50% of the engines I work on are Yamaha fourstrokes, 75% of the work i do on them is preventative maintenance, the majority of the 25% of work is fuel related(bad fuel, contaminated fuel, bad fuel pumps). They have other issues, just like any other engines as well(trim systems, lower units, etc...). I work on all types of engines spread apart four strokes outboards, two stroke outboards, Inboards, Inboard Outboard, some light diesel work, and I even work on jet pumps once in a blue moon(real jets, with big blocks, not jet ski's). Yamaha engines are by far the most popular new engines in my area(Charleston, SC), followed by Mercury, Suzuki, Honda(very little), in order of popularity. there are probably less than 10 E-tecs in the drystacks (over 1600 individual stacks) and marinas around here that I can think of, with only one dealer willing to work on them(four dealers selling Bombardier parts). Research the area you are in to see what your options are for service before you buy.

I have no experience with the new direct injection 2 strokes, but I can tell you, I love my Johnson/Suzuki 140 4 stroke. I get 40 mph top end and average 5 mpg cruising.

To me, dealing with pouring oil once a year (annual oil change) is better that pouring $30/gal oil all season into a 2 stroke...but thats just me, I always used to make a mess with outboard oil.

The 5mpg crusing just opened my eyes a bit... im getting less than 2 on average right now....

Dont be too focused on mpg...the savings in fuel used will take at least 10 years to pay for the new motor (or more)...if the issue is range, then get excited about mpgs...if its economics, you can buy a lot of gas for $10 to $15K.

^THIS!!!!

My buddy had to take his 180mi round trip to be serviced.....never got the lower unit right, ended up selling it.

fuel savings
 

our fishing season here is roughly april 1 to november 1. We fish a lot, pretty much every day Lake Erie will allow it. On average 4-5 times a week. On an average day we run 8-15 miles each way (depending on time of season) plus moves while were out. lets just average that on the light side say 20 miles per trip at 4 trips per week for 6 months.

20*4= 80 miles a week
80*4= 320 miles a month
320*6=1920 miles a year

i get a little less than 2mpg now

1920/2= 960 gallons of fuel a year

fuel at our marina floated right around 4.40 all year

4.40*960= $4,224 a year in fuel

1920/5= 384 gallons of fuel a year

384*4.40= $1689.60 a year in fuel

4224-1690= $2534 a year in fuel savings

even at 4mpg id save roughly $2100 a year on just fuel

2 mpg is good for me realistically its more like 1.7 1.8 so my numbers arent dead on but it still proves the point that id be saving a ton of money on fuel and have the peace of mind knowing i have a new motor on the boat not one thats almost as old as me and has seen plenty of use.

plus if i went 4 stroke i wouldnt be dumping 20 bucks of oil in it every week either


Sure its a lot of money up front, but it does save a whole bunch of money on fuel alone.

then there is the fact that i have a brand new motor hanging off the back with a warranty instead of the motor thats 2 years younger than me....

I agree with Spare and SSIRedfish about having a dealer who is reputable for whatever brand you buy. Doesn't matter what kind of deal you get if you can't get parts or service down the road in a reasonable manner. For what it's worth go south of the border or to any other off the beaten path tropical place you'll see the locals all run Yamaha Enduros.

If it were me I'd run the old John Rude till she bit the dust.

I would agree with the others that you will need a good dealer close by for what ever motor you get. I've had my 150 etec for 6 years and have had no problems. Only serviced every 3 years. I have 2 e tec dealers close by.:nice::beer:

the marina I dock in is a yamaha dealer, there are 2 reputable evinrude dealers within 30 miles of me and merc dealers about 30 miles away. Not sure about honda or suzuki but im sure they are around too. Im lucky and have a lot of dealers near by to choose from.

as for running the old motor until she dies, there is no real reason not to. She runs well, just doesnt like the first cold start on some of these 35-45 degree mornings. People tell me the old johnson is a ticking time bomb and it gets in my head. That makes me want to repower to avoid missing out on fishing if she does happen to blow. The motor has been good to me though and hopefully all those people are full of it

If the Johnson is taken care of and obvious issues are dealt with before they become huge ordeals I don't see why they would say that except for a VRO failure. Those engines are a solid workhorse of an engine and they are all over the place as far as spares go. Ask Ferm on here about any John Rude related stuff, not to mention just about any other engine related info.