Notoriously Unreliable Outboards!
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- čas přidán 3. 03. 2023
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I've had them all over the decades and Tohatsu 4-stroke has been my most reliable, trouble free outboard -- considerably less expensive, too.
A tohatsu you can let stand out on you,r boat in 12 years, use it all summer and never stop until someone steal the boat and drive it drunk on a rock as my previous 25 , no i have a 9,8 , on a 10 feet driving 10 nautical miles to some islands all spring summer.
And they come with a longer warranty than all of them. Plus the build they mercs 30hp and down. Love Tohatsu outboards.
Suzuki also
Unbelievable amazing discussion! Kudos to you guys and everyone who helped make this happen. You can’t describe a whole pie by one slice. Consumers have preconceived notions and individual frames of reference when it comes to descriptions and opinions. I have come to adopt a mantra in all things…..know what something is and what it isn’t. Advertising is meant to sell a product under the guise of educating the consumer! Again….great job and wonderful depth of knowledge. Very impressed.
My 99 johnson outboard 2 stroke 4 cylinder is incredibly reliable. I bought it in 2010 and it hadn't been ran in about 6 years at the time. It started up immediately but needed carbs rebuilt because of sitting all those years with fuel in it. But since then, its been basically perfect. In the last 14 years ive only had to change change lower unit oil seals once and a spark plug wire once. Never even needed the spark plugs changed though I did change them once last year but only because it seemed crazy they never needed it. It ran the same. 25 years and its still perfect
I’ve got a 2005 Yamaha TLR 115 2 stroke on my first boat. Glad to hear y’all say some good things about it.
Love that engine!
Love the channel guys , thanks for sharing your knowledge...
You nailed it with the abuse and neglect. With the Ficht it was both of these and ignorance. I have a 2004 225 Ficht with over 130 psi on all cylinders, perfectly maintained by me. Always run ethanol free fuel, XD50 oil, new plugs “ indexed “ every year. To date has over 1000 hours. Proper maintenance is the Number 1 key.
well let me chime in.. I ran a 01 225 Ficht for years.. I sent the emm to DFI technologies and had it redone. With proper yearly maintenance such as what you said above. Another thing is to back wash the cooling system through the service port on the back of the motor with the garden hose. When maintaining the Ficht like that and at the time period the performance that motor gave was incredible.
Dude I love born again boating. This is a good question. I am a nut. I have been taking a 16ft 1967 starcraft over 40 miles offshore of NJ. I've ran Honda Merc 2 stroke and now a 4 stroke. My motor now is a 2020 40hp Merc. I love this motor. I never have any worry that is going to fail. Now my dad swore by the old OMC SeaDrive. We had one on a v20 steplift and a pair on a 250 sportsman. We never really had any out of the ordinary issues and he had the pair from 88 till 01. And they were still working when he got rid of the boat
Just a suggestion, some commentary on how you guys started, were you around boats as a kid, worst job, best job, etc. Would be interesting especially considering how young you all seem.
The 2 strokes with carburetors especially after sitting for a while the gas component in the mixture would evaporate from the fuel bowls and the oil component would not evaporate and when starting you get a very high oil to gas ratio and hence the big cloud of smoke. I had 1995 Johnson ocean runners and wow those things could outdo a James Bond smoke screen.
Interesting topic for certain. My 2006 Etec 40HP has run without fault. Always used high test gas XD50 oil and their gas additive. Can troll 8 hrs in a day without a hiccup with a 1/2 to 3/4 hr run out and again back in. Now 2023 and start of a new season without even taking a screwdriver out. My kicker is a 76 4 HP rude and has a carb rebuild and parts still easy to find.
I run a 2003 Johnson 115 on my classic Boston Whaler. I bought it new and have run it with very few issues. I disabled the VRO oil injection a few years ago and the motor just runs great. I don't run anything but recreational fuel and it's a beast of a motor.
