kicking the 2 stroke

Before given any advise several questions need answers. #1 New or used? #2,2 stroke or 4 stroke, #3,HP rating #4, What are you looking for? Easy to start,smokeless,trolls low with no loadup,low top speed, high top speed, lightweight, cost......?

Love my Evinrude, it's quiet, starts easily, fuel efficient and virtually maintenance free (knock on wood).

ORIGINAL: psu_fish

Ok so I'm getting fed up with my old Johnson 9.9 2-stroke and I wanna switch over to a 4 stroke. This would be for a Alumacraft 14 foot semi V. Basically looking to find something more reliable as I have had my fair share of headaches with this old 2 stroke. I want an outboard that will just fire up and go

I really like Honda small engines but never owned a outbaord from them. Tohatsu seemed to be cheaper in price but are they too low in price? Yahama and Merc are quailty names as well.

any input would be great

imo theyre all good...but when i bought a new boat/motor i took into account what if i was somewhere and something happened to the motor. where can i get parts/service easier almost anywhere. i had planned on buying a honda but with all of the merc dealers i bought a merc. hopefully you never need them but almost anywhere and everywhere you go theres a merc dealer nearby.

jmo but less fuel, less noise, less stench, smoother running, easier starting, etc..., i'll never own another 2-stroke. my kickers a 2-stroke and when its time is up, i'll be 2-stroke free.

""

see, now that wasnt so hard. just sayin'

gotta say, if the nearest honda dealer wasnt approx. 40 miles from me and so few of them in between, id probably have one...but the almost $2000 more for the honda didnt help sway me towards the drive/lack of dealers...and mines a yamaha with a black cover...but the hondas are awesome motors.

Four strokes are great motors. The thing you must consider is weight. They are much heavier than two strokes and will push your boat slower than a 2 stroke. If trolling is what you do most a small 4 stroke could be you. A properly tuned 2 stroke would be my choice for a primary motor on a 14ft. When setup right and maintained they perform well. Once warmed up and the proper mix, fumes dont seem to be a issue and they will run at idle for hours. As far a brands well its like everything else, Ford are better than Chevys. This debate could go on forever. As far as a used 2 stroke Johnson/Evinrude would be my choice. Different STROKES for different folks!!

Commander, you must have got a fantastic deal on your Merc. I thought I did pretty good paying $3000 for my Honda 20. The main reason I chose Honda was the fact that all they have ever made, since the early/mid '70's was 4 stroke outboards. IMO, everyone else is playing catch-up.

Psu, I think lack of proper maintenance and E-10 fuel is the culprit. The internal fuel lines on a motor that old cannot hold up to the alcohol in today's fuel.

Do a little research on used motors, see who has the best resale value, that'll tell you a lot...

If memory serves me (doubtful), I think that small mercs are made by yamaha, probably some other "twins" out there as well...

ORIGINAL: eyesandgillz

ORIGINAL: psu_fish

ORIGINAL: Trout About

Commander, you must have got a fantastic deal on your Merc. I thought I did pretty good paying $3000 for my Honda 20. The main reason I chose Honda was the fact that all they have ever made, since the early/mid '70's was 4 stroke outboards. IMO, everyone else is playing catch-up.

Psu, I think lack of proper maintenance and E-10 fuel is the culprit. The internal fuel lines on a motor that old cannot hold up to the alcohol in today's fuel.

It very well could be, like I said it was in a shed of a family members for quite a few years, till I was given it. When I got it, I fired it up in a garbage can  to see if it would run, once it did, it went straight to the local repair shop for a proper review. It has new plugs, and I run 50:1 in it with Johnson brand 2 stroke oil. 


The Tohatsu is 10 pounds lighter than the Honda...but when I think of small engines, I think of Honda first

Is it only starting problems with your 2 stroke?  Have you ever had a carb job done?  You can get a carb kit online for those fairly cheap and if you have even minor DIY skills, rebuild it yourself.  Also, try running Seafoam in your gas.  Do the heavy cleaning dosage at first, as suggested on the bottle, then use the maintenance amounts in your gas tanks after that.  The "cleaning" dosage won't be needed if you rebuild your carb. 

I have a '78 15 hp Johnson pull start and it will give me a little trouble the first time out each spring but after that, works pretty well.  And for that first start up (after I turned it over a couple times), a quick spray of starting fluid in the air intake and it usually fires right up. 

Sometimes it starts fine with the electric start, other times I have to pull start it. Start in neutral, then I put the tiller into shift mode, shift into foward and slowly throttle up. After few mins It will start knocking, lose power make a "waffling sound" and then rev back up to normal, but as soon as you start to throttle down it will die and be a pain to restart. Doesnt appear to overheat. Maybe its too leaned out is what I was told by friends. And I have a fully charged Interstate RV/Marine deep cycle battery

Yesterday, after we made our third move while fishing  I hit the starter button and sparks came off the positive terminal and it never did that before so that was interesting to say the least, had to pull start it and it died about 100 yards from dock. It has new plugs and external fuel line that runs from motor to my 6 gallon external tank, with fresh gas. Doesnt smoke all at after  startup

I think I'm gonna do one more visit to repair shop before I visit the showroom for a 4 stroke Honda.

Air leak

ORIGINAL: bulldog1

If memory serves me (doubtful), I think that small mercs are made by yamaha, probably some other "twins" out there as well...

When I got my Honda in 2004, the dealer (who also had Mercs) told me the small Merc motors were being made by Tohatsu.  That was 6 years ago, so things could have changed.

ORIGINAL: Trout About

Commander, you must have got a fantastic deal on your Merc. I thought I did pretty good paying $3000 for my Honda 20. The main reason I chose Honda was the fact that all they have ever made, since the early/mid '70's was 4 stroke outboards. IMO, everyone else is playing catch-up.

Psu, I think lack of proper maintenance and E-10 fuel is the culprit. The internal fuel lines on a motor that old cannot hold up to the alcohol in today's fuel.

my merc 115 4 stroke is my main motor. the same honda was about 2k more. i have a 2-stroke kicker.

ORIGINAL: Outdoor Adventures

Four strokes are great motors. The thing you must consider is weight. They are much heavier than two strokes and will push your boat slower than a 2 stroke. If trolling is what you do most a small 4 stroke could be you. A properly tuned 2 stroke would be my choice for a primary motor on a 14ft. When setup right and maintained they perform well. Once warmed up and the proper mix, fumes dont seem to be a issue and they will run at idle for hours. As far a brands well its like everything else, Ford are better than Chevys. This debate could go on forever. As far as a used 2 stroke Johnson/Evinrude would be my choice. Different STROKES for different folks!!

curious as to what motor/s you own/run?

back in the day, weight/speed was a factor. now its a 15-35 lb difference on the smaller outboards.

jmo but i wouldnt consider ever buying a used johnson/evinrude 2-stroke. while its true they were/are great motors, and ive owned many, and its all ive ever owned until i bought my merc. johnson/evinrude going bankrupt, being taken over by bomabardier/can-am, and back to johnson/eveinrude again, has caused a huge issue in the lack of parts and service for older 2-stroke "johnsonrudes".

if i told you what i saved in ohio vs pa you wouldnt believe me. i suggest to anybody and everybody buying a new boat/motor to go to ohio. amazing difference in $$$. people tell me what they pay in pa and i cant believe the price difference and cant believe they pay the $$$.