Really Nice Review of 5 HP 4 Stroke Outboards

[cruz-in]

http://www.mby.com/gear/ultimate-5hp-outboard-engine-group-test-50627

Looking for a new outboard for my Suncat and this review was just what I was looking for. Figured it would be useful to others.

[Potcake boy]

cruz-in,

Thanks for sharing that great review. That the Yamaha was the outstanding choice is no surprise. I've used outboard powered sailboats for 40+ years and have seen the evolution of these small motors. Yamaha was the first company to deal a crushing blow to American outboard manufacturers. This forced the competition (Mercury and Evenrude) to rethink their market approach. Small motors it seems were deemed to be too little profit to invest a lot in redevelopment, so they stayed in this market by re branding other manufactures' offering. Honda was an early provider of 4 stroke motors, but didn't seem to focus too much on some of the less obvious requirements of sailboat owners. I've never owned a Yamaha outboard that I wouldn't prefer 2 to 1 over any other make. I only lament that Yamaha has oriented it's under 9.9 hp motors to dinghy use. I once had a Yamaha 8hp 2 cylinder which I used on a Com-Pac 19. I installed a rectifier and a high thrust prop. That motor did it's duty with grace, and total reliability. But alas someone decided that it is too expensive to produce a two cylinder in that horse power range or perhaps too heavy to be used as a dinghy motor.

So, until someone engineers a small outboard for small sailboat sailors then we must choose and pick among the offerings, and Yamaha seems to be the best choice. That's an easy task for day sailors, but the requirements for cruisers are more demanding, like quiet operation and range between refueling. Just can't wait till the outboards are as quiet as a spinnaker.

[Shawn]

Yamaha does make nice outboards. Many years ago we had a 115hp 2 stroke on a 18.5 Yahoo Offshore and it was a great engine.

"But alas someone decided that it is too expensive to produce a two cylinder in that horse power range or perhaps too heavy to be used as a dinghy motor. "

I think the main thing was sales. The 8hp was just the 9.9HP engine with a smaller carb on it. Weight was the same with the 8 compared to the 9.9. So almost everybody bought the 9.9 for the extra power at little additional cost.

"but the requirements for cruisers are more demanding, like quiet operation and range between refueling."

As far as range in a cruising outboard I think the Suzuki 9.9B is very strong here. It is the only one with fuel injection and at cruising speeds (not WOT) they take advantage of the fuel injection to run the outboard in a lean burn mode for improved fuel economy. No one else has EFI in that HP class. I think the main reason the 9.9B has it is because it is the same engine as their 15 and 20HP outboards but neither of them have a 25" shaft option. The Suzuki has much more displacement than any of the other 9.9HP engines out there, good for low end torque to get a big high thrust prop moving on a heavy displacement hull. That also let them put in a charging system twice as large as everybody elses.

Suzuki hasn't yet brought EFI to the smaller outboards though. If they do it would be nice to get rid of carbs and potential jet problems.

Shawn

[cruz-in]

Sux\zuki has just released completely reengineered versions of the DF4/5/6. It is the "A" version....DF4/5/6A

By a good bit it is the lightest of the bunch wieghing in at less than 52 pounds...

As best I can figure, the one tested in the article was the old Suzuki DF4/5/6.

[Shawn]

Not the new version. Their pictures have the old engine with the carrying handle below the power head. The 'A' series has that higher up and more integrated into the case.

See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4H119IQA6Q

Shawn

[cruz-in]

I was under the impression (apparently mistaken) that Suzuki outboards were less expensive than Yamaha and Hondas. I just had the impression they were a "value" line of outboards.

However, in the 6 Horse Power, the prices I got on the Suzuki and Yamaha are about the same.

[Shawn]

I think that probably depends upon the engine. When I bought the 2.5 it was a few hundred less than the Honda or Yamaha but that wasn't why I bought it. It was because it was much lighter than the Yamaha (29# vs about 40# if I am remembering correctly) and much quieter than the air cooled Honda that only weighed a pound or so less. At the time it was going on a Flying Scot so weight was very important as I was mounting it on/off the rear of the boat while on the water and that boat had a rear deck to have to climb over.

For the Suzuki 9.9BTX the remote model was much cheaper than the Honda (the Honda doesn't include the remote control) and I liked the EFI, NMEA2000 and larger higher thrust prop of the Suzuki more than the Honda. Suzuki is also the only company that allows direct sales of remote models. All others are supposed to be dealer installed. I bought the 9.9BTX from http://onlineoutboards.com/ and they were easy to deal with. I received the outboard faster than they had predicted.

Shawn

[cruz-in]

I am kinda surprised a Motorboat Magazine was as direct and critical of some of the outboards.

Usually these are puff pieces and they do not want to offend any potential advertisers.