Tohatsu Outboards

[ncanteiro]

Can someone give me some feedback on Tohatsu outboards in terms of quality compared with Yamaha, Mariner, etc.
The standard 2 stroke are quite cheaper than the competition.

Thanks,

N Canteiro

[dctucker]

I know that Tohatsu manufactures many of the smaller 2 strokes that are also branded as Nissan in the US. Not sure how far up the range that applies

[Tim M]

Tohatsu (excuse dodgy spelling slighty beveraged) are supposed to be "bombproof". They offer a very good warentee even if they are used for racing (ie zapcat). That must speak for it's self - they clearly have great confidence in their product.

[stan_deezy]

Tohatsu outboards are the worlds best-kept secret. They were originally designed purely for the commercial fishing market and reliability/servicing costs were an issue which they designed out (ie; very reliable and cheap to service). Stainless steel water pumps too!
Cheaper than the well-known brands at the moment but that won't last........

[fred bolton]

Originally Posted by stan_deezy

Cheaper than the well-known brands at the moment but that won't last........

Why not? I worked for a small inflatable hire co. who hired out sibs with engines (Tohatsu) they were a bit more agricultural than the main market mercruy evinrude etc but they were utterly reliable even when put into the hands of complete novices for a weeks hire, I even bought one (8HP)for a canal cruiser and it performed flawlessly for several years chugging along at 4 knots. They were cheap then 33 years ago

[Cookee]

Originally Posted by Tim M

Tohatsu (excuse dodgy spelling slighty beveraged) are supposed to be "bombproof". They offer a very good warentee even if they are used for racing (ie zapcat). That must speak for it's self - they clearly have great confidence in their product.

Not so good when raced in OCR though - fast but the 140 saddle isn't up to racing stresses, especially the top mounts!

[Martin]

I've heard the same about Tohatsu 90hp top mounts when used for racing.

M

[Richard B]

I think John Aldiss's saddle/top mount on his 50 also failed on "Round Britain" (RB4). Apart from that, under normal use they have a good reputation. I used to have an 18hp which did me good service. I wouldn't necessarily let the saddle failure put me off unless I was going to put serious stress on the engine (Evinrude ETEC 200's suffer in a similar manner when pushed to the limit).