What brand of outboard

[stickerhard]

I am in the market to buy a 90 hp outboard. I have always had mercs but they all been older ones.I will be running the motor on a 15 foot deep V fiberglass runabout.I was just wondering what other ppl have to say about there motors good and bad.It's alot of money and I would like to get others oppions. Thanks and have a safe 4th of July.

 

[robert graham]

Re: What brand of outboard

I'm still running a Yamaha 90HP 2 stroke that I bought new in 1999, never had any problems at all. Any of the motors on the market can give excellent service, if maintained and cared for properly. Take your pick, get operators and service manuals, study up on the motor. Clean, fresh, stabilized fuel is a key to good motor performance and service. It'll all go a lot better for you and your motor if you can learn it and become a bit of a mechanic yourself, otherwise trips to the boat shop can be time consuming and expensive! Good Luck!

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: What brand of outboard

are you sure you want a 90? sounds big for a 15'.

Although the opinions are like the Ford v Chevy, Domestic v foreign, debates with cars, and the preferences are regional, you often hear:

No Chrysler or off-brands
OMC before the 1990's, but not during (I don't know the specific years when the company went down; others do).
Old merc's run great when they run but are tempermental (to get there, get a merc; to get home, get an OMC)
Newer mercs are so-so
starting in the late 90's, it's Yamaha as consistently reliable.
Honda's are good for the small motors
Those who have the other Japanese motors like them, but they are not as popular, which can affect availability of service.
Lots of motors are made by someone else, so you may want to know who made what when

 

[stickerhard]

Re: What brand of outboard

It is rated for a 90hp and I have a 80hp merc on it now that I had the carbs rebuilt a week before it ate a hole in #2 cyl.

 

[JB]

Re: What brand of outboard

The Yamaha 2 stroke 90s are light and small displacement for a 90, so they are well suited to a boat rated for 90HP. That would be my first choice for your boat.

Second choice would be a Suzuki/Johnson DF70 4 stroke. Had one on my MONTAUK 17, rated for 100HP, and was quite happy with the performance (40mph), user friendliness, quietness and economy. It is heavier than the Yammy, but I think your deep V would handle it well.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: What brand of outboard

See IBoats.com outboard section. They have a slightly used Mercury 90 4 stroke for $6399--a savings of $2600. It still has warranty left.

Many fishermen purchase boats with slightly too small engines. Boat dealers often trade for 6 month old motors and then sell customers larger engines. It's a great way to get a deal on an outboard that will suit your needs.

By the way, the powerhead on a Mercury 90 hp is a reliable Yamaha engine--and the rest of the engine is a Mercury sourced. You get the best of both worlds.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: What brand of outboard

I would think you want the lightest motor you can get on that small of a boat. An inline 3 cylinder is probably the lightest 90HP motor avail. The Johnnyrude will be a V4. I would consider the Merc as I think they are IL3s.

 

[V153]

Re: What brand of outboard

The Yammi 90 3cyl is a good motor. About 50lbs lighter'n a OMC V4 and almost as reliable. What kind of boat?

I run a mildly modded V4 90 on my 15' Glastron and couldn't be happier with the results: 54.8mph best GPS. However the 90 Yammi would be my first choice. Painted/decaled to look like a 60hp OMC. (The cowls are quite similar.)


Correct me if I'm wrong but Yamaha achieves the light weight by eliminating some of the counterbalance. The way they do this, so I'm told, is by each cylinder having a different compression ratio?!

EDIT

 

[stickerhard]

Re: What brand of outboard

The name of the boat is Magnum I have googled it and all I come up with are race boats that are 30 feet or longer. On the tittle all it says is magnum too so I dont know who makes it its a 1986 and in great shape though.

 

[sschefer]

Re: What brand of outboard

I jsut bought a 60hp Merc 4 stroke and love it so far. I only have 10 hours on it but so far it's dependable, quiet, fairly lightweight and pushes my 16' boat to 32.5 fully loaded with two other passengers. Merc is built well and so are the Yamaha's. My decision to go Merc was based on available trained Techs in my area and well known easy parts availability. I also have a 5 year warranty that made me a little more comfortable. The hole shot suxxx but then it's a fishing boat so I'll just learn to ignore that.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: What brand of outboard

You already have an 80 and want a 90 so that means you are looking for performance. Get a slightly older 1990s Merc 4 cylinder 90! The engine is an absolute bear. It will push a deep vee 16 footer with two people to 45, so on your 15 footer, 50 may not be out of the question.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: What brand of outboard

I think Frank's suggestion is a good one. I have a '98 yamaha 90hp 3-cylinder on my skeeter bass rig, and it is a super good motor. However, I don't think it's nearly as powerful as the 4-cylinder 90hp motors of any brand. It only runs about 42mph with 2 people that are around 225 lbs. aboard. Then again, the 3-cylinder 90 yamaha is not bad on fuel, either....... I like it.
My suspicion is the yamaha 90 would be similar in power to your merc 80. But, once again, the 90 yamaha is a darned good motor.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: What brand of outboard

OMC before the 1990's, but not during (I don't know the specific years when the company went down; others do).

90's OMCs are still great. Just avoid the FITCH motors.

 

[stickerhard]

Re: What brand of outboard

any one have a 90 etch they look and sound like a good motor. Its between a a yama and a Etec. Merc are way to heavy i think for this boat
but i am still open to suggestion . Lik i said its alot of money so I want to make sure.
Last wweekend i got a new stelloe advantage prop and 2 weeks before that i had the carbs rebuilt at a dealer. Well after i put the prop on one pitch lower cuzz these probs bite and I keep the same rpm's. 5000 . went maybe 3 miles and shut it off and we were on the beach maybe 2 hours . I go to start it and it kicked back on the starter and heard a bad noise
One knows wants to hear . #2 cyl got no compression and #1 had 128 this spring its got 75 now and the bottom ones are still 130

 

[jbjennings]

Re: What brand of outboard

If it were between a 4-stroke yamaha and the etec, I'd for sure go with the etec. If it were between a carbed 2-stroke yamaha and the etec, I'd probably go with the yamaha because I own one and know for sure that it is a reliable motor, and because the carbed 2-stroke is easy to work on. If one has the money, I'd think the etec is the better motor than the 4-stroke yamaha.
Hate to say it, but it really sounds fishy that almost immediately after a carb rebuild, your motor craters. I'm thinking that would almost surely be due to a lean condition. If the offending cylinders are fed by the same carb.........
JMO,
JBJ

 

[sublauxation]

Re: What brand of outboard

any one have a 90 etch they look and sound like a good motor. Its between a a yama and a Etec. Merc are way to heavy i think for this boat

I have a 90 ETEC I've used for 4 seasons. I've had absolutely no problems at all. It's quiet, It has pretty wicked hole shot and pulls a skier on my 18 foot aluminum with no problems, and sips gas compared to an earlier 85 Chrysler we used. Starts first crank every time, even first start of the year, never even needed to prime the gas. My boat is rated for a 130 but I still get 44mph on gps with the 90 when loaded light. The self winterizing is nice. It's light weight which has also been nice. I don't put a lot of running hours on but oil usage is less than I expected also. The only problem is the blue doesn't match my boat very well, but I've gotten over that. I bought it new for $6300 which was a deal I couldn't pass up.