SUZUKI or YAMAHA

[B-Faithful]

I will say that my father's fishing buddy has had a nightmare ownership of his first year F250's . Making oil problems (gas getting in oil), lost a powerhead, dealing with Yam's warranty dept. He lost much of the first two seasons of owning a 100k boat. Call BS all you want but here he is in front of one...

However, I will say that this is not the norm. If you search all forums you will find that they are know to be very reliable motors and there are a lot of them out there. I will also say that if my boat sells and I have a Judge 27 made, that my choices will be between a zuke 250 and honda 225 as that is what Judge Yachts sells. I am certainly leaning towards the zuke for more power but I am also concerned as I read of periodic powerhead failures on them more than any other 4 stroke available. This concerns me as there are far less of them than Merc and Yam. Overall though, both the zuke and yam have a good reputation. Local dealers reputation of service and quoted price would make the decision more clear to me.

 

[Fishtales]

I had the F225s for 6 years with no problem what so ever - only scheduled maintenance.

My current boat has F250s 2nd season with about 150H. The only issue has been a sticky trim switch which will be replaced on warranty.

BTW, when I bought Yamaha offered the 6 year warranty. Not sure if they are still doing it.

 

[Grog]

If the engine is making oil, the rings didn't seat right. If they don't seat right in the first few hours they never will for a loooong time. You're better off pulling the pistons and re-honing the block.

 

[Bama96]

If the engine is making oil, the rings didn't seat right. If they don't seat right in the first few hours they never will for a loooong time. You're better off pulling the pistons and re-honing the block.

Is this caused by not following the 10hr break in period correctly?

 

[gw204]

Making oil problems (gas getting in oil)

Didn't Yamaha have that problem with a lot of their smaller 4-strokes as well?

 

[B-Faithful]

Early 115's were really known for it but it has been know to happend in the early F250's too. The thing with my dad's buddy was that Yam was a bear to deal with on the warranty.

 

[CaptKennyW]

My old 88 Yamis run strong, but if i were to repower i would like to get some zukes. I have heard nothing but good things about them. of course Etecs are nice too

 

[wilson]

200 hpdi all the way!! light, fast and turn key bad a$$ right out of the box!!! four strokes are truck engines, two strokes split water, cut down trees, and eat dirt!!!!

 

[Grog]

If the engine is making oil, the rings didn't seat right. If they don't seat right in the first few hours they never will for a loooong time. You're better off pulling the pistons and re-honing the block.

Is this caused by not following the 10hr break in period correctly?

Assuming Yamaha honed the block correctly, there are a number of ways to screw the break-in:
Idling too long early on (basically not following the directions)
lugging it (gining it more gas but the RPM's don't change)
Using the wrong oil (synthetic oil should not be used unless the block was honed to be broken in with it)

 

[Comfortably Numb]

I repowered with Yamaha F250's on my Marlin. Looked at the Suzuki's since my last boat had a the Suzuki DF250, but figured resale would be better with a Grady powered by Yamaha's.

Performance-wise, I can't tell a bit a difference between the Suzuki and the Yamaha. The Suzuki had 300 hours when I got rid of it, and the Yamaha's have 400 hours. Neither have had a single problem. The Suzuki did have 2 recalls though.

I'd go with the one with the higher resale. Grady matches with Yamaha, and to some buyers, that will carry some weight come resale time.

 

[bdubz06]

I love the Yamaha engines, but hate the clunky sound they make when shifting gears. It always sounds like the gears are grinding. My father has a 115 Suzuki and it shifts so smooth you can hardly hear when it goes in gear.

They are both good engines.

 

[Fishtales]

Both have good reps. One positive for the sukes is you can get them 100% out of the water - not true for the yam.

 

[Southern Hunter]

Yamaha

I've had Evinrude engines on everything I ever owned until just recently when we bought the Grady White and I must say so far the F250's have impressed me, almost 100hrs and not a hiccup yet!

 

[magicalbill]

My 200 Yamahas on my 232 Gulfstream are incredible..
If they stay as reliable and turn-key as they are, I'll never have any other brand..

 

[B-Faithful]

I know I responed to this thread before but since then I have learned new information. I am in the process of having a semi custom boat built and was given the choice of Honda 225 or Zuke 250. I have spoken to an owner of the same model who went with the 250 zuke and he is disappointed in his decision. He said the motor is loud at cruise and drones in the pilothouse to the point that it is annoying. It is much louder than the Honda when at speed. He also said that it burns about a full gal per hour more at cruise speeds. It is a faster motor than the Honda but still burns more mpg's. The builder claims the zuke 250 droning is not an issue at all on the center consoles so the harmonics may just be a result of this pilothouse model. I doubt it would affect the Grady walkarounds in the same mannor but thought it may be worth mentioning

 

[Harleyfxdl]

Got to admit the Yamaha's are great engines. I had a 86' 90hp 2-stroke on my BW Montauk. Never had a rebuild or major work and the thing is still running strong as hell today. I like the way the ETEC's are running. Would probably go with an ETEC if I was repowering.