Yamaha vs Suzuki

B

big rock

Active Member
Hello All,

I’m looking for opinions on used Yamaha vs Suzuki outboard 225hp to 300hp in 800hr range 2012 and newer.
I owned a 2005 f225 Yamaha bought new which was a great motor until the midsection corroded out at 1550 hrs so going to stay away from that vintage of motor.

Any advise or knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

Thx Scott
 
It’s hard to go wrong with either the F300 or the DF300. Both have rock-solid reputations and no nagging mechanical issues due too faulty engineering the way the DF350 and F350 had When they first hit the market

The one obvious difference if you’re trying to make an informed choice is Suzukis generally have a lower retail price when buying new—-maybe that benefit is not quite so obvious in the used market, but that might depend on geographical location

I’ve owned and operated multiple DF300’s and several DF200’s and they have never let me down. But I’d say the same for the Honda 150 and the Yamaha 150 I also owned

Part of the decision should always be: if I’m not doing my own maintenance, is there a reputable marine tech in my neighborhood that works on one or the other (or both brands ) and has parts readily available And is not so over-booked that I’ll get my motor back in a reasonable amount of time?
 
I went with Zuk main reason was warrenty and the issues with yammy and corossion problems and engine "washer" that took out the bottom cyl near the 700 hr mark and yammy knew the problems but oh well attitude. all comes down to personal preferance i will add love the 350 duo prop
 
The corrosion issues were limited to F225and F250 in a 5 year period.
It was crappy for those that owned them, but issues were resolved more than 15 years ago

"The first-generation Yamaha F-Series models, manufactured between 2000-2005, are notorious for severe and unusually fast dry exhaust corrosion problems. The F225 models, in particular, experienced this issue after only 500-700 hours of use. In most cases, this happened after the three-year warranty period had expired, leaving owners with thousands of dollars' worth of repair bills. The corrosion and pitting of exhaust passages allowed hot gases to ruin the engine, leading to a loss of horsepower, smoking, and premature engine failure.

Yamaha sold a repair kit for the exhaust corrosion problem, but it only covered engines under warranty. Therefore, the best preventive measure is to avoid buying first-generation Yamaha F-Series models if possible. If you already own one, regular engine maintenance, such as flushing the engine regularly and using Yamaha's Ring Free Plus fuel additive, can help prevent this issue"
 
I owned Yamaha engines for over 20 years without any major mechanical issues, I now own Suzuki‘s and so far so good, I don’t think you can go wrong with either. There is an exhaust plug issue with the older Suzuki’s that you can Google to get information. My current 2012 DF250 has incredible mid range torque that launches my Seafarer out of the hole.
 
It's a Ford Chev conversation. They are both good engines. Buy whatever the better package is and which ever one has better dealer support close by.
 
Yamaha plasma sprays the bores of newer engines. I believe from 2014 on? Then bores them to spec. I worked plasma sprays in the aircraft industry. I would think they probably have outdone themselves now. Would be good to hear some people chime in with newer used Yamahas. I have a 2018 Yam 300, 650 hours. Too early to report, but so far so good.
 
Reel Time said:
Yamaha plasma sprays the bores of newer engines. I believe from 2014 on? Then bores them to spec. I worked plasma sprays in the aircraft industry. I would think they probably have outdone themselves now. Would be good to hear some people chime in with newer used Yamahas. I have a 2018 Yam 300, 650 hours. Too early to report, but so far so good.
Click to expand...


Yamaha was ceramic coating their cylinder walls well before the 2013 engines. This is why I laugh when people claim they have "rebuilt" one. Noone knows wtf their talking about. Ceramic coating is widely used in the powersports industry. Doesn't mean the product is industructable like most Yamaha fans claim "bulletproof". There are plenty of Yamaha 4strokes out there with rods out the side of the block, oil pumps failing, balancers failing, corrosion, oil pans leaking, gear cases that you struggle to get apart, and the parts cost double what everyone else's parts cost, the list goes on and on. They have cupped, or shim and bucket valves which imo is not as good, but some people would disagree. Point is is all OEM have got things right and **** the bed since the dawn of the gas engine. There is no certainty in the longevity of any of this stuff, and it's really on the dealer as to how that warranty gets completed, and how they accommodate their clients throughout the duration of the life of their business relationship.


Yamaha Corp as a whole has got to be the largest as far as world wide use, so that's one plus side.

Dealer support is number one. Good dealer support. There can be 100 Yamaha dealers and if they all suck then what's the point.
 
ship happens said:
Yamaha was ceramic coating their cylinder walls well before the 2013 engines. This is why I laugh when people claim they have "rebuilt" one. Noone knows wtf their talking about. Ceramic coating is widely used in the powersports industry. Doesn't mean the product is industructable like most Yamaha fans claim "bulletproof". There are plenty of Yamaha 4strokes out there with rods out the side of the block, oil pumps failing, balancers failing, corrosion, oil pans leaking, gear cases that you struggle to get apart, and the parts cost double what everyone else's parts cost, the list goes on and on. They have cupped, or shim and bucket valves which imo is not as good, but some people would disagree. Point is is all OEM have got things right and **** the bed since the dawn of the gas engine. There is no certainty in the longevity of any of this stuff, and it's really on the dealer as to how that warranty gets completed, and how they accommodate their clients throughout the duration of the life of their business relationship.