I have a 1995 Johnson 90 hp fast strike I got rid of my oil injection also it still runs great 👍
I can comment on the Etecs having had dozens of them and running them commercially. They were extremely reliable and long lived. Sure they ate the occasional injector or EMM but we’re talking about several years and thousands of hours between failures. I ran them for 4 or 5 years before replacing with new engines. We put around 7,500 hours on an outboard in 5 years. As for dealer nightmares I never had any. My dealer always had them fixed in a day or two at most. Granted taking an engine or boat to the dealer was a pain in the ass so I eventually bought the BRP diagnostic software, and it was pretty cheap. With a cheap laptop and the software replacing an injector was a very quick and easy job. EMM failures were almost always the charging system. The secret to long life with these things is to run the XD 100 oil on the XD 50 setting. BRP tells you to do this if your using it commercially. When I sold these engines they still ran like a raped ape even with 7500 hours. Calendar time was the killer of them after 5 years they started to have small electrical issues such as bad sensors and other minor issues. As a commercial operation even an hour or two of downtime to get and replace a sensor was unacceptable so I never ran one past 5 years. I have no idea how long they were good for but compared to the other outboards I’ve tried these things were exponentially more reliable. In my experience most of the other 2 stokes wouldn’t last more then about 1 or 2 years or about 2500 hours without a powerhead failure. When we had to go to 4 strokes we spent an incredible amount of time doing maintenance. Only maintenance on an etec was a set of spark plugs a couple times a year. The 4 stroke Suzukis and Yamahas require oil changes every couple weeks, timing belt jobs, ect. With a fleet of a dozen or more boats running 12 or more hours a day 7 days a week just keeping up with maintenance is a major pain in the ass and can only be done at night when the boats are not in service. Seems like every damn night your not going home after working 12 or more hours but doing maintenance. I absolutely loved the Etecs from a commercial operators point of view. They just didn’t need any maintenance and just made us money. I can absolutely understand how the maintenance of a 4 stroke isn’t an issue for a recreational boat or even a commercial singe boat operation. Not a big deal to change the oil on one or two engines once every couple weeks.
I enjoyed watching the video. Thanks for putting it together. I personally have been around Suzuki’s for many years. I have never had problems with them. I just purchased a DF350, I have read good and bad things. However, you can find that with all motors.
You guys are an absolute wealth of knowledge. keep it up thank you.👍🇨🇦
Proud owner of a 94 Mercury Xri 175. The motor is just too easy to rebuild myself. The boat racing community loves the Mercury 2.5l v6 for a good reason.
Exactly. These guys really have no clue lol.
Good talk. He's absolutely correct about no mech working on Etecs. I can't find a service shop that works on etecs within 2 hours of where I live.
I have a carbureted 1999 Johnson 150 on my boat. It’s a great motor. I love the thing. It’s super reliable for a 2 stroke. It’s a shame OMC did the Ficht injection and went out of business.
We ran two Yamaha 350s on a push Boat push in a couple hundred tons of sand cranes and excavators a lot of times in the ponds in the current. You have those things redline for 1015 minutes at a time steady push and 4500 RPMs all day.
I always learn something in every video the whole insight into etec so good !!
Couldnt be happier with the Etec 250 Gen1 2005 unit i had. over 1200 trouble free hours. Currently on a pair of 2001 200 HPDI's at 770hrs and running like a dream! Filters, filters filters!
Picking on the carbureted 4 strokes, I'm still running a 99' Honda that has been the epitome of reliability. No idea how many hours because I've been through 4 hour meters and it ran a few years without one, the 4th hour meter currently reads over 600 hours. Almost all salt use, year round. It does get cared for properly, not looking forward to replacing it but realize I'm on borrowed time at this point.
