What makes johnson 28 special?

[sambrigman]

I have a 28 special Johnson and do not know what the special means. Anybody know??

 

[racerone]

Well it is a marketing thing.------There is nothing special about the powerhead.------But the midsection and lower unit are older design items.-------Perhaps these motors were built / marketed to clear out existing inventory.----Nothing wrong with that either.

 

[FunInDuhSun]

I seem to remember they were a no-frills or low budget model.

 

[ondarvr]

As mentioned, not much of a differrence. The 115 HP had a 112spl counterpart, 90-88spl, 50-48spl, 30-28spl. The spl would lack a few features of the main model, oil infection, T&T, and maybe other things depending year and HP, but there was no hard rule to the differences. It was marketed at a slightly lower price point.

 

[F_R]

Just a gimmick to keep you from escaping and heading down the street to the Yamaha dealer. Similar motors were designed and sold as "Commercial" models.

 

[GA_Boater]

I do believe it was a marketing ploy to offer a lower feature motor to compete price-wise against Mariners.

 

[racerone]

Left over midsections and lower units needed to be sold somehow.

 

[Fed]

Special sounds a lot better than poverty pack.