Johnson kicker regrets

[nervous knotter]

Looking at a new rig with a 9.9 johnson 4 stroke along side the Etec 225. Everything I've read on this site would point me to a T8 or Prokicker as the best choice. How disappointed would I be with the Johnson and what would I be missing from the other 2? Thanks

[Jimmy Jig]

Does the Johnson have powertrim and tilt? The other two do have it.

[yarcraft91]

I'd probably like tilt/trim on a kicker if I ever had it, but I've run kickers for 25 years without T/T and never felt I was missing anything that mattered.

[Shep]

Suzuki has come out with a real kicker this year. Not sure if Johnson will get to brand label it, like all their other motors. You might want to ask your dealer if this is going to happen, cuz it doesn't look like the promised in 07 ETec kicker is ever coming.

The T8 and the ProKicker are designed as kickers. Not only with the Power tilt, but also a lower gear ratio, hi thrust prop, and a tougher lower unit and beefier mounting. All the others are just portable motors, mounted on a Panther lift.

[Richard B]

I have a Johnson 9.9 kicker on the back of my new 209 Yarcraft. I have a CMC plate. It is okay I would not do it again. If you do use the CMC or any other add on make sure you inspect it every trip. I had a 2004 Alumacraft Trophy 200 that I totaled when the CMC broke and destroyed the transom on the Alumacraft. Thank God for insurance!

[Hombre Robusto]

I used kickers without power tilt for years. I bought a Pro Kicker three years (with power tilt), and will never own another kicker without it.

[TomP.]

Looking at a new rig with a 9.9 johnson 4 stroke along side the Etec 225. Everything I've read on this site would point me to a T8 or Prokicker as the best choice. How disappointed would I be with the Johnson and what would I be missing from the other 2? Thanks

I run a 9.9 Johnson four stroke kicker on my 182 Crestliner TS. Not a bad word to say about the motor itself, I picked up a Solas four blade high thrust prop 9 X 5 will troll at .4 on my GPS. Electric start and trim would be a nicety no doubt. My biggest concern is running rough water, ( not using common sense to slow down ) the mounts on these motors arn`t built as stout as a true blue kicker. .

[yarcraft91]

The T8 and the ProKicker are designed as kickers. Not only with the Power tilt, but also a lower gear ratio, hi thrust prop, and a tougher lower unit and beefier mounting. All the others are just portable motors, mounted on a Panther lift.

OK- I'll admit I've never bought, used or known anyone who owns a T8 or ProKicker, so I have zero experience with their designs or advantages. I'd like to learn something. For the record, my kicker is a 12-year-old 15-horse Mariner 2-stroke bolted directly to the transom and manually tilted up when planing the boat.

I don't see the advantage of the "lower gear ratio". On my 15-horse Mariner kicker, I use a conventional 3-blade 5.5 pitch prop and I can troll slowly (0.8 mph or less) and keep the boat pointed into the wind. What's the advantage of the different gear ratio on a T8 or ProKicker?

I don't understand the need for a "tougher lower unit" on a kicker. It seems like trolling at less than half throttle would put much less stress on a lower unit than planing at WOT- trolling sends a lot less power through the lower unit. Why would a kicker need a tougher lower unit?

I expect a kicker mount is more stressed on the transom of a big boat beating into waves at 40 mph than on a 12' rowboat planing on calm water. I've never seen a broken kicker mount. I think that's due to a combination of 1.) the transom area has the softest ride of any part of the boat and 2.) I and my fishing buddies slow down when the water gets rough. I understand that speed=time=money-earned for tournament fishermen, but for recreational fishing, speed=cost+discomfort in rough water. So, it seems like the stronger mount matters if you fish tournaments for money, but does not matter for recreational users who drive their boats conservatively.

Comments?

[northernbite]

To All

Like all things we have we adjust as to how they work and feel they are the best. i.e. I had a 9.9 Mercury for 10 years and couldn't believe it could get any better. Pull start, manual lift and ran great all day. Last year I replaced my favorate motor with a brand new 9.9 Pro Kicker. Wow electric start, power trim & tilt what a machine. Oh, also no smoke from this 4 stroke, .5mph love it. If you can afford one buy it, life is to short.

