doing a search and found that some of the little mercs are made by yamaha. so if you buy a merc or evinrude/johnson you can scratch yams and suzukis off the list. go with the big names with decades of service and parts would be my choice
I have a 2 year old Merc 4-stroke 9.9. It is a decent motor that I purchased for about 0 less than the comparable Honda. If I was to rebuy I would gladly spend the extra money for the Honda. The Honda is hands down quieter, smoother running and MUCH easier to start when cold. No problems on parts for them at Melvin Village.
I'm running a 5 HP Honda and I am quite happy with it. No more 2 stroke stink and its smooth and quiet. In fact the only thing that is smoother and quieter is my 50 HP honda main motor.
I am running a 15hp 4 stroke Yamaha which is more hp than I need but the free price tag was definitely right. When the time comes that this has to returned to its rightful owner I am looking into either a Johnson/Evinrude (made by Suzuki) or a Honda, probably 8hp. After running this solid for the last two weeks it runs great just not as smooth as I would like. Also I will go to electric start with a charging system and the electronic throttle control. I found I had difficulty getting dialed in exactly with the hand throttle. Just my 2 cents.
