Opinions wanted Suzuki 2.5 outboard motor

[Tonali99]

Originally Posted by JC Reefer

If you have owed a Suzuki 2.5 outboard, then I’d like to hear from you.

Would you buy another?

Are there other brands in that size range that would fit the bill of being reliable.

I bought my 2.5 online from a dealer in California and had it shipped to me last year in Florida.
set up out of the box was simple and easy. Ran the motor in a test tank for a while and all was good. Or was it? After an hour or so it would not idle at anything les than about 1,200 rpm. Checked the mauual ... says that's normal.
Yeah, if you want to break up the drive gears.
Tried to find a dealer near me. No luck there. Called the seller and was given a few suggestions. Still no good.
Then I get a health problem. ( I'm not very lucky) Anyway I still have it, still fooling with it. Still disgusted with it.
p.s. I really miss my 5 hp Evinrude 2 stroke.
pps if I find a soultion, I'll let you know.

[robinco]

Bought one abt 18 months ago to replace an (almost ) expired Yamaha 2hp 2 stroke.
Suzuki 2.5 hp (“Suzy”) we had to find out the best way to start her at first but once that was sorted she’s been a great wee motor with no buyers remorse. 4 stroke is great and I’d be happy to buy another if ever needed. Depends why another is needed. If this Suzy bugs out on me for any reason what do do next might require some serious thought.

[Boatwright]

We love ours.

Positives: Runs clean. No oil mixing. Starts on the first pull. Light for a 4-cycle.

Negatives: Will not tolerate bad gas. Doesn't like cold weather -- keep the choke on until it starts to stumble. No ignition retard on start -- needs a good strong pull or it can painfully kick back.

For starting, be sure to set the throttle at the gap next to the choke symbol. This will give you a nice fast idle for warm up when you take the choke off.

There is an idle speed adjustment screw inside the cowling.

Run the carb dry for storage.

IMO: Most of the complaints about this engine, including carb nightmares, come from poor quality fuel, water in the fuel, and dirt in the fuel.

[jfischgrund]

I have one. Very satisfied with it. Especially like the light weight. Moves a water-tender style 9 ft. dinghy quite well. Fine for going back and forth to a mooring.

[Boatguy30]

You need to take the Dutchman plug idle of the idle air adjustment and richen the mixture. You can then be back off on idle and will come off idle better as they are set very lean to meet the CARB standards

[Boatwright]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

You need to take the Dutchman plug idle of the idle air adjustment and richen the mixture. You can then be back off on idle and will come off idle better as they are set very lean to meet the CARB standards

I did drill out the plug. Be careful - the bleed screw is right under the plug and easy to damage. If you want to try it use a small dia bit and a sharp #6 stainless wood screw an extractor. Richen it about 1/8 turn.

I did find that this helped a bit with idle performance. However more important to getting the engine to idle reliably at low rpm you need two things: Clean hi-octane fuel; and a warmed up engine. When using our dinghy, I start first with the throttle cracked, let it run choked until it starts to stumble. Then take the choke off with the throttle still cracked and let it fast idle and warm up for a minute or two while get ready to cast off.