8hp Yamaha vs 10hp Tohatsu?

Rob_Webb

Rob_Webb

Well-Known Member
Joined
20 May 2002
Messages
1,478
Location
Auckland
Visit site
Have always loved the Yamaha o/b brand, always wanted one and was all set to buy a 8hp 2 stroke Yammie until I saw the Tohatsus. For the same price I can buy a 9.8hp Tohatsu. And it is actually 1 kg lighter. Which is kind of hard to ignore. It's to give my tender a bit more ooomph and have fun towing the kids around on their boggeyboards etc. Want to be able to plane 2-up, so the extra 2hp of the Tohatsu would come in handy.

Question is, what about reliability?

Generally I've heard better rap for the Yammies but I also know plenty of Tohatsu owners who are hugely happy and almost evangelical about them. I'm trying to work out if the bad news stories about the Tohatsus are older models and if the new ones are now better sorted?

So, go for the 8hp Yammie or the 10hp Tohatsu and save 1kg?

Oh, in case you're curious, despite our so called 'green' image, here in NZ we are still allowed to buy and run around in dirty little 2 strokes!
 
we've got a tohatsu 3.5 horse as a tender engine (4 yrs old) and its never put a foot wrong even with all the abuse it suffers including getting dunked... just drained the tank cleaned the carb and it fired right up

got a mate whose got a 10 horse tohatsu longshaft on his orkney and he sings its praises

cant comment on the yams as never used them but thats my experience anyway
 
I've got the 9.8hp 2stroke s/shaft Tohatsu for my 3.1m airdeck, and it's fab - light enough to carry, and the dinghy will plane even with two big blokes on board. My vote is for the Tohatsu.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
We have a Tohatsu 9.8HP 4-stroke - smooth, quiet, never let us down in about 4 months of fairly constant use during our liveaboard trip. Planes our 3.2m AB RIB with a family of 4 on board.

Big thumbs up.
 
This may be out of date-2001- and so not particularly helpful but,when I had a 9.9Suzuki 2str and a mate had a 9.9Tohatsu on identical 26 footers there was noticeably less vibration and running noise from the Suzuki-but I guess that might not be such an issue on a dinghy ?
In fact to take it furthar,I previously had a 2str Mariner5 which was a rebadged Tohatsu and that was a fine and smooth motor-Its big brother just seemed bloody crude to me,a real surprise..Starting,performance and finish quality were not in question.
 
I've had the T 9.8 for a few years, super engine, starts first pull, quiet and economical. And I've had plenty of Yams as well which have been equally as good. Either one would be a good choice but I think the 9.8 is recognised as being the best of class.
 
I’ve been eyeing up the Tohatsu 9.8 to replace the Yam 8 i have, The only area I can find of significant difference is the size of the engine, the Tohatsu is not quite such a compact design with a slightly larger box at the top. Unfortunately the Yamaha is so well built that my early 90's engine does not look like it will ever become uneconomic / unreliable. IMHO it’s a very fine balance and probably comes down to what your local favorite dealer does best.
 
Thanks for all the feedback.

Like you I slightly prefer the look of the Yammie, a bit more compact and nice sheer line(!) to the casing. But the reality is the Tohatsu is more grunty and slightly lighter and from feedback here and elsewhere seems to be pretty much equally reliable as the Yammie. So I'm probably leaning in favour of the Tohatsu.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top