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We have a group of 4 racers here in North Texas. We’re just getting started and learning a lot. We’re all big guys (250 – 275 lbs.) and are wondering what’s the best size of motor to go with. We were thinking about the Tohatsu 8 hp 4 stroke motor but it weighs 30 lbs more than the 6 hp motor 4 stroke. Plus, I was told the transom may crack with the larger, heavier 8 hp motor. Are there many big guys out there racing with the 8 hp motors? Does it hurt the transom? Or should we stick with the 6 hp Tohatsu 4 stroke motors? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We hope to make it out to the East coast someday to race with all of you too. 🙂 Thanks.
Ben, there is no more fun to be had that racing our boats with an 8hp motor! Regardless of whether you are heavy (I am 245 currently) or not, the 8hp class races are a minimum 200lb driver weight class. Which means if you are svelte, you need to carry enough water or sand to get your weight to 200. However, we’ve all pretty much concluded that 4 stroke 8s are way too heavy. So, the debate becomes which 2 stroke motor – Tohatsu/Nissan/Merc or Evinrude/Johnson(OMC)? The OMC motors are the most popular, mostly because of availability. In racing conditions, my experience is that the OMC 8hps are a tick faster in a straight line, but the Japanese motors seem to have more torque/thrust for starts, turns etc. However, there are so many variables (prop, tuning, motor history, quality start, driver skill, etc.) that is really comes down to what you can find.
Now, if Tohatsu would only come out with the full titanium 4 stroke 8hp!
Sorry, in my fervor for the 8hp I forgot to mention the 6hps. As a “fatty”, I think the early classic OMC 6hp is too slow and difficult for big folks to get on plane. The late classic (1976-1979) OMCs are much better, but I still like more speed. So, I primarily run the post-1979 OMC 6hp. It goes ~21-22mph and gets on plane quickly. It’s also nice because the post-79 6hp and 8hp setups are identical, which makes for easy switching of motors on race day.
The new Tohatsu 4 stroke 6hp is about the same speed as the 76-79 OMCs, possibly since it is only a single piston, but they were fun in testing last summer and I have one on order now for racing in 2019. They are pricier, especially when considering the need for a different remote throttle setup vs the OMCs, but they also have the advantages of less pollution, more reliability and possibly less variation between motors.
Well perhaps I put the cart before the horse…
I’m one of the 4 Wylie, Texas builders and tonight I jumped on a chance to own a 1983 Suzuki 8hp 2 stroke engine for just a little horse trading!
Mine is a 59.5 pounds (we could call it 60, but hey, we could also call it “about 50”.)
I picked it up this afternoon and was told by the previous owner that it had not been run in 11 years (spring of 2008). It came with a 6 gallon tank that had the correct Suzuki connector for the engine and a free gallon or two of decade old gasoline…
I drained the bad gas into my “bad gas can” that resides in the bed of my truck (somebody once stole my lawnmower gas, so now I bait them). I purchased 2 gallons of fresh 87 octane and dosed it up with some Yamalube at about 50:1, and some Sta-bil marine treatment.
I couldn’t help myself at the house. I dumped all of my recycling into the big can and filled the little recycling can with water. The engine sits pretty well on the side of the can when it has 15 gallons of water in it.
I primed it with the bulb, and pulled the cord about 20 times before it putted to life. Of course I shut it off immediately, grabbed my phone, and recorded a video claiming the next start was the “first start”. It purrs, pumps water, and shifts smoothly.
The next challenge is going to be rigging the remote controls – the factory kit appears to have been out of stock since 1984 or so.
I found an 1985 Evinrude 8hp 2 stroke outboard. I’m pretty excited to have it. I’m trying to find a throttle kit for it or the items separately. Will the throttle kit from clcboats work for this outboard? Their website says their throttle kit works for 6hp only. Is that true or will it also work for the 8hp outboards? Do any of you have any suggestions on what to buy for the E8RCOB?
Ben, the mid-80s 6and 8hp motors use a special remote connector set (motor mount and special fittings that attach to the ends of the standard omc cables) that is REALLY hard to find any more. I know that Rick Loewen just found one, though. If you can’t find, I have my original 1984 8hp Johnson with the rig set up, and could sell to you. I’d hate to just sell you the kit because it required you to drill a hole through the side of the motor housing to attach the mount.
Forrest, you might reach out to Morgan Friday, driver of Skittles. He runs a Suzuki 8hp and his father has a boat/motor shop in VA. He likely can get you on the right track.
Ben, eBay has several shift and throttle adapter kits for the older OMC 6&8 HP motors, part 431840. Those are the motor with the angled hood (1980-1990).
The later model kit (’91-’04) are nearly impossible to find, but there were two available when I was putting mine together, I got one of them. The kit part # is 5000521, used on 5, 6 and 8 HP. This part number superseded older versions, 043521 and 0436267. I believe some of the differences we on the shift link, part #339774 was changed when the power pack was moved next to the shift lever pivot bolt (maybe after ’91 and ’92). It it was modified to go straight forward and down to the shift connector. It was also changed again at a later time to strengthen it, stepping up the diameter of the rod in the center portion. My motors are ’93 and ’98 and the kit worked ok. The kit installation instructions are available at http://www.dealerport.com/dealerport/instructionsheets/PDF/345746_screen.pdf .
Another great resource is LeeRoy’s Ramblings
This is awesome. Thanks Rick for the part numbers and help for my motor. I ran it the other day in a barrel and after cleaning the carburetor (Forrest King did most of the work and I watched), it ran pretty good. I think I need to clean the fuel pump too though. Our boat kits come today so it’ll be exciting to start building the racer. I’ll post pictures as it comes along. Thanks again for the help with the remote connections.
Thanks,
Ben
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