90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

[dkgiles6]

I'm buying a new aluminium 5.25m bow rider from a <br />Stacer dealer in Australia in the next few weeks and I have a choice with the outboard I select to have installed on the boat.<br /><br />I know that alot of this might come down to personal opinion, but is there any reason I should select one over the other. My choices are the 2-stroke inline 3 Mercury or the v4 Johnson.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Darren.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

Hi Darren,<br /><br />Where are you? What type of water will you be boating in? How much did you pay for the hull? (I'm on the market for a similar boat)<br /><br />Welcome!<br /><br />Aldo

 

[dkgiles6]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

Hi Aldo,<br /><br />I'm in Sydney - it will mostly be used in the hawkesbury and up at forster. The boat is a package deal with motor included and is roughly 30K new - depending on a few options.<br /><br />Cheers,<br />Darren.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

o/k, fresh water use, skiing etc I assume. So in the package they have given you 2 motor options, right? I like the mercs but for skiing the v4 will probably have better hole shot (torque). If you will just be pleasure boating/fishing then I would see if the dealer is negotiable, I would try for a 4 stroke (merc or honda). Just my opinion, I'm sure you will get plenty more.<br /><br />Aldo

 

[dkgiles6]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

The 4-stroke is an option but for an extra 3K. We won't be doing any skiing - it's mostly going to be used for pleasure boating/fishing. It will see both salt and freshwater use.<br /><br />Cheers,<br />Darren.

 

[seahorse5]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

You will get better performance with the V4 Johnson.

 

[steam_mill]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

Hi Darren:<br /><br />I've got a similar setup as you. I went for the 90 Merc.<br /><br />My reason for this is that Johnnie/'Rude as a company I think is very unstable. I run a 50 year old 7.5 'rude and used to have a '72 'rude and am quite fond of the OMC products. <br /><br />I could not bring myself to purchase a product (new 90) that may not be supported in the future.<br /><br />I've got an '03 Merc 90 hp on a 1200 lbs. hull. Great skiing. I like the engine overall. The only problem is that due to the 3 cylinder arrangement, it runs a little rough betwen 1000-1800 RPM. Beyond this, it runs great. I would buy the same engine again!<br /><br />Joe

 

[JB]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

There is no valid reason to concern yourself about the future of JohnnyRudes. Bombardier is more solid than Brunswick.<br /><br />I would choose the Johnny. <br /><br />My son had a Merc 90 and didn't like it because of the rough idle. We have had several JohnnyRude V4s and all were excellent engines.<br /><br />The Johnny V4 2 stroke has more displacement and idles like a cat purr. The Johnny EFI 4 stroke 90 is a super-smooth and user friendly engine that will make you a 4 stroke lifer.<br /><br />Some old prejudice in here. I have always liked JohnnyRudes and I don't like Brunswick's marketing strategies, so put that filter on my comments.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[bossee]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

Hi,<br />My experience:<br />3 cylinder - little more rough at idle than 4 cyl,<br />in general 4-cyl somewhat smoother at higher rpm also.<br /><br />I'm rather sure You will be happy with almost any new 90 hp 2- or 4-stroke that is avaliable today on the market but personally I would select the 4 cyl option. Also if money permit a 90 hp 4-stroke will be a very good choice. The EFI on Johnson 90 4-stroke will be a nice bonus (easy starting in any weather condition and trolling wil be no problems day in and day out).<br />Johnson 90 4-stroke (and Suzuki DF90 that is exactly the same outboard) has been on the market for several years now so that should have taken care of any "problems" that might have existed when this outboard was released on the market for the first time.<br /><br />I had a 2-stroke before, I have a 4-stroke now (Yamaha F115, 2003) and I'm very happy with this outboard. In fact it has exceeded my expectations of how smooth, quiet, fuelefficient and how good force a 4-stroke in this seize can be.<br />There are DFI (Direct Fuel Injection) 2-strokes that are CARB 3-star rated if that is important to You. Evinrude 90 E-tech, Mercury Optimax 90 for example (Tohatsu 90 TLDI is 2-star rated I belive).<br /><br />Good luck and happy boating!