Got a 2011 Optimax 150 in brazil on a 21ft boat, 400h in one and a half year for whale watching, service by authorized mechanic and few issues with temperature, many issue with getting part and service (run already 200h without thermostat at 44-54°C because of supply and service difficulties), but always came back from 10miles off shore trip. But would prefer the silence at idle and the reliability of the dual 4 stroks powered boat.
Love your content! Should consider doing a weekly news review.. keep up with all the marine stuff..
I just bought a Suzuki df40 for a 15' runabout we are restoring. Always had Mercury's, the boat we are restoring had a Johnson Super Sea horse 2 stroke. I chose the Suzuki because from my research these motors are very reliable. We will see.
F150 Yamaha had soft balancers shredding and clogging oil passages and and popping engines.
I had a boat with twin 90 Fichts on it, ran it for 2 years 0 issues, i currently have a 300hp G2, im only 8 months and 30 hours into my ownership of it so far, its had one issue with the magnets coming off the flywheel, stuck em back on with some JB weld seems to be going ok since. compared to a 250 honda 4 stroke it runs like a madman
The reason for the serial numbers on the injectors, is they all flow slightly differently at different RPMS, this is checked in the factory and you need to give this data to the ECU when fitting to ensure correct fuel quantity's are injected. The software for a G1 can be brought for about $50 i think. for the G2 its more expensive.
Contrary to what these guys say, you can see on a modern outboard what sort of abuse it has taken. You can get the service records for it to check its been looked after, and you can get a print out from the ECU which will tell you things like time at all the RPMS, max RPM recorded, records of over heats or issues, etc. This will give you a pretty good idea of the way its been run
We just went through major fuel pump issues with Mercury in the mid HP range. People were getting them replaced under warranty in record numbers, not just once but up to 3 times. They just kept replacing bad pumps with bad pumps. It's going to happen to all the manufactures at some point.
i run a late 90's txrr 150 Yammy 2 stroke. Its still rippin it. ultra dependable. not too bad on fuel.
I was able to purchase the Evenrude factory Ficht etec software for under $100. My pair of ficht 225 are still running strong pushing a scarab 302 with excellent speed and mpg. I run em like i stole em and on borrowed time lol.
I had twin 135 HP, 2003 OPTI Max engines for 19 years with zero issues. Very reliable, over 1500 hours.
2000 150 Opti, as me it still runs like new.
I enjoy your videos so much !
my friend has twin 350 s on his 33 grady he had trouble with the fly wheel yamaha was great to back it up they push that boat good
i used to have a 2002 20 hp 2 stroke merc that we bought new, we had it for like 17 years and onkly did a impeller and plugs once , never let me stranded.... had a 2005 200hp ox66 nothing but reliability, currently have a 2006 50hp 2 stroke yamaha and a 2018 90 yamaha
Curious to hear your thoughts on the tower of power engines. I have one on a classic Glastron and it’s nearly 50 years old now. There’s usually one thing every year that needs attention but it’s still going very strong for me. That being said I am a lake boater.
OMC The Original Parent Company of Evinrude and Johnson Outboard Motors. I have had Different H.P. of these 2 Brands and No Problems. I Currently run a 90 Evinrude XP 200 2 Stroke on a 91 STRATOS 201 Pro with No Problems. Great running Outboard ❤ 👍💯🇺🇸🇺🇸
If you don't need fancy just a work horse 1980's evinrudes are tough and super easy to fix.
My 89 40hp Yamaha elf oil injected 2 stroke runs top. Of course I disconnected oil injection and mix oil directly in the fuel myself. Have for the past 15yrs. Also have a 5.0 thunderbolt Merceuiser alpha 1 gen 2 that's held up since 1998 then again I know how to change fluids, Water pumps regular maintenance. by the way i take either motor wherever I want to go.
We got a 2003 2 stroke Yamaha 150 high pressure direct injection, after full service(by a Pro-Yamaha mechanic)..it sings like a Violin 🎻!!
