Which brand Motor Suzuki or Mercury?
Moderators: Redneck_Randy, badmoonrising, lakerunner
Re: Which brand Motor Suzuki or Mercury?
Decided on 115 hp. Priced out Suzuki, Yamaha & Mercury on ordering same Boat through 5 different dealers. Lowest price on boat ordered the way I wanted it from factory came in from dealer that only sold Mercury. Decided it was not worth 3 to 4K more for Yamaha or Suzuki. Offered to let some dealers price match and they declined. So goes the world of buying a boat when boats are selling.
Sold: 27' CC with Twin 225 Yamaha
Replaced w/ Bentley 240 Cruise w/ Mercury 115
Replaced w/ Bentley 240 Cruise w/ Mercury 115
Re: Which brand Motor Suzuki or Mercury?
From my recent research Mercury makes their Command Thrust engines (2:38 ratio) that Runs the same older Suzuki gear ratio as the old DF140s / 115s. I feel like this was to offer another middle option for people after Suzuki jumped to a (2:59) ratio from the (2:38). And yes you are absolutely correct as to why it is such a big wheel to spin.Bamaman wrote:The deal is that the Suzuki prop shafts turn so slow. No other motor's setup that way. It takes a lot of pitch to push the boats.
Sold: 27' CC with Twin 225 Yamaha
Replaced w/ Bentley 240 Cruise w/ Mercury 115
Replaced w/ Bentley 240 Cruise w/ Mercury 115
Re: Which brand Motor Suzuki or Mercury?
No one mentioned it but the Mercury 4 strokes were much lower cost of ownership than the Yamaha engines and slightly less than the Suzuki and Evinrude's in a study done by a boat publication. The big reason was no 20 hour service and no valve adjustments like a Yamaha. It's a very simple motor and only requires oil changes every year or 100, and inspect/replace the water pump and alternator belt every 3 or 300 and plugs. It is also really easy to service and has QR codes you an can scan with your smart phone on the engine to show you how to service it and check fluids.
Re: Which brand Motor Suzuki or Mercury?
My 20 hr. engine check (Yamaha F150) took 6 quarts of oil, a quart of lower unit grease and $2 in paper gaskets. No filter change was needed, but I did change it with one from a Ford Focus 2.0. Total cost of supplies was about $40 and I was thru in 30 minutes.
My Yamaha only needs a timing belt change at 1000 hours, which in my case will probably be done by my heirs or another owner.
All the 4 stroke motors are low maintenance in reality. That's on reason they're so popular.
Yamaha's 4 strokes are #1 to me for pontoon usage. But Mercury is a great alternative if the price difference is substantial. I also like the Suzuki, but I'd take a good local dealer for me to buy one. Suzuki Outboard as a company simply stinks, where Suzuki Cycles as a company's great.
My Yamaha only needs a timing belt change at 1000 hours, which in my case will probably be done by my heirs or another owner.
All the 4 stroke motors are low maintenance in reality. That's on reason they're so popular.
Yamaha's 4 strokes are #1 to me for pontoon usage. But Mercury is a great alternative if the price difference is substantial. I also like the Suzuki, but I'd take a good local dealer for me to buy one. Suzuki Outboard as a company simply stinks, where Suzuki Cycles as a company's great.
'12 Bennington 24' SSLX Yamaha 150
Re: Which brand Motor Suzuki or Mercury?
There is also a valve adjustment on yamaha outboards every 5 years or 500 hours. The mercury was considerably cheager for the 150. You can get the mercury for under 10k. The msrp it is around 2600 cheaper so it's around 17% cheaper and no timing belt or valve adjustments. It also depends on how much you use it. I plan on having the dealer do maintenence through at least the first 300 hours since we have an 8 year warranty. We also will put 200+ hours a year on our boat since we use it year round with the enclosure. Last year of the bow rider we had around 225 hours but I think we wI'll put more on the tritoon. With the hours we put on it, cost of ownership was a major buying factor. The dealers around here charge more for the Yamaha oil changes for whatever reason.
Re: Which brand Motor Suzuki or Mercury?
I see you're right about Yamaha valve adjustments @ 500 hours. At the pace I'm putting on mine, I'll be 93 years old when I need my adjustment.
And you're right about Mercury motors being cheaper to buy from a dealership--acquired directly from Mercury Outboards. The cheapest I've found the 150 FourStroke is about $10,300 and a stainless prop will be $500 and the control binnacle will be additional.
On new boats with the engines acquired at volume prices through the manufacturer, the cost differential between Mercury and Yamaha is much less than $2700.
But it's nice that any of the motors awill do a fine job for you.
And you're right about Mercury motors being cheaper to buy from a dealership--acquired directly from Mercury Outboards. The cheapest I've found the 150 FourStroke is about $10,300 and a stainless prop will be $500 and the control binnacle will be additional.
On new boats with the engines acquired at volume prices through the manufacturer, the cost differential between Mercury and Yamaha is much less than $2700.
But it's nice that any of the motors awill do a fine job for you.
'12 Bennington 24' SSLX Yamaha 150
Re: Which brand Motor Suzuki or Mercury?
New to the 4 stroke game, but I just repowered a older tritoon with a '09 susuki 150. After researching through some of the mechanics I use for service for my other engine, (Yamaha HPDI) they both were down a bit on Mercury electronics. I know there are more Merc 150 4 strokes on the area of Kentucky Lake we frequent than any other. As far as propping the Susuki, it came off a bass boat, and was swinging a 28x14 3/4x3 Susuki prop. My tritoon is a '96 Premier, 23" round logs and no strakes. I ran props all weekend, and worked all the way down to a Solas Lexor 17x 15 1/2 x 3, and that got me close to 6k, good lift, and 36 mph gps. Good enough for me. The Susuki is a beast on the low end.
Re: Which brand Motor Suzuki or Mercury?
Make sure you keep in mind the year requirement from a warranty standpoint. Had a friend with a low hour yamaha have to pay to replace part of the fuel injection system because the service wasn't done by the year mark even though he was lower than the hour requirements. If you are out of warranty more powe to you.Bamaman wrote:I see you're right about Yamaha valve adjustments @ 500 hours. At the pace I'm putting on mine, I'll be 93 years old when I need my adjustment.
And you're right about Mercury motors being cheaper to buy from a dealership--acquired directly from Mercury Outboards. The cheapest I've found the 150 FourStroke is about $10,300 and a stainless prop will be $500 and the control binnacle will be additional.
On new boats with the engines acquired at volume prices through the manufacturer, the cost differential between Mercury and Yamaha is much less than $2700.
But it's nice that any of the motors awill do a fine job for you.