Yamaha Corp as a whole has got to be the largest as far as world wide use, so that's one plus side.

Dealer support is number one. Good dealer support. There can be 100 Yamaha dealers and if they all suck then what's the point.
Click to expand...
so what’s the best motor then? say for the average guy that puts 150 hours or so per season on their main?
 
This sounds like a discounted answer but all the high-profile brands like Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda and Merc are all fairly reliable given strict attention to maintenance and using common sense when operating your boat.

As Ship says, there is no certainty in longevity but you can certainly do your part to promote some semblance of longevity by taking care of your shiat. Having a good mechanic in your area sure helps.

Back story—-I just pulled my boat this morning to do the 200 hour drill. While backing off the gear oil plugs I found the two screw-plugs on one of my Suzuki DF300’s had been screwed down so tight I almost mushroomed the screws backing them out to change the gear oil.

Meanwhile, the screw-plugs on the other DF300 were so loose I remember thinking I wasn’t going to be surprised to find water in the gear oil. I tell that story because the marina that did the crankcase oil and gear oil on the 100 hour change is notorious for sloppy work—- unfortunately I was a captive audience on the 100 hour maintenance because I purchased the boat from those guys and the 100 hour was part of the purchase agreement ....however, I already knew their mechanics sucked.

I did a leak-down test a few years ago on a single DF300 and they gave the boat back to me with some of the parts rattling around loose on the swim step....I vowed I’d never let them touch any of my boats again

That’s why I’m doing the 200 hour myself—-that way I’ll know exactly what got done and what didn’t.

My boat history——I’ve owned and operated a Yamaha F150 for 4 years, a Honda BF150 for 3 years, a single SUzuki DF300 for 4 years, a pair of Suzuki DF200’s for 2 years and today, a pair of Suzuki DF300’s—-during all those years I NEVER had any problems with ANY of those outboards.....ever——all the outboards ran like sewing machines. I always did my own maintenance (the easy stuff like lubricants, water impeller, internal anodes, spark plugs) but I never had any issues so it all worked out

But you can see that I’ve never put more then 400 - 500 hours on an outboard—they were all teenagers when I sold them...kind of like selling a car before it hits 50,000 miles

But most mechanics will tell you that if you get through the first 100 hours without a peep, given good maintenance you can expect reasonably trouble-free ownership

That’s why most guys will tell you——purchase the outboard that is best supported by a reliable mechanic in your area
 
I've owned and operated Suzuki as a Guide since 2005, when I bought my first Suzuki 4 stroke shifting away from 2 strokes. In that time, have experienced 2 issues. First was one of the impeller fins broke lodging in the upper casing eventually causing over-temp on one cylinder - Suzuki replaced the power head - at no cost to me other than paying for oil change. Second time was both my new 300's experienced within 60 hrs making oil - we monitored them both over first 2 seasons, and again Suzuki has come to the rescue when it became clear we had larger issues going on.

I'm 100% sold on running Suzuki because they actually stand behind their product, and their service is also outstanding. Not something easily found these days.
 
RiverBoy said:
so what’s the best motor then? say for the average guy that puts 150 hours or so per season on their main?
Click to expand...
i wonder if the average guy puts 150 hours a year on the main. I'm at TC for 4 1/2 months straight and on average only put about 125hrs.
 
I would say the average recreational angler doesn't put more than 60 hours/season. Only those who are out on a consistent basis each month of the season would be in the 150/season range. I'm guiding over 100 days/season averaging 250 to 300 hours/year with no trolling on the mains. Less hours if the fish are close, more if we are running farther afield.
 
Thanks for the insight folks. I’ve been reading some forums from the states so it nice to get a more local perspective. Agreed dealer support is very important. I spoke with one of my local dealers, he mentioned that the newer outboards are houring out at 2000-2500 hrs where as the older outboards around 1200-1500 and of course my vintage much less. Now as a rec fisherman I would likely put 50-70 hrs a year on the outboard

Now just need to see what comes up for sale?

Cheers,
 
searun said:
I would say the average recreational angler doesn't put more than 60 hours/season. Only those who are out on a consistent basis each month of the season would be in the 150/season range. I'm guiding over 100 days/season averaging 250 to 300 hours/year with no trolling on the mains. Less hours if the fish are close, more if we are running farther afield.
Click to expand...

I think 50-60 hours a year would be average for me, except I am guilty for trolling on the kicker and forgetting to turn off the main occasionally.
 
My 2020 Yam 9.9 which I bought new has 300 hours exactly on it today. That’s 4 years so about 75 hours per year. I start the season in May/June slowly then ramp up July thru Oct fishing more in the latter part of the season. Weird thing is my 2019 F250 Yamaha which I also bought new has 300 hours on it too. That’s 60 hours per year on the main. I don’t usually troll on the main but had to one trip to Nootka when my old 8 HP Yam blowed up real good.
 
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