2017 20AS2 suzuki on order

[scoobeb]

Well,after all this time I realized I should of originally kept my 20hp suzuki but I wanted more speed which I got. I just put things in perspective and weighed out the pros and cons of having my 25hp 2 stroke merc or a brand new 20hp suzuki.

25hp merc pros
1. Fast ,fast,fast
2. Reliable, runs like a sewing machine
3. Easy to work on.

Cons
1. Swallows fuel
2. No warranty just in case
3. Carb VS efi
4. Mix gas all the time,oil and gas gets very expensive because I use ethanol free fuel and it's very pricey.
5. Just cost so much more to run than my 4 stroke suzuki.

20hp

Pros
1. Uses very little fuel so my fuel savings will be huge over my merc.
2. Warranty
3. I log every minute from day one so I know how it's been maintained and cared for
4. Efi
5. Super quiet and state of the art technology
6. Light weight

Cons

1. I lose a significant amount of speed,probably near 5+mph,but make up for it fuel savings wise in a huge way.


So after carefully weighing all the pros and cons it was a no brainer,the merc is up for sale and my new suzuki is coming today and this time I'm keeping it for good. I know what's been done to it,I'm putting every minute on it,I know how it's been taken care of from the get go. I love the power of the merc,it's i mean incredible,but most of the time the wind is howling on the water so it gets rough which means I do very little wot anyway so speed is not worth keeping the merc when I can save myself a ton of money on fuel and no mixing oil. Just a no brainer to me and I never really realized how much I would save in money till I saw all of it written on paper. The numbers were staggering after many yrs of use compared to one another. It was in the thousands on saving for many yrs down the line so that is my plan,new suzuki 4 stroke that I once originally owned and sold,it's coming back and I will keep it for a long time. I should get around 25-27mph and that's plenty fast for me.

 

[Jim]

Awesome!


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[gatorglenn]

Well you could of gotten a merc EFI. Had the fuel savings and the quite mean speed.


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[yankeegonesouthern64]

What boat you putting it on? I am getting ready to buy a 25hp Suzuki that will go on a 1448 Polar Kraft. I went back and forth on if I want a 20 or 25 hp. lol, sometimes I still rethink it but always say the 25 hp at the end of the day.

 

[scoobeb]

Well you could of gotten a merc EFI. Had the fuel savings and the quite mean speed.


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I had the 20hp merc,it's carbureted. The 25hp merc is efi and the original one was a dog due to the crapoy gear ratio of 1.92,they have since I believe a yr ago finally beefed up the gear ratio to I believe 2.17 which is night and day of a difference. If I went with any 25hp 4 stroke it would be a suzuki,hands down far ahead of any 25hp imo. The lightest on the market and the most reasonable priced 25hp. The 20hp suzuki imo and many others is far ahead in technology. All the 20hp outboards are all reliable and run great I just like the 97lbs,efi,and how sleek it looks and it has insane power for a little 20hp.

 

[scoobeb]

I'm putting it on a 1648 alumacraft jon boat,it will hit near 25mph with near 1000lbs of total weight on the boat. My buddy has a 20hp tohatsu I sold him and he gets near 27mph with him and 2 kids on the same boat. The 25hp suzuki as I stated in the last post is the best 25hp for the money imo. Big difference in weight and money though. The 25hp is like $3400 and the 20hp is $2770. I got mine for a decent price. I know the guy at cumberlandwatersports.com. Call them and they will do better than $2770 I bet,they may take $100 or more off but I can't promise anything. Call them and negotiate, they are a bit flexible I bet. If you want speed,25hp,if you want to get to your fishing holes and have some fun,20hp. With the 25hp or the 20hp you need to step up to the next size prop. I owned both and they both will over Rev with the stock prop,trust me. You will need a 12 pitch on the 25hp and a 11 pitch on the 20hp. Also don't let the small size of the 20hp fool you,lol. It's a beast of a motor for it's size. Remember I'm replacing a 25hp 2 stroke merc with sick insane power that got me over 32mph with 1000lbs of weight for this 20hp suzuki, that will tell you how much I think of this motor and the faith I have in it's performance. Ok,any questions on either let me know as I owned and ran both.

