150 Johnson?? Is it a good choice

[Mike]

I am looking at a new boat with a 150. I have heard for regular 2-strokes, that the Johnson is the way to go. It is a very strong and proven Engine. Great starting and the best on Fuel. Is this True?? Not to mention Price. Thanks, Mike

[Flip South Dakota]

That 60 degree V block has been around for a while. I have one in the 115 horsepower class and its a great engine. I'm not going to tell you that you'll cruise all day on a pint of gas BUT they have NOT had the problems that all of the DFI's are having.

Mine starts good and runs strong. They are also as quiet as any carbed engine out there.

I really believe that all the "new stuff" still has a lot of bugs to be worked out. I think that you won't go wrong by getting that Johnson.

Run 87 octane gas and good oil and she'll last a long time. Just break her in right and you'll be good to go.

[Mike]

Flip,

I can't say that I have heard anything bad that is for sure only good. And lately there has been a lot of bad reports coming from the world of the DFI's and the $2000 difference in price sure buys a heck of a lot of Gas even at the outrageous prices we are seeing. What kinda boat do you have your 115 on, and how fast does she go? I am thinking of puting the 150 on a 172 ts. Do you think the 115 would power that boat adequetly?? It could save me some money that is for sure. Also are you familiar with the 135 that Johnson has out now is that the old 130 90deg. block or what??

Thanks,

Mike

[bob]

I decided on the 150 johnson vs. the ficht when i bought my 1997 crestliner sportfish 2050 , and boy was i glad that i did. The 150 has been trouble free through 300 hours so far, so i think that i would recomend it. the only downside that i would say is that the idle is a bit rough at low sppeds, but that goes away as the throttle is advanced.

[Flip South Dakota]

I have my 115 on a 1700 Lund Fisherman. The boat is rated for a 150 but I can get just under 50 mph with a light load. With 3 adults she'll run just under 45. These are GPS numbers not speedo numbers.

There are some major differances between the 135 and the 115. First the 115 has a bigger altenator 20 amp vs.9 amp and the 115 also is lighter that the 135. When I bought my rig I asked about the 130 and the guy I bought mine from said that the 115 was a far better motor. In fact he did not want to sell me one.

There is a guy that works for me that has a 150 on a Ranger Cherokee 238 and he gets 53 to 56 at WOT I don't know if that helps you on the speed thing but his is a 18'6" boat. This guy runs her all summer and his winterizing amounts to turning off the key and shoveing it into his back yard. What I'm saying is that he is real hard on everything he owns and that old Johnson just fires right up every spring, and away he goes.

I'm turning a Raker 13 1/2 X 20 at between 5300 and 5400 depending on the weather, and load.

Also the 135 is a 90 degree block. The 60 degree 115 gives you little more room on the transom for you kicker and other stuff.

Both engines are looped charged.

I kinda rambled here sorry for that, but I think that staying with a carbed engine is your best bet right now. Merc has just announced that they were holding there 3.0L Opti engines because of some problems, OMC, or BMC now, has had problems with there DFI. I think its to early to judge Yamaha with there HPDI because they are just starting to hit the market, so time will tell on them. But I think the motor builders should have spent the time in R&D to get this new technology to a level of reliability that we have enjoyed with the carbed engines.

With Bombadeir (sp) getting the OMC engine division the Johnson and Evinrude name's will live on, so will product support and the parts network.

GOOD LUCK