INTRODUCING YAMAHA'S F100G

Testing the fuel-injected commercial motor

Tested by Erwin Bursik

INNOVATION is the very key to success and is foremost in the minds of those who undertake this exciting task at Yamaha to ensure that Yamaha outboard motors stay in the forefront of this world wide marine industry.

Their latest midrange 100hp model,the F100G,has just arrived in South Africa.Melvin Victor,Yamaha’s marine general manager,asked me to use these motors and establish,during on water trials,how the Yamaha F100G compares with the Yamaha F100s I have had on Mr Ski-Boat for the last three years.

The F100G is aimed predominately at the large commercial application market worldwide that demands not only lowdown torque,but also top class reliability and longevity.To achieve this a number of innovations have been introduced to the Yamaha F100 4stroke that has proved so popular over the last decade.Among these is fuel injection and other engine enhancements, an upgraded gearbox to provide for heavy load applications as well as a number of smaller features which include the steering rod tube and gear location rod being changed to stainless steel to avoid long term corrosion.

It’s also important to note that this model has been designed to handle fuel that is not up to first world standards and is therefore a better choice for boats being used in African countries than its brother the 100F.The F100G is also tough enough to operate in muddy waters which you’ll often find in and around our continent.

In order to perform the test it was off with the F100s which I have been extremely enamoured with,and on with the new F100G motors. Mr SkiBoat was re-engined in less than a day by Durban Yamaha.

My great conundrum was how to assess a change in performance between two sets of motors in such a limited time before penning a meaningful article.When it comes to their longevity,my view is that time and time alone will be the advisor in this regard after the commercial operators get to use them.

In my mind I needed to be convinced that these new motors would provide the same or better low down torque and midrange thrust required for recreational use as the F100s I have been using.

Again I must stress the limited time available to make this assessment,and with that in mind I devised a set of criteria that would be tested on the water, on the same craft with the same crew and in the same weather conditions.

These tests were undertaken by Ryan Hansen of Durban Yamaha,Martin Somerville who fishes with me on Mr Ski-Boat as an adjudicator and myself skippering the craft.I personally found the on water trials undertaken exactly one week apart exhilarating and enlightening.

I have set out in table format alongside the exact statistics of these trials so that readers can form their own opinions of the performance comparison.

Both sets of trials were undertaken in Durban Harbour up the Maydon Channel in north-easterly winds gusting to about 4 knots on the first trial and about 7 knots when trying out the new Yamaha F100Gs.

In final summation,I was very surprised that in most instances both mod- els produced very similar performance statistics.This proved what I felt while judging the performance — the new Yamaha F100G will be equally as efficient during a surf launch as it will trolling and cruising out at sea.

So the question arises:What are the benefits of the new Yamaha F100G? Frankly,only time on the ocean will tell. I am not qualified to comment on the technical,mechanical and electronic modification that produces longevity and fuel consumption.

However,in a nutshell,these new Yamaha F100G motors which were straight out of the box performed beautifully.From the first time I opened them up I did not feel any reduction in the performance which I had actually expected,given the hype that they were commercial motors and were swinging the same prop via an enlarged gearbox.

Once these motors have done their initial ten hours and have had their PDI service I am positive the difference in performance I obtained in the above stated results will equal if not surpass that of my old motors.