Opinions wanted Suzuki 2.5 outboard motor

[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.

[teddythetwig]

I have a Suzuki dt5y, which is a 5hp 2 stroke. Run's fine with a bit of love, easy to service, but the cover comes off very easily. Honestly there doesn't seem to be much of a difference between brands, but more so how they were maintained.

[Boatguy30]

I know many people that really like the 2.5
I personally have operated many and worked on some at a dealer I worked at. I did receive one in trade this year, got it running and sold it and put the money into a Tohatsu 3.5 2 stroke.

I did buy a new 6hp long shaft Suzuki. After running it maybe 10 hours, I'm kinda wishing I'd bought the Honda. But going to stick with it as the things depreciate! Only 3rd new outboard I've ever bought in 35 years of outboard ownership.

[a64pilot]

You see several and people seem happy as I’ve considered getting one as a back up.
If your where you can still get two strokes Yamaha still makes I believe it’s a 2.3, but from what I’ve seen it’s really no better than the little Suzuki. And much more expensive.
Porta a boat has the best price I’ve seen on the little Suzuki in the US.
Personally I wouldn't have the little Honda, you know when one is around, you hear them coming from way away, being air cooled they are noisy little things and the centrifugal clutch to me reeks of cheap weed eater outboard.
Honda needs to do something new even with their bigger motors, they are the same they have been for years, which means usually overweight for their class, and the bigger ones still have carburetors I believe.

[Siberian Sea]

I have both the Suzuki 2.5 and the Yamaha 2.5. Although overall I like Yamaha products better I have had much fewer problems with my small Suzuki over the Yamaha. The Yamaha is much more temperamental about fuel and several times I’ve needed to remove the carburetor and clean it. The Suzuki never once have I done this. It’s a pain in the ass to remove the carburetor. But the build quality and design is almost exactly the same overall. My Yamaha has a plastic propeller and the Suzuki has an aluminum. I suppose if I was to buy only one it would be the Suzuki. Wouldn’t recommend the small Honda as it has a centrifugal clutch system and that’s just future problems.

[tkeithlu]

We went with the Tohatsu 5HP four stroke. Reasons were getting a gearshift and a four stroke engine. Four strokes are more reliable, for good reasons of basic design, especially when the motor is only used occasionally. New four strokes don't have the weight problem alluded to re Honda. Even wondered why lawn mowers are all four stroke?

[kmcshane]

Have one, 1983, runs like a top, easy to understand and repair, lightweight, super maneuverable, buy another in a heartbeat.
Too true about re-attaching the cowling, esp. after all these years.

FYI: torques and specs



Suzuki
gas/oil mixture: 50:1
3.8 oz oil per 1 gal gasoline
model DT20 built in 1983
2.5 hp 2 stroke
0201 336701
head torque 87 ft/lbs
flywheel 29-36
crankcase 6-8.5
plug; NGK B5H5
Bosch 44 AZ
Champ L90
at 0.28” gap
point gap 0.12 - 0.16
timing”
moment points close piston travel should read .032 ?before? TDC
set dial indicator to 0 when piston is at TDC
then rotate clockwise until points close


power head mounting bolts 4.5 - 7 ft/lbs
with a bolt in the spark plug hole, rotate counterclockwise until piston stops..mark the base.
Mark half way for TDC.
multiply the diameter of the flywheel by 3.14 then divide by 360.
multiply that by what degree BTDC for a measurement in thousandths.
Re-torque head bolts.

[Boatwright]

4 years old. We love ours. Clean. Starts every time. Best on ethanol free premium gas. We keep the fuel in a one gallon container - today's plastic gas cans loose octane esp in a hot sun. Every couple of weeks if we haven't used it I put the old gas in the car and get some fresh.

[peter loveridge]

I had one for 10 years ( 4 stroke) The carburettor very temperamental and cost $100 to clean it. Also could give a vicious kickback while starting. Sold it and got the 2HP Honda which is a bit lighter

[jfischgrund]

Bought a Suzuki 2.5 last summer and it worked quite well. My old Yamaha 2.5 had lots of problems (after 16 years). The Suzuki pushes the dinghy as well as the Yamaha, is quieter and a major advantage of the Suzuki is that it is about 7 pounds lighter (30 lbs vs. 37 for Yamaha) which may not seem like a lot but is actually about a 20% difference, and makes a big difference in lifting it off and on the dinghy (especially if you are not a youngster). Costs less too.

[letoile]

I don't have a 2.5 but have a 1981, 2hp Suzuki and it starts first pull everytime. It has been run with straight gas(DOH!) and got a little tight,but oil in the plug and left it for 2 weeks and it runs great. It has also been submerged when my son's boat sank at the dock... Can't kill the thing. I just pull the plug and fog and store every year.

[Primal Alliance]

I'm 77 years old, beginning with Lambretta motor scooters in the 60's and almost ending{I still have a 2 stroke Tanaka outboard because it weighs only 12 pounds and I need it for my 8 foot long Avon soft floor completely stowable in a bag inflatable that I carry in my other boat-my Lake Amphibian airplane}I've always found all 2 stroke motors to be the triumph of simplicity and the complete, utter, and total failure of dependability. Including the Tanaka. This is my third Tanaka. I threw the first two away after some extended use due to an outboard mechanic telling me they were no longer restorable to service. I just brought a brand new 2 stroke 3.5ho piece of junk from China and luckily sold it brand new having lost $100 for the shipping up to Sitka, Alaska where I keep my Dana 24 sailboat. I went and brought a 2.3hp 4 stroke air cooled Honda that I keep on davits on the back of my sail boat. When done using it I don't have to get it off the boat to flush it out with fresh water because its air cooled. Unlike every 2 stroker I've ever owned, it always starts with the first pull. At 2.3hp it already overpowers my 7 foot Fatty Knees dinghy when running above fast idle. If this outboard fits your needs and your budget{its expensive-a $1000 or more}then I'd highly recommend it. Especially if your butt depends on it. The extra noise doesn't bother me or any of the sea lions and whales in the ocean around Sitka Alaska.

[geoff3nebel]

I have one - it’s now seven years old and bought to replace a 2hp Suzuki 2stroke that’s finally gave up the ghost after almost twenty years. I’d recommend it without hesitation. It’s light and, thanks to water cooling, quiet.

[johnleeknot2bus]

Had a 2.5 about 4 years. Had a 2 Honda that the Suzuki replaced. I like the Suzuki much better, not as noisy, starts on 1st pull, 0 problems, and it's light.

[Primal Alliance]

Fine. Each to his own. Maybe 2 strokers see me coming. I've never had dependable operation from any one of them that I've owned. In the case of the 3.5hp OB from China it was several pounds lighter than the Honda. But I can't utilize more than fast idles power on a 2.3hp 4 stroker so the extra hp on the 2 stroker is of no value to me. Generally speaking 4 stroke engines are more complicated but also more reliable than their 2 stroke counterparts. Up in Sitka dinghying around within close range of the open cold Pacific as opposed to a warmer, safer, cruising ground, reliability has to be taken into account. That said I own and still nurse along the tiny Tanaka 2 stroker because the similar weight{even then they're all heavier}4 stroke competition is a converted weed eater that has no place on a dinghy. I would know. I owned one and it was basically non functional as an OB and when the complicated carburetor{which the Tanaka's is not}failed the center of gravity of this weed cutter conversion with the tiny 4 stroke engine a full 2 unwieldy feet above the transom resulted in its new home being the dumpster.