Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

L

lax1691

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Dec 9, 2003
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3
Am new to this site and am impressed with the collective knowledge of those responding. I just purchased a Hewescraft 20' Searunner (welded aluminum). Will use the boat for fishing and family fun in Puget Sound. Any thoughts on the power choice of a Yamaha 115 4 stroke versus a Johnson/Suzuki 115 4 stroke would be appreciated. I am looking at reliability, warranty service, performance and any other info you may feel important. Thanks in advance for the knowledge.
 
JB

JB

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
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Mar 25, 2001
Messages
45,907
Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

I think the engines are very close in performance and reliability, LAX.<br /><br />I think Suzuki offers the best warranty, Johnson offers more service locations.<br /><br />You can check around, but I expect the Johnson/Suzukis to go for better prices.
 
M

manitoba1

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Jan 8, 2002
Messages
121
Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

Both are great engines. I've got Suzuki 70hp and love it. Buy the engine you can get the best price, service and/or warranty on. My bet is that the Suzuki/Johnson will be less cost than the Yami. Good luck<br /><br />Manitoba1
 
D

DJ

Guest
Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

lax1691,<br /><br />I believe all of them are in the same class as far as reliability goes. <br /><br />With that said, I would choose the brand offered by a dealer that you trust.
 
C

Cricket Too

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Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

Quick question here, When you say Johnson/Suzuki is that the OMC/Bombardier Johnson you are speaking of? Does Johnson make outboards for Suzuki or something and Suzuki puts their name on it? Have never heard of this, Thanks.
 
L

lax1691

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Dec 9, 2003
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Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

I ask about the Johnson/Suzuki as I have been told by both a Suzuki dealer and a Johnson dealer that Suzuki is in production agreement with Johnson to produce their four stroke from 90 on up. The only difference according to everyone that I have talked to is the cowling. Hope that helps. And thanks to all that have replied thus far!
 
G

gss036

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Jan 18, 2003
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2,914
Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

As I said in another post you posted, the 115 hp is not enough horsepower for that boat. You should be looking at 140-150 HP.
 
F

Forktail

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Feb 11, 2002
Messages
977
Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

I'm familiar with that boat gss036. 115 HP is plenty fine. Most people are running a 115 on even the 22' Hewescraft Searunner at 40 mph.<br /><br />Either brand would be excellent. Both light, powerful, fuel injected and great history. I love my Yamaha F115's. Real sweethearts. ;)
 
Fly Rod

Fly Rod

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Oct 31, 2002
Messages
2,622
Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

any one of them brands are good.zusuki is out with a 6 year warranty. part of that warranty is extended. I know which way that I'd go. I'm sure that the rest will probally follow, but maybe not.
 
J

JRJ

Commander
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Sep 11, 2001
Messages
2,992
Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

I re-powered with a Johnson 115. With 54 hours I'm very pleased so far. I bought a Suzuki Service Manual that covers the DF90 & DF115. I'll try and answer any questions you may have. Have fun with the new rig.
 
R

rivercat49

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Sep 2, 2003
Messages
40
Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

They are both great engines. I just heard from a yamaha salesman that they will be offering a 5 year warrenty package to compete against suzuki.Good luck with your choice. I,m in the process of buying a new boat and facing some of the same decisions :cool:
 
B

bossee

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 18, 2002
Messages
727
Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

Hi,<br />I have a Yamaha F115 4-stroke (2003) that I have used this summer and it has worked fine. 2004 model is even CARB 3-star rated now and have new guages. Suzuki DF115 is as good as a Yamaha F115, at least if judged by some tests I have read that compare both outboards on same boat. Johnson 115 4-stroke is the same outboard as Suzuki DF115 but it is painted white.<br /><br />I bought 3 years extra warranty for my outboard (it has 2 year standard warranty in my country) so 5 year total in my case for the Yamaha F115. Some of the electrical in this outboard can be expensive to repair if it fail in the future so it is good to have extra warranty.<br /><br />Good luck!<br /><br />/Bo
 
Z

zipper

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Feb 9, 2003
Messages
7
Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

Howdy. I own the 140hsp suzukison and could not be happier. When I bought mine (last year at this time) the difference in price between the Yam 115 and the white 140 was < than 500 bucks. Buy the most horses you can afford. Nobody has ever complained about having too much power. The reason you see 115's on these boats is because that's how they're being packaged to keep the cost down. I looked long and hard at the Hewescraft searunner so am very familiar with the boat. Put the top up, load up with gear and people and you will be very hardpressed to MAX out at 40mph. I doubt it. Anyway, my advise is to buy as many horses as you can afford and go 4stroke. The Johnson is very quite and sips fuel. Have fun and good luck. zipper ;)
 
J

jim dozier

Lieutenant Commander
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Jan 8, 2003
Messages
1,970
Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

Side note to Zipper. I used to know a dive guide in West Palm Beach that had that nickname. Is you he?
 
C

Cricket Too

Lieutenant Commander
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May 14, 2003
Messages
1,732
Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

So what this means is basically Bombardier/OMC did not want to bother with making 4 strokes so they teamed up with Suzuki to make them for Johnson, leaving them free to spend time developing and selling the E-tech under the Evinrude name. Let me know if I am totally wrong. Thanks.
 
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jim dozier

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Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

My guess is you will find few companies willing to design a competitive 4-stroke engine from scratch without any previous experience. The tooling and design costs are much higher with the high output 4-strokes because of the higher number of moving parts and tolerances. Its cheaper to buy one from somebody who has experience. Even the Big 3 auto makers in the USA bought their small overhead cam engines from foreign automakers for years (some still do) rather than retool for the more modern engines right away, and the volume of small cars far exceeds the number of outboards sold. Suzuki, Honda, and Yamaha have years of experience producing high output 4-stroke motorcyle and auto engines in addition to direct experience with 2-stroke outboards. I am going to go out on a limb and guess that it is actually easier to design and tool a new E-tec, which is really just a new fuel induction system for a 2-stroke, than it would be to design and tool a 4-stroke of comparable output.
 
C

Cricket Too

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May 14, 2003
Messages
1,732
Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

Thanks jimd, got it now, and I agree with you about the re-tooling. Thanks again.
 
R

rodbolt

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Sep 1, 2003
Messages
20,066
Re: Yamaha or Suzuki/Johnson

hello<br /> mmcpeck that agreement goes back to the mid ninties that I am aware of. the yammi merc arangemnt goes back to the late 1980's that I am aware of. I just got back from the tech update seminar from yamaha. the 4 cyl 4 stroke 150 is looking good. about the same weight as a v6 at 480 pounds or so. uses the v6 gearcase,trim unit and midsection so repowers should be easy. motor looks like it will be competitive anyway.<br /> good luck and keep posting and buy the most power the hull is rated for,
 
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