lexus' work better--BMW, Jags and Mercedes have often been nightmares to keep running.

Marine engine manufacturers are using the same technology as automobile manufacturers, as they're piggybacking on auto technology. We're even seeing modified Honda auto engines in marine use. While boats may have fewer electronic modules, the outcome is the same. And boat engines and components are stressed substantially more than a car engine--in a much tougher conditions. When modern engines run right, they're great--but when they're not running right, ohhhhh!

My question is why would a young man pay $20K to a marine engine training facility for a year's schooling, then go to work in a very rocky industry--for a dealership that may or may not be properly capitalized and profitable--all for a $36,000 salary? Boat mechanics are endangered, but the future is in high tech, properly trained marine technicians--which are rarer and rarer.

This is why I say that the day of the independent boat mechanic may be numbered. I hope I'm wrong.

I think I'll just keep running my Yamaha 115 hp 2 stroke--and just clean the carbs when it starts running rough. I'm still living in the "good ole days." I don't know that a 4 stroke 115 hp really gets much better than my 4.5 mpg at a fast cruise.

I have about 47 years of computer experience, the CAN/BUS doesn't scare me. The reality is, when a sensor fails, it usually throws a code and the mid range outboards are not really that complicated. Certainly you will want to get your logs read if the failure is not apparent but I still say most of the problems you are going to have are not going to be CAN/BUS related. For a few hundred bucks you can buy the real Yamaha cable and software that works on just about any WinTel PC but I understand there is a way to use a garden variety $10 car computer cable. The software has been cracked and is available on the internet.
I probably will not be doing much of anything in that regard as long as I am still on warranty but I will be doing the routine maintenance, basically just changing the fluids, anodes etc. Those are fairly mundane tasks.

I do understand your frustration with your ABS system. We had the Bosch system on an 88 SSE that was a real piece of crap. I never saw one I couldn't make fail by stabbing the brake pedal a couple dozen times in quick succession. Fortunately boats don't have brakes

The real reality of pontoon boats or any boat for that matter equipped with outboard motors is that you can actually have any manufactures motor you may actually want. With few if any exceptions boats are shipped from the manufacture without any motor what-so-ever. The motor itself is a value added addition that is installed at the dealership itself. The real issue is that most dealerships exclusively deal with one specific motor manufacture. So if you find a boat you really want you can power it elsewhere with the desired motor you'd like pushing it...

In all of my motor searching I found one interesting thing. There are wholesale dealers on the internet who will sell you a motor a lot cheaper than most low volume dealers can buy one and they will ship it to any authorized dealer to get it installed in a "brand legal" way (important for your warranty). That is certainly an option if you can buy a bare boat but I bet they will bundle one for the same money.
A lot of boat manufacturers sell these bundles pretty cheap because they get the same high volume wholesale deal.