My mechanic here in Australia won't touch any Evinrude. I use a Yamaha 130 V4 2 stroke. 130psi on all four cylinders and has been reliable. It has never failed to get me home and damn does it pull hard. My only gripe are warm restarts with heatsoak. That's 2 strokes for you though - having to re-prime the engine.
I went through the whole etech fuel injector thing. I fumbled and stumbled my way through it, and learned how. Got the software learned how to generate the necessary data file for each injector replaced and serviced all 6 injectors successfully. Again there was some trial-and-error involved for sure, once I understood it it's really quite simple.
Nice!
Did I say thank you? Nope!
Thank you both for this discussion.
My grandpa baught new in 87’ a Yamaha pro v 150j passed down to my uncle and passed down to me 15 yrs ago, the motor has been flawless until last year had to finally change the power pack! $300 on eBay I changed it myself . Runs like new !
1995 XR 200 Mercury still running today and zero issues.
Same with my 98 Mercury 225
Great podcast guys! just wondering why no mention of TOHATSU outboards TLDI and 4 strokes unreliability/reliability etc etc?
I got a 53 johnson 3 horse that never misses a beat has a crack in the lower unit cant fill the lower unit cause the plugs are froze in carb leaks gas if it doesnt sit up perfectly straight but it fires first pull every time and gets me out and back pushing a 16 foot bass tracker
Oh ya, you gotta discuss synthetic oils for use in outboards too !! good bad ugly ??
I passed up a deal for boat with a 115 optimax I'm glad I went with the Yamaha 115 2 stroke
im still using a 6hp evinrude made in 1974. only some hours every year but its amazing enough its still alive even without running that much^^
how hard is it to switch from mechanical controls to fly bye-wire with a 2019 Suzuki 200 hp
2000 Honda bf90 with 3100 hours, 90% saltwater use. I follow the maintenance schedule. It’s been a great engine and will be putting a Honda on my next boat.
Nice!
Best engine I have ever had (up until now) is a '06 Mercury Optimax 200xs ss sm. I ran the snot out of that engine (98,8mph on an Allison SS2000 boat) for 9 years without a single fault. Also it looked good, incredible fuel economy, good sound without the exhaust block off plate - fantastic. Bought it new.
I still have a F100 and F60 carburated and I love them, no issues at all. The only thing I notice is that just after a cold start motors sometimes have a "rough"/unstable idle but soon warms up is perfect. Is fundamental have a pre fuel filter and that motors need/like to run (on other words dont let the gas seat on carbs more than a couple months) 95 octane and ethanol free fuel is what is used here. And the most outrageous to many people is that carburated Yamaha 4 strokes are more fuel efficient than EFI, is not my opinion is what service manual show and here commercial boats that moved from from carbs to EFI noticed that really good but I'm not saying carbs are better and soon you get a EFI there is no a return way (I also have a F115 and F70) The most complicated carbs Yamaha /Merc have are from the F25, F30 and F40 (very little tiny holes) and once again is not my opinion is what a Yamaha technical guide say. Love your podcast guys. Best regards from Portugal
subscribed. Keep an eye on the engine you choose and maintain because the number of cup holders on the boat mean nothing when dead in the water. I am still partial to simple old two stokes but at altitude, they gasp.
Great discussion! Yamaha F115 right up there with F150 reliability !
True that!
I have a 01 evinrude ficht 135 on a separate boat (have 5+ boats in my circle) 10000% agreed. Most unreliable engine and no one will touch it😂 nailed it
Now i have a yamaha 70 on my skiff one of those bulletproof yamaha designs. The 25/50/70/90 2 stroke yamahas were legendary.
You guys are killing it with these podcasts. You bring up that shops wont touch 2 strokes down there. They still work on them here some shops but dealerships wont touch anything older than 5 years.