 

[yankeegonesouthern64]

Thanks for the good info. I have been researching on and off for the last 10 months (that is how long I figured it would take to save the money to pay for it). So I think I have most of the info/knowledge on it that I need. Only thing I can think of at this time is how does/did the motor length line up with the transom height(assuming you have 15" on both)? My transom measures 16" so I am not sure if that will come into play or not. I thought of getting the 20 hp in 20" and using a jack plate of some sort but I really ain't feeling that. I have research that all to to death also. lol, researching helps kill the time when it's a slow night. I only live 45 miles from Cumberland Watersports so I am going to drive down there and talk to them when the time comes. Anyways...Thanks again, Dan

 

[scoobeb]

My transom is 16 inches also,you want a short shaft.

 

[scoobeb]

They say the short shaft is on 15 inches but it's more like 17 when measured. So get a short shaft and be done with it or you may run into a whole new set of problems.

 

[scoobeb]

She came in today,man she's pretty. They changed it a little from the previous one I had,they replaced a few plastic parts with looks to be aluminum,the cowling is a hair different color and they put new sleeker decals on it. Plus now you get a full expensive maintenance kit,it has everything in it to my surprise. It has a full water pump kit with everything, all kinds of gaskets,water/fuel separator that is on the engine itself,2 new plugs,2 anodes,oil filter,etc,nice little kit for free.

 

[scoobeb]

Sorry,the pic came out sideways.

 

[yankeegonesouthern64]

Short shaft it is. Congrats on the new outboard. Looks good.

 

[jodyp]

Scoobeb, thanks for sharing. She is purdy!

In a few months I plan to get a flat alumacraft 1648 and I'm still undecided between a 20 and 25 Suzuki. The boat is rated for 1,010 lbs. You are 100% positive the 20 will get a 1648 up on plane at full load? I'd rather get a 20 due to weight and size if it will plane it out at full load. We are you located?

 

[Jim]

Awesome! I'm jealous! Good luck with it!


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[scoobeb]

No questions asked. Trust me on this,you will be suprised how powerful the 20hp is. I weigh 300lbs,friend 200lbs,2 coolers,boat is 310lbs,motor near 100lbs,all my tackle,gas,etc is well over 1000 total lbs and it will do near mid 20s. It may be a hair less or more but I would say 23-26mph without one bit of doubt . I also use a 11 pitch prop instead of the stock 10 pitch because the motor has so much power that it over revs way to easy. You must go with an 11,trust me on that. I tell you what,I'm going to the lake weds or Thurs to test it out,so I can give you exact GPS numbers if you want. If you have the money to spare get the 25hp but these jon boats are so light and glide over the water,takes very minimal power to move them. Also word of advice and please do as you please with this,you do not want to baby a 4 stroke outboard out of the box,run it like normal,you must seat the rings and you can't by babying it,trust me on this. I have done extensive research on this. The break in recommendation is only that,it is recommended you do it the way they say. It will not break in correct. You have one chance to seat the rings and that is straight out of the box. I'm saying just don't be scared to open it up immediately after a good warm up. The most important thing is warming the engine up every time you go out for like 5 minutes or so. If you want the most power out of any engine just vary the rpms out of the box and you must go wot in spurts. I go hard straight from the get go,I don't abuse it just run like you normally would and don't do any trolling in the first 5hrs or so. My brand new outboards have all had tremendous power I believe by not babying it straght from the get go. The manual is for liability reasons only and no they can't and won't void your warranty if you break it in the way you want. If you want ever bit of power out of this engine then run it hard, a 4 stroke is a different animal then a 2 stroke. I am just telling you what many people are starting to realize,babying a 4 stroke is bad news and if you don't seat those rings your engine will make oil,that means gas is getting in your oil past the rings and it's bad news. In the end though it's your dime your spending so if you feel comfortable doing the way they recommend then go for it,I'm just trying to give you some excellent advice and some people may see it different but everyone is different. Even mercury had major issues with a bunch of 4 stroke outboards due to not running wot from the get go. Babying the engine according to mercury is the absolute worst thing you can do. There is a big article on the net explaining the issues they are having due to this. All they try to explain is don't be afraid to hammer the throttle down,it needs to be done to seat the hard rings. Like I said though,your outboard and your decision, good luck.

