What is Mercury thinking?

finbully

Active member
Yamaha SHOs have been out since 2009 and Mercury has no motor that competes. By compete I am saying a high performance light-weight 4 stroke. Not a 2 stroke since they are outlawed on some lakes particularly in one state on the left coast.
 
I'm shopping for a new sled now. During one visit w/ a dealer I asked about Merc options. He told me they are in fact putting out a 4-stroke that is supposed to replace all of the OptiMax and Pro XS 2-strokes. He didn't have a timeline but made it sound like it would be soon. I went home and did a lil looking on the internet - nothing.

That same dealer told me Yamaha has a serious backlog on SHOs. Demand + some technical issues at the plant are causing this. He was kinda evasive during this part of the conversation. A quick look on other fishing/boating sites revealed a few threads on quality issues w/ some of the SHO powerhead parts. Dunno how accurate this is. Just recalling what I read.

Merc appears to have put everything in to its 2-stroke line. Manufacturing, supply chain, service network, all of it. You'd think the Verado experiment would've spurred a few more developmental efforts, esp after the SHO came out. Good thing. At this point I'm planning on staying w/ a Merc 2-stroke. Sustainment and maintenance won't be issues, even if a new 4-stroker comes out.
 

silvertalon

Active member
Mercury's new 4 stroke will not replace the pro xs series. It will only ad a new competitive 4 stroke to the market place. If I had to guess, it will have an edge over Yamaha. It could even be a 4 cylinder from the buzz going around. Brunswick will never let Yamaha take over the market so, keep your black underware tidy and ready, lol. Murcury rules! IMO. FYI, Never listen to what a dealer tells you about product. I've heard from a reliable source, Yamaha screwed up and did not forecast their production accurately and failed to produce enough SHO 250/300's for the 2018 model year to go around. I believe they are working very hard to stay up with demand. I'm apt to believe that heads have rolled over the matter.
 

BulletTJ

Active member
If you are a go fast guy Mercury is the ONLY outboard manufacture that has a Racing Division. I am not saying anything bad about the SHO have never owned one. I have passed several of them on the water but I can't speak about trouble with them. I gave up the go fast stuff several years ago. When my Pro XS dies I will probably go to a four stroke. But for now, I still like knowing I have the speed to get back fast if I need too. I do try and leave in plenty of time. I guess I am getting old. emoLaugh
 

FishingwithRusty

Active member
theyre working on a new 4stroke hot rod but theyve been doing it long enough to know not to rush it. in the meantime the Optimax is still the dominant motor on the market.
 

fischnrod

Active member
When I was growing up OMC ruled as far as reliability Then somebody made a foolish mistake and now they are no more. If you could go back to 1995 and slap some sense into them they would still be around
 

jb366

Member
Merc should have had a new motor years ago or at least updated the pro xs to fix that bs compressor. I've heard 14 different stories about the "sho killer" mercury 4 stroke thats coming out. Released in miami, the classic, june, august, the aoy tournament etc etc. The last I heard from a reliable source was they weren't going to have the 200-250's ready for this year and they're going to release the 150's in miami, but that was several months ago..

Yamaha has to estimate their production 2 years in advance to get the motors built and through customs. The insurance replacements from the hurricanes and a spike in demand in new boat sales has put them behind. Have you guys not noticed how many sho's are on the lake this year as compared to last?
 

finbully

Active member
When I ordered my Ranger at the end of Dec, I was told all of the 2018 Z's ordered boats (not for in stock) at my dealer's shop were ordered with SHOs. I added one more to that total. I would have strongly considered a Merc if they had a 4 stroke that competes with the SHO and I even considered a Verado but I guess Ranger will not mount Verados on their Z boats due to some technical issue.
 

saltyduck

New member
Either way I wouldn't order the first generation of a new motor. I had twin 300's Suzuki 4 strokes on my offshore boat the first year they came out. I had the 17th set ever built. I blew 9 powerheads in 15 months. Now it is one of the most reliable engines on saltwater boats.
 

jb366

Member
saltyduck - 2/5/2018 6:03 PM

Either way I wouldn't order the first generation of a new motor. I had twin 300's Suzuki 4 strokes on my offshore boat the first year they came out. I had the 17th set ever built. I blew 9 powerheads in 15 months. Now it is one of the most reliable engines on saltwater boats.
Exactly, after the opti pop reputation and the trouble sho's had the first couple years I wouldn't touch a 1st gen motor unless it was free
 
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