Don't forget the 115 and the 130
Any opinions on those 1989-2006 Mercury 6-15 HP 2 Stroke outboards? I got a 1995 9.9 2 Smoker, I will say that it's a bulletproof engine, run's phenomenal, 1150 Hours of use and almost 30 years later, and still fires first pull, mix it at 50:1, and she'll last forever with proper maintenance. Still wish they made those little gas hogs. Coming from someone who has owned one, these are bulletproof gas hogs.
I agree modern outboards are all reliable. The Yamaha 150 I agree with then for me next would be Suzuki 200 I have been running my Suzuki 200 for years now with zero issues and any thing over 200hp go with mercury.
On a Podcast note , camera work, The master shot thrown in there is a good move. Better viewing experience.
Good video guys. Just wanted to say that Evinrude did not go out of business, they are still making parts and servicing old engines. In fact they are still making outboards under the Rotax name. The new motors share allot with the G2 which is a fantastic outboard that I wish you guys would have touched on. 👍🏻
Inconsistent is perfect way to describe etecs in my experience. So many different types of failures compared to the others. Sure there are some good ones but from what we have seen there are more bad than good. Then the g2s nearly everyone at our marina has had some sort of failure.
I've got a carbed 4-stroke. 2002 Honda 90. Has had it's fair share of issues, but only bought it a year ago, our first boat. It's been fun though trying to figure it out and learn about outboards, though.
Iv Got a 50hp same year Honda 4 stroke , hard to say what life it had before me and I have no idea how many hours are on it but in the two times I’ve used it it’s had its issues , leaky carbs , water pump issues , idle issues , after stripping the carbs I found the float was stuck because old fuel was left in it and it had varnished , then after pulling the thermostat housing off it was clogged with salt at that point I realised it’s probably never been flushed properly. Iv cleaned it out as best as possible and now it pumps water like a charm , fine tuned the carbs as well , if I can get another year out of it I will be happy but I agree it’s a good thing to mess around and try and figure it out yourself and learn a new skill before spending money on something that probably isn’t worth it. I half to say carbs are very outdated now and EFI is definitely a lot better. I’m thinking a Suzuki 70hp 4 stroke for my next motor I have a 20hp Suzuki 4 stroke on my other boat and so far really happy with it no issues and the fuel economy is excellent.
Carbed 4 stroke outboard is problematic.
@@williamtukeyjr3661
U got that part right 😂 iv given up on the Honda every time I use the boat it some how breaks down , new Suzuki df70 ordered and getting fitted next week , iv heard Honda used weak alloy on these early motors and there problematic anyway off to better things now 😃
Ox66 2 stroke fuel injection V-MAX 150. 13 years old when I Sold it. Still running today. 24 years later... best motor ever YAMAHA!
I own two etecs... Theg came with the boat.. I can not wait until they become Phantom Black !
It’s like the auto industry. Never buy a vehicle with a first few years new engine or transmission design. Once they hit the market the problems surface. Then the engineers solve the problems.
I just picked up a 2004 hpdi 300 with 600 hrs to replace my 1986 Suzuki dt200😳
That motor was the definition of run it hot or not at all. It still runs, but the clutch dog was shot so it was time to replace it.
Love the videos though! I’ve always worked on cars, but there were a lot of unknowns to boats that I learned from you. Thank you!
When you say run it hot you mean wot? Can't run and cruise at 4k rpm for long period of time cause that would be a shit load of fuel for twin 300 for my boat. Cause I usually run 25- 50miles round trip for me
@@antonioprado8068 no I just mean old motor=worn components, and in order to get decent compression and be able to keep the motor starting easily on my fishing trips I’d have to start it every 30 minutes or so and let it run.
A lot of guys with these old Suzukis (myself included) would have to get in the lake and run them wot for 15 min so they could get a clean start for the beginning of a tournament😂
They’re known to turn over, fire once, then not start without a good bump of starter fluid
@Jake Wachholz ohh I thought you were talking about the hpdi. I'm now looking at replacing my twin 98 yammie150 for twin 300. How's your experience so far with the hpdi. What did you pay, hours and how did you initially inpect it before buying it to make sure you were getting a good reliable 1
@@antonioprado8068 I paid $1600 for it with 600 hours.
