merc engines

[macojoe]

110 hp and the boat is out of the water!! :o

[garycorbett]

The Ficht I have has all the updates that Bombardier did when they got the company - I really like the motor. OMC was a crap company last going off. I would however buy any of the older 1985-1993 OMC motors - they were great motors. My brother has a 92 225 and never had a problem. Bombardier is selling a lot of the new ETec motors up my way and all the guys around here love um. I heard that the Bombardier factory IN THE USA (heh guys they are one of our boys!) not japan is running 24/7 to fill the demand.

[TheTinMan]

Originally Posted by garycorbett

I heard that the Bombardier factory IN THE USA (heh guys they are one of our boys!) not japan is running 24/7 to fill the demand.

Made lN CANADA, close but not USA. :)


Actually, the BRP main plant and office is in Canada bvut it appears they do have a plant in the USA, along with Mexico, PR, China....

http://www.brp.com/en-CA/Directory/S...rcraft.ATV.htm

[garycorbett]

Their big plant is in the USA and employs a lot of our guys! BUY USA fellas

[reelapeelin]

If BRP coulda been a little faster on introducing the 150-200hps, there'd be one on mine now 'stead of a Honda... ;) ...

[throwback]

If I am not mistaken the Homelite engines are based on the crosley block. For you young duds the crosley was a little car about vw size produced right after the war. The mill if I remember right was a 4 banger with an overhead cam. pretty hot little powerplant. I had a 55hp
homelite motor on a 17 foot criscraft plywood kit boat. Lots of torque but no speed. I bought the motor in verona Pa just up the allegheny river from pittsburgh.
The boat fell apart and I gave the motor to my uncle who used it in Fla for a lot of years.

I have yet to see one of these in person. They stopped making bearcats before I was born :) But they look like great engines!!

There's a place out here about 2hrs north of me in redding that rebuilds the bearcat 55's and sells them for $1500. I am considering repowering with a pair of these . . . them come with a 1 year warranty the down side is the lack of trim and tilt. Look at how simple this motor is




http://www.4cyclemarine.com/

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/ref...y/bearcat.html

http://hometown.aol.com/homelite55/
http://members.aol.com/home4cycle/index.html

From the Article"

A comparision test from a 1961 Homelite Marine Marketing Bulletin compares the Homelite 55hp 4 cycle outboard to a new 75hp 2 cycle unit. The results are startling. The Homelite 55hp will out accelerate the 75hp unit by 2 or 3 boat lengths and will run within 2 or 3 mph at wide open throttle. At wide open throttle (5500rpm) the Homelite burns one quart of fuel in 6 minutes and 20 seconds. The 75hp 2 cycle engine ran 3 minutes and 12 seconds on its quart of fuel and oil mixture. At idle the results are even greater. The Homelite will idle (troll) 44 minutes on a quart of fuel. The 75hp 2 cycle unit only idled (trolled) 6 minutes on its quart of fuel and oil mixture. It's no wonder the advertising literature stated you could run the Homelite engine for less than half as much as the 75hp 2 cycle unit. Famed automotive writer, test driver, powerboat authority, and Daytona speed trial director Tom McCahill tested the Homelite 55 on a 202 mile run from Daytona Beach, FL to West Palm Beach, FL. This is what he reported.

In a 202 mile run, at a planned average of 25 mph, I was able to hold speed for better than three-quarters of the way, and was only forced to drop to a slower speed when we ran into weather conditions in which a small vessel, such as we had, should have been home in the backyard. The engine, however, never missed a beat, and would have gladly driven the hull to its complete destruction , if I'd ask it to. The oil consumption for the whole trip was 1/4 of a pint. In total gasoline and oil costs, from a dollar-and-cents standpoint, we made this run for about half of what most two-cycle jobs would have cost to operate at the same speed for the same distance with the same load. Several things about the engine impressed me. Its continuous smooth-idle ability, a complete lack of smoke and exhaust fumes and its general lack of commotion. The automobile-type dependability is what sold me to the hilt on its worthiness because the engine, as well as the boat, was taking a horrible beating when the going got rough. I was also impressed by the fact that this beautifully-styled 55 horsepower package, pushing a big 18 foot Lapstrake hull with a gross weight of 2230 pounds was able to average 25-mph-plus for more than 175 miles without the slightest sign of fading or dropping off."