Re-Power with what!

T

Tug

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I called the local Yamaha dealer to order a Yam F90 today to find out that they do not sell Yamaha Outboards anymore as of January 2012. They sell Mercury products. Now that was TERRIBLE NEW'S , there are no other Yamaha or Suzuki dealer for hundred's of miles .We have a Honda dealer but the sales and service is none existent and the prices are really inflated. Does anyone have a newer Mercury 90 HP..are they any good , it wouldn't be my 1st choice but having a local dealer that can service your outboard is very important as well. Tug
 
Tug":15t2agjp said:
I called the local Yamaha dealer to order a Yam F90 today to find out that they do not sell Yamaha Outboards anymore as of January 2012. They sell Mercury products. Now that was TERRIBLE NEW'S , there are no other Yamaha or Suzuki dealer for hundred's of miles .We have a Honda dealer but the sales and service is none existent and the prices are really inflated. Does anyone have a newer Mercury 90 HP..are they any good , it wouldn't be my 1st choice but having a local dealer that can service your outboard is very important as well. Tug
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Get in touch with Tex (Bixby's Cub). He has a Merc 90 2 stroke on his 22, and it is impressive in the performance dept. Tex can run circles around my boat (Honda 90, carbs) at Lake Powell. I have no idea what his fuel burn rate is. Another thought would be an eTec.
 
I have had great luck with the 4 stroke Mercury products and have purchased 90's, 115 and just ordered a new non-supercharged 150 for my boats at work. These engines see a hard life and we even push a crane barge occasionally with our boats without a problem.
I hated old Merc's and refused to own one or buy any for work or for myself. After 10 plus years of good experiences, I would buy one of the Merc's as fast as I'd buy a Yamaha or a Honda.
Small Merc's are made by Tohatsu and they too are very reliable.
Having outboard service near by would be a very strong consideration for me...
 
I am going to call the out of town dealer to get a quote on a Yam F90 and see what he will give me for my 1999 Suzuki DF90. I will find out if my local dealer will still service Yamaha outboards, if he does and i get a good price on the new Yam F90 and my trade in i will buy the new Yam out of town and get it service here. Will post a picture of my new toy if all goes as planned. Tug
 
Thanks for the input, maybe i will talk to the mechanic tomorrow and see what he thinks of the newer Merc's. I remember one time he said he hated them because of their unreliable electrical system(s) , but that was a few year's back. Tug
 
Just something to keep in mind: Even if your local dealer will still work on the Yamaha, they will not be able to submit a warranty claim to them.
 
I have a Mercury four stroke on my CD-22 and I love it. Initially I had trouble with the wiring harnes but the factory replaced it free of charge and have had no problems since. I get about 5 to 6 mpg when loaded for 1 or 2 week trips at a crusing speed of 19 to 23 mph. While crusing with Tex Allen in his Bixbies Cub in Lousiana this year, I averaged 7mpg in a long no-wake zone on the Intercostal Waterway. I am using a Michigan Wheel 13 inch dia. with 17 in pitch ss prop. Wide open with nothing but safety gear and 1/2 tank of gas was a two way gps speed of 37mph. Way to fast for this hull. When fully loaded the top speed is around 34mph. As of this note, I have only about 450 hours on the motor. Maintenance so far has been a new impeller and a new altinator belt.
 
Don't discount the Mercurys. I have a Merc Optimax 90HP 2 stroke, Direct fuel injection, and get comparable mpg with the Hondas, I traveled many miles with Sandpiper and Chiquitita last year and we all got almost the same MPG, around 4mpg. Usually cruising at speeds up to 20 mph. Sandpiper has twin 40 Hondas and Chiquitita has a single Honda 90.

The Optimax is much quieter than a regular 2 stroke, but not as quiet as the Honda 4 strokes. There is a bit of low speed vibration as it is a 3 cylinder. Neither are anywhere near an unacceptable level. As a bonus the Mercs come with big alternators. My 90 Optimax has a 60 amp and I believe the 4 stroke Mercs have 50 amp alternators. The Optimax motors are in current production and meet all emission standards.

I must say that the 90 Optimax seems to have a power edge on the Hondas and the altitude does not affect it much. We saw little difference in performance at Lake Powell. We were able to water ski at Powell at our usual ski speeds of 26-30 mph.
Ken on Pelican with a 4 stroke Mercury 90 seems to enjoy a power advantage as well. Ken also seems to get better mileage. Kens 4 stroke seems to be very smooth and extremely quiet
I have been pushing a 17 pitch prop and am still able to max out the rpm fully loaded. I am planning on trying a 18 or 19 pitch and hope to improve mileage a bit.

If you have a strong and honest dealer, I would give Mercury a consideration.
 
Tug;
I've got a 115 4 stroke on my 22 and love it. Running flat out with no load I can also do about 37 knots. Going up to our cabin I cruise nicely at about 26, 4000 RPM and burn just under 2 gal hour. I did have a wiring issue but that was due to a bad house battery that took out my altenator and some wiring. I think you might be happy with Mercury, they have been around a long time. We have a lot of mercury dealers in BC so anywhere I go there is reliable service. Give it some thought.
Jimbo
 
Just as an after thought, If you are considering a Marcury motor, you might consider their SmartCraft system monitor instrument. I Have one on my 90 four stroke and I really like it. The instrument will display hours, fuel used, engine rpm, fuel flow, engine temperature, water pressure, oil temperature, oil pressure, battery voltage and range. Depending on installation it will also indicate water depth, vessel speed, seawater temp, shallow water alarm and trim tab position. It will alarm on engine overheating, low oil pressure, low water pressure, water in fuel, engine overspeed, engine malfunction and oil pump / low oil pressure. To me the greatest advantage is the flow meter and fuel used feature. With the flow meter you can trim the boat for best fuel conservation. It can be a pain to toggle thru all the different modes but I take comfort in knowing I can at least see what the motor is doing. It seems the cost was around $300.00 installed. It is really a plug and play thing with the Mercury motor. Just something to consider.
 
I recently bought a 22' cruiser with 2007 twin fourstroke Merc 40's EFI. I love them so far. Cruise at 20 MPH at 4200 rpm. Quiet and economical. Yamaha was originally my outboard of choice, but after doing some research I found that Yamaha and Merc share a lot of parts including powerheads. Up until recently, Yamaha 40 powerheads were the same as Merc 40 powerheads. And not that long ago Merc made the lower legs for Honda.

Here in BC, Merc's are known for the best protection against salt water corrosion. Something about the alloy they use in the lower legs.

Like all modern engines, they have a lot of electronics on board which makes diagnosing engine issues a breeze, but unfortunately you need a local service provider to do so.

I would guess that all modern EFI engines are pretty comparable.

Best,

Simon
 
I knew that Yamaha and Mercury shared the same powerhead but it's the electrical problems Mercury has that i heard so much about.I talked to the Mercury mechanic at the dealership yesterday where they sell Mercury's and he told me don't buy one. Get a Yamaha or Suzuki they are a much better unit. I will called talk to him again today and ask he to explain what he means. Tug
 
Tug,
Just go buy a new Yamaha. There's got to be a dealer in Northern Michigan somewhere. Why not take a spin do to the good ole U S of A? Gas is getting cheaper by the hour in the U.S. anyway. Maybe sell your whole rig and head to out to the factory and get a whole new boat and everything??? :lol:
D.D
 
Tug - I have been running a 115 Merc EFI (Yamaha block) for six years and it has been flawless. Regardless which brand you repower with, having competent maintenance people around is critical. John
 
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