I checked compression, pulled all the spark plugs and checked the cylinder walls for anything resembling a sticky ring, checked the lower unit with a pressure test, checked the trim rod seals, tested the oil tank pump on the reservoir, pulled some fuel out of the vst and then just checked the hardware on the power head to see if the motor seemed like it was taken care of.
It’s in decent shape. the power head might need a rebuild in a couple hundred hours, but that’s two seasons for me, and for $1600 I’m not complaining!
@Jake Wachholz holy fuck. 1600!!! I wish!!! Even if you spend 4k on a new powered that means it'll be 5600 for a pretty much new engine. I wish, everyone wants 4-6k for each hpdi 300. I need 2 so it would cost 8-12k and with more than 600hrs may I add. I'm in miami. I don't know if your in s.florida and how you found the add. Unless it was through a friend or recommendation
Oh hell ty for telling me about the E tec engine. I was considering getting one when I replace my Mercury. I can't work on an E tec. I'm going to stay with Mercury maybe a Optimax after 01.
Here’s a question, if you were in the used market for a motor even to just update a boat for resale. What would be your cut off as far as age, hours, brand, pricing even? Are the newer OptiMaxx is even worth buying with parts and availability getting slimmer?
We talk about this on the next episode :)
czcams.com/video/7t3V5lETqRE/video.html
How about 2000 mercury 225 EFI? How reliable are they got a boat with 600 hrs.
I’m a firm believer that reliability has a lot to do with taking care of it. I ran multiple 2 stroke Evinrude/Johnson motors from 35-70hp on ducks boats and would run them year round. Below 0 temps to summers in the 90’s. I would change lower oil before each season so twice a year. Plugs each year, impellers once a year. Those motors are still running with new owners. I’m running a Honda 75 and a Mercury 90 now and they also run as long as you care for them.
Maintenance is the total key for sure!
I'm an old man at "53" but my 96 Intruder 150 is a bullet proof work horse.
I'll run her till she blows or the government says i can't.
Lets hit on what you guys know/think about the 250hp Suzuki's, they are crazy popular in central west gulf coast and the smaller older mechanical version has been around a very long time.
150 johnson 2 stroke .
I put gas in it turn key and it flies ..winter pull. Runi out gas while its flushing w/ fresh water .fog it . See you next season 22 years now ..very reliable , fast too
Just installed a brand new Tohatsu 60 on my boat. Can’t wait to get it out.
Nice!
Me running off shore with a 99 ocean pro 175 😂
Probably one of the most bulletproof engines ever made. Drink fuel but never die.
The best deal is the motor you can have the best dealer relationship with.
I have a 5 month hard water season. I don't want to wait on any parts after the melt. Having a symbiotic relationship with the dealer reduces open water downtime. Purchasing boat, parts and services gets you some leverage and a desire in the dealer to have a long successful relationship.
100% True Thank you!
i just unloaded 2 05 yamaha f150s...had to pull the power head twice on the one motor and once on the other to fix leaky oil seal... ran hard as hell but it was always something really little with those motors got about 2k hours on them before sold
How do i get i. Touch with you to do work on my old center console 1988 pro line
Looking at getting a new 6hp 4 stroke for my new kaboat. Fishing fresh, and brackish water. What would y'all recommend?
I believe Tohatsu builds everyones small outboards.
1996 Evinrude 15hp, starts 1st pull every time.
I guess it all depends i have owned two yamaha 90 2 stroke and they both gave me problems..and after that I bought a yamaha 115 4 stroke and that thing is bulletproof
my grandfather piloted a fast boat with 8x 250hp hp v8 motors, this was back in 85/90; they had evinrude technicians fly overseas to maintain them, really good stories.. never mentioned anything on reliability, just sheer maintenance of the octuple.
