Opinions on Mercury Verados & Suzukis
- Thread starter Policeman44
- Start date
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
No, they are also merc dealer.
More like telling me the issues with the verados. Good motors but pain in the butt to get parts and don't share a lot of similar parts with older mercs. Just sharing that Verado were a pain in the butt for him and his business compared to other years of mercs.
Easier for him to gets parts for optimax's and other older merc engines.
Also said the new mercs are amazing
also i have only ever owned a merc
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Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
Never owned a Merc but have owned many 2 and 4 stroke Yamahas, a few 4 stroke Hondas, and a first-gen E-Tec. I sold my last Honda and I now have three seasons on a Suzuki DF300.
If the prop blades weren't so sharp, I'd take that motor to bed with me. It has run like a sewing machine since the day I hung it---never thrown a code, never uttered a peep---it just runs and runs. Fluid and filter changes are a piece of cake and it sure is nice to be able to get at the internal zincs to check on corrosion in the cooling ports
They are a bit touchy getting propped right, and they need to be hung properly to make use of all the power and fuel efficiency but once they're dialed in, you tend to forget all the other reliable motors you've owned in your past
Next step for me---the DF350-----nothing but rave reviews so far for the new addition to the Suzuki fleet
If the prop blades weren't so sharp, I'd take that motor to bed with me. It has run like a sewing machine since the day I hung it---never thrown a code, never uttered a peep---it just runs and runs. Fluid and filter changes are a piece of cake and it sure is nice to be able to get at the internal zincs to check on corrosion in the cooling ports
They are a bit touchy getting propped right, and they need to be hung properly to make use of all the power and fuel efficiency but once they're dialed in, you tend to forget all the other reliable motors you've owned in your past
Next step for me---the DF350-----nothing but rave reviews so far for the new addition to the Suzuki fleet
Thunder21
Well-Known Member
The DF350 has my attention too. Have you ever seen one hung as a single on a heavy boat? I've been trying to find any info I can about them but all I find is guys in Florida with 4 of them on their boats doing 65mph.
May wanna wait on the DF350. The Yamaha F300A was a revolutionary new motor too, and I know of at least 8 that joined the big bang club with less then 1000 hours. Super high tech engine yep. Suzuki has not had a lot of turkeys, so hopefully all is well.
RiverBoy
Well-Known Member
My buds Seasport had a Verado that was so quiet he sometimes forgot it was on and would have to check the tell tale to see if it was running. But: the computer technolgy that comes with it was soooo sensitive. if it detects one drop of moisture ( or condensation ) it goes into safe mode and you can’t restart the main. digital relay would say something like “ water in fuel- get serviced” boat had two tanks. one tank was fine, when you would switch, it was almost instantly motor would quit. Mechanic could find no reason why this kept happening.
sly_karma
Crew Member
Modern motors are different to buy and sell used. Simple hour reading doesn't cut it, now you get the printout of hours run in the various rpm ranges. Lots of hours is one thing, but when you see 70% or more use in the under 1000 rpm range it makes more sense. Most of the lodge boats I've been in in recent years troll on the main, and they seem to move their used power without too many issues. Not uncommon to see twin engine setups and no kicker. They alternate days, trolling on the port engine one day and the starboard the next. Yes it does cost more to purchase and rig twin main power than a large single, but probably little different from main and kicker configuration. The other consideration is speed of deployment. Fishing guides and lodges know their reputation (and tips) depend on being seen to work hard to put their guests onto fish. That means gear in the water as quickly as possible. Trolling on the main removes a step and lets the guide get his gear down ASAP.
The above considerations are largely specific to the business of sport fishing rather than the recreational weekender like me, but there's no need to completely dismiss the notion of trolling on the main engine if it's a modern 4 stroke and built for it. Those big Verados are deliberately designed to log big hours at low rpm, why else would they have the trolling mode feature? That 300 is so quiet on troll, the only thing you hear is the telltale stream splashing into the water.
The above considerations are largely specific to the business of sport fishing rather than the recreational weekender like me, but there's no need to completely dismiss the notion of trolling on the main engine if it's a modern 4 stroke and built for it. Those big Verados are deliberately designed to log big hours at low rpm, why else would they have the trolling mode feature? That 300 is so quiet on troll, the only thing you hear is the telltale stream splashing into the water.