Paul

[luveyes]

If I recall there is at least one 9.9 Johnsonon the bottom of Devils Lake from the FLW 2 summers ago. Seems the pivot point is a bit weak.

[eye4aneye]

The bracket on the T8 and Prokicker is built to withstand the jarring of running in rough water. I had a standard 9.9 merc 4 stroke on my last boat and the bushings and swivel pin were worn out badly from the rough water. You really need a solid system to stow the kicker so it can't bounce around if you have a standard motor. As far as the high thrust, I don't think it makes a huge difference going forward but in reverse it sure does. I can stop and back up my boat in half the distance with my T8. They also can push your boat more consistently at higher trolling speeds (above 3.0). You don't have to hunt for throttle position near as much. Finally, you can run the motor at full throttle without worries. When you open up a standard motor on a big boat, watch the bracket and mounts, it looks like they could break off. The high thrust motors can run like this all day and will rev high enough to make maximum power at low water speed. This doesn't matter until you spin a prop on your big motor and you're 15 miles from the dock.

[T Mac]

OK- I'll admit I've never bought, used or known anyone who owns a T8 or ProKicker, so I have zero experience with their designs or advantages. I'd like to learn something. For the record, my kicker is a 12-year-old 15-horse Mariner 2-stroke bolted directly to the transom and manually tilted up when planing the boat.

I don't see the advantage of the "lower gear ratio". On my 15-horse Mariner kicker, I use a conventional 3-blade 5.5 pitch prop and I can troll slowly (0.8 mph or less) and keep the boat pointed into the wind. What's the advantage of the different gear ratio on a T8 or ProKicker?

I don't understand the need for a "tougher lower unit" on a kicker. It seems like trolling at less than half throttle would put much less stress on a lower unit than planing at WOT- trolling sends a lot less power through the lower unit. Why would a kicker need a tougher lower unit?

I expect a kicker mount is more stressed on the transom of a big boat beating into waves at 40 mph than on a 12' rowboat planing on calm water. I've never seen a broken kicker mount. I think that's due to a combination of 1.) the transom area has the softest ride of any part of the boat and 2.) I and my fishing buddies slow down when the water gets rough. I understand that speed=time=money-earned for tournament fishermen, but for recreational fishing, speed=cost+discomfort in rough water. So, it seems like the stronger mount matters if you fish tournaments for money, but does not matter for recreational users who drive their boats conservatively.

Comments?

Start another thread with this question.
You will get good explanations and plenty of reasons to buy a high thrust kicker.
But we don't want to hijack this thread. ;)

[fish4trophy]

The lower gear ratio gives you greater boat control because you can vary the engine speed more with out affecting boat speed. this gives you the ability to have more thrust with the variation of the engine speed.

[big_crappie]

Check that Johnson out. It just may be a Yamie T8 with white paint!

[Shep]

Nope. It would be a Suzuki with Johnson stickers.

[big_crappie]

We had an 07 Ranger package come in last year for service. It had an 07 225 Etec and a "Johnson" 9.9 I noticed that the case looked strangly familiar. I took the cover off and low and behold it was a Yammie. I don't know if Johnson is using Yammie now or a dealer painted the motor but it was all white with Johnson stickers and it and under the hood was all Yamaha T8 or 9.9. And by the way it had a BRP id tag on it. Does anyone know about this. I would love to have the facts. Maybe I will start a thread.

[jasontrucks76]

I do remember a few years back...... Late 90s that Johnson or OEM had a 9.9 with power trim/tilt. I remember seeing them on the collar matched Lunds. The only reason I took note of this is I had a 98 Fisherman with a 150 and 9.9 Johson on it and mine was not power.... I agree with one of the above posters that the brackets were not made for rough water as I had to replace mine twice.
Other than that I had a real good Experience with the Johnson 9.9