8x8=64 cylinders. 64 spark plugs .. imagine that..
Not saying etecs are the greatest but ive have less trouble with the etec then my yamaha. Im suprised at the 16:50 etecs reliability because i thought they were trash but mine has well over a 1000hrs with zero issues. I have done all the maintenance tho.
I run a 24ft hydrasport 97 ocean pro 225 40-50 miles offshore
You can thank the EPA for most of these issues
Just found you guys great discussion. Question for you, I have a 2016 Boston Whaler 210 Montauk with a 2016 Evinrude E-TEC 200HP HO. I am in South West Florida and just can't get any service in my area on the E-TEC. My E-TEC needs about a $4k of work, including a new fuel pump/reservoir. So, I've been thinking about repowering. A Suzuki 200 seems like an interesting option. What are your thoughts? Should I try and get the E-TEC repaired? or repower?
Thank you! Personally, if it's in the budget, I'd figure out how to sell the E-TEC and do the repower. I don't think I would dump 4K in the E-TEC, hoping to get it running properly. Though you will lose some power going from the E-TEC to the 200 Suzuki, so that should play a factor in the decision, I guess it would depend on if you can actually find someone that knows what they are doing with the E-TEC and what is the real number to get it running reliably again. Because that's a problem all together, and not being able to find someone to work on it :(
@@TheBoatersPodcast Thank you so much for the reply.
I have a 40HP ETEC that has been great. If I had to replace it then tohatsu.
Wow, I must be very lucky as I have a 2018 90 hp Etec (400 hrs on it) and it runs great! I live in the Detroit area and there are still a lot of them running around here. Lockeman's Hardware and Boats in Detroit still provides excellent service on them. Up here, I've always heard Force outboards were the worst outboards ever made.
I have a 1988 Johnson gt 100 2 stroke love Great motor
Are the Suzuki 4 strokes heavier than Mercs?
I feel like the young guy watches team marine services with Andy lol
These guys break down why they have their opinions a little better. I do like Andy. But he tends to under describe issues . When he does his over under. Why even bring up the electronics unless something isn't offered. Just give damn base price in why u like the boat. He spends half time listing same parts he choses on every boat😊
the aviation community is now putting Yamaha Snow mobile engines in experimental aircraft - very reliable and tons of power for the weight. 2, 3 and 4 cyl. models.
Really! That's super interesting, Yamaha's are synonymous for being reliable! Though I don't have much, or well any experience with their snow mobiles lol :)
U can't hook up a computer to it. Back in the 80s Kenny Baldwin in Havasu was a master at high horsepower 2 strokes. Folks would drive 500 miles or more sometimes for him to do powerheads. 3 carbs 6 cylinders all tuned by ear and feel
Probably got one of the good etec. Engines. 2005 and running strong.
There is a big difference between the first gen ETECs and the ETEC G2
L6 is a Verado?
I've seen a lot of early f225 f250 and optimax loose a piston and suzuki 350 are nothing but problems. Imo newer suzuki 200-300 are the most reliable engines right now.
I would say that the need for service and unnecessary failures factors into reliability.
The more things you need to service, to keep track of and be mindful of, the more unreliable I would consider the motor. Users will always forget to do things or won't afford to. If your motor needs to be pampered and cared for by a certified technician ever 2 weeks or it dies, then its gotta be considered less reliable than a motor than can go 500 hours unattended.
I also think modern computer failure modes like bad trim sensors and such are a form of unreliability. Its 2023, you should be able to inform the user of the nature of the problem and let the user disable the warning and safe-mode.
Don't redline your motor , keep good gas in it and keep up on the maintenance and that will eliminate 99 percent of your problems and use it more than 2-3 times a year
Anything that cannot be fixed on the water without a specialized tech on board is unreliable.
I loved my Mercury Optirmax
I'm a fan too :)