 

[jodyp]

You may have persuaded me to got with the 20! Thanks for sharing your experience! Oh, did you get the 6 year warranty?

 

[gatorglenn]

Sweet looking motor. And I totally agree with your break in also. One thing to remember on any 4S outboard is to WOT it a few minutes on every outing. At the end of your day, before loading at ramp. This is actually a cleaning. Doing this will keep that dreaded carbon buildup from happening. This is and was the biggest problem boaters had when 4S first hit the water. Especially if you're going to be trolling. It is essential that you do a few minutes of wide-open throttle before loading the boat up on the trailer.


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[Florida_Native]

Figured I'd chime in. I have a 1656ish polar kraft, it's one of the wide ones.

I had a 96 Evinrude 25hp 2-stroke on it for years. Recently I considered getting a new 4-stroke for it and after a bolt broke off in the motor it was time. I ended up with a brand new Yamaha 25hp 4-stroke and went on a test run and it is amazing. It planes great, has good top end. Didn't go to crazy since I was still breaking it in. I often had trouble with cavitation when I ran my old motor so maybe what I needed was the extra weight.

I didn't originally want the Yamaha because its the heaviest 25hp in its class but everyone I called locally wasn't really interested in ordering a motor other than the local Yamaha dealer. I did call bass pro and got a quote on a mercury, however they quoted me $3700 when I got the Yamaha for $3300. And in my opinion Yamahas are much better motors.




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[scoobeb]

Yamaha are excellent outboards,but consider the difference and compare.
1. Reliability - They are both extremely reliable.
2. Yamaha is extremely heavy,suzuki is the lightest 25hp available, period,we're talking 35 to 40lbs heavier,that is significant.
3. Yamaha is carbureted which is fine but efi is much better and dummy proof because it doesn't need to be adjusted in different elements or higher elevations like you have to a carb,efi is easier to start.
4. You can get the suzuki much cheaper than the Yamaha overall.
5. 6yr warranty vs 3 unless Yamaha is running the 5yr deal.
While I agree the Yamaha is a great motor the suzuki is so far ahead in technology it's not funny.

I know you mentioned the Yamaha being better than mercury,in the past yrs I totally agree, but the new 25hp mercury/tohatsu (same outboards basically as tohatsu makes them for merc) has a way better gear ratio now,it is now a 2.17 compared to the original 1.92 which was a dog. I would love to see how much the torque improved from past yr models. I had a 25hp efi merc yrs ago and it was a slug,sold it in a week after trying everything with it. It ran great ,it just had no,it mean no torque for my J16 Carolina skiff. Sold the whole boat as a package to a guy who didn't care about going fast as I explained the issue,he still wanted it for just lake fishing. The new one with the new gear ratio looks promising.

I love suzuki all the way over both just because it's far ahead of the pack,give it time though as I'm sure all outboards will be efi and the technology will catch up.

 

[scoobeb]

You may have persuaded me to got with the 20! Thanks for sharing your experience! Oh, did you get the 6 year warranty?

6yr warranty is 25hp and up. Trust me,as long as you don't expect a rocket boat,lol,you won't be disappointed with the 20hp. I'm going to the lake this week I'm hoping so as soon as I get full wot speeds with a loaded boat I will let you know how she performs. Remember I took the original prop off as soon as I got it and went straight to the 11 pitch prop due to over revving reasons,tremendous power for this little outboard, especially for an aluminum jon boat. It has Smooth,crisp,deceiving power. Doesn't feel fast till you look at the GPS and your near the mid 20s and your like wow.