 

[BillP]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

I'd chose the V4 Johnson. In my humble opinion the only time Merc was more reliable than OMC was when compared to ficht models.

 

[robbyusa]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

I always seem to be on the other side of this board but I have a 90 hp 3 cyl merc that I love! It is simple in designe, compact and feul efficient. I like the shaft driven oil pump and under cowl oil tank that you wont get with the OMC. I have beat mine to death but it won't quite.

 

[steam_mill]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

I think everyone has made excellent points. But I love my old evinrude but also am very very pleased with my Merc 90.<br /><br />Okay lets make it worse...<br /><br />Chevy or Ford which is better?<br /><br />Alright, I'm just glad that I drive a SUBARU!!!!<br /><br />Sorry, just thought we need to lighten the topic. Any engine will probably be great with the right maintenance....<br /><br />However, I do like the fact that my Merc 90 has a very simple design which I hope will mean will be running in 2054 as my 1954 'rude is running in 2004....<br /><br />Joe

 

[ivar]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

How is the weight difference between those 2? <br /><br />More cyl's and larger displacement can often be offset by higher weight , especially if the boat is weight sensitive. <br />In fact, 2 buddies of mine , with identical boats weighing around 1100#, one with an ~82 90 Johnson , the other with a '83 Yamaha 75, the boat with the smaller engine often performed better but most of the time they were pretty similar.

 

[dkgiles6]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

Thanks all for your comments. It seems to boil down to whether I'm happy with a rough idle or not.<br /><br />In terms of a weight comparison<br />Johnson Weight 152 kgs<br />Mercury Weight 137 kgs<br />Cheers,<br />Darren.

 

[ivar]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

Not much difference weight-wise then..<br /><br />Hmm, which color do you prefer then?

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

I prefer the sound of a smooth running Johnson to a clickety clack Merc. It makes for a calmer day boating.

 

[robbyusa]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

Not sure why but I own a johnson 120 that is very loud compared to my merc 90 running on the muffs. In the water though they are similar. Not a problem if you have nice niebors I guess. <br /> after market parts seem more readily available for omc products and merc parts can be expensive.<br />My merc is on a 5.5 meter Zodiac Rib where a v4 would seem like overkill. <br /> I can plan on burning only 18 gallons of feul<br /> when I run 33 miles offshore and back (66 miles total) to my favorite dive site.<br /> Just some more thoughts

 

[Bass Man Bruce]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

DG You might consider a little research on the new evinrude etecs if your dealer is willing. I'm still waiting for one on back order but I've yet to hear a negative comment on them in what info I've gotten.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

I work mostly on Mercs. The Worst Mercs on the market are the 75/90 3-cylinders and the 100/115/125 4-cylinders. Many many many complaints about these motors. I would personally prefer any brand over Merc for these particular models. All are on the chopping block as soon as production on the 4-strokes is ramped-up. Although I will say that the 75 is the strongest 75 2-stroke on the market. But for a 2-stroke 90 you can't beat the 60 degree V-4 Johnnyrude. No other brand even comes close. As far as I'm concerned, the Johnnyrude 60 degree 90/115s are the best outboards ever made...any size..any year...any brand.

 

[UpstNYer]

Re: 90hp 2-stroke mercury or johnson

Faced with the same dilemma, I went with the Merc. Wanted to keep my 9.8hp kicker on the back but didn't want the stern riding any lower than necessary. Was concerned enough about this to run some tests with sandbags before ordering engine. 90HP is max for my boat and the kicker with me at the tiller really puts the stern down.<br /><br />Also liked the Merc's integral oil tank. Johnson dealer was at a bit of a loss as to where he was going to put the oil tank. Prices were comparable, as I recall, but a couple of incentives kicked in after I signed on the line that gave me an unexpected rebate and some free extended warranty. <br /><br />Expected the Merc's low speed roughness, but it hasn't bothered me. If I were trolling alot with the 90 it might. It did seem a bit sensitive to starting technique, but now that I'm no longer running extra oil for break-in, starting isn't an issue. The Merc is plenty thirsty enough. The larger displacement Johnson is bound to burn more. So far, I luv the Merc; but I'd probably like the Johnson just as much.<br /><br />Black looks great on the back.