Yamaha Enduro 60

Currently the most powerful manual start outboard in the Yamaha range, the Enduro 60 is based on the three-cylinder, three carburettor 60H, which is available in both a premix CV60 model and the oil injected 60H.

The 60H and its uprated 70B counterpart have been around since the mid-'80s, and have reportedly managed to grab the majority market share as the top-selling carburetted two-stroke outboards in this power range.

Both Yamahas have an enviable reputation for reliability, and are ideal for owners of 4.5 to 5m boats who don't want or need four-stroke economy and don't intend to dead slow troll for extended periods.

The Enduro 60 is still a 'first generation' two-stroke with mechanical ignition timing advance and a conventional butterfly valve choke system, but if operated correctly, the choke system doesn't create any cold-starting problems.

For a basic premix outboard, the Enduro 60 comes well equipped and has an upfront gearshift, a rev limiter, a hard chrome-plated waterpump impeller housing, a replaceable anode in the cooling water passages in addition to the lower unit anode, and a stainless steel prop. While stainless steel props are great for anglers who operate in sandy and silt-laden water, if the motor is operated near rocky reefs it may be advisable to opt for an alloy prop, as it's a lot easier and cheaper to repair a smashed prop blade than gearcase clutch dogs!

Mounted on a Southwind SD500 Classic Dory, spinning a 16in pitch prop and pushing a total of 940kg including two adults and fishing tackle, the demo motor was a perfect match for this hefty hull for anglers who drift-fish or anchor at their favourite snapper spot.

Though it required a firm two-hand pull to start from cold, once warmed up, only one hand was needed to fire it up. This is surprising considering the piston displacement of this motor. However, as expected of a manual start 60hp, tilting and lowering the motor required some effort.

Running on a 25:1 mix of ULP and TC-W3 Yamalube, the demo motor was fairly smoky below fast idle, but once on the main carbie jets, no oil smoke appeared at any time.

Vibration levels were higher than the oil injected 60H when trolling, but again, above fast idle there was no difference. At all times the strong-flow pilot water discharge was clearly visible.

Although a tachometer was not supplied with the demo motor, I estimate it trolled at about 700rpm, where it averaged a quiet 4.8kmh. There was a slight hesitation at the transition from idle to main carbie jets, but once on the latter the motor accelerated smoothly (and rapidly considering the weight it was pushing) out to Wide Open Throttle.

A clean plane was achieved at 23.2kmh, and through tight figure eight turns at two-thirds throttle, some prop ventilation did occur, but this was not a problem in wider turns.

What was a problem was the immense prop steer torque which made my left arm feel as though it had been stretched six inches when centreing the motor after full lock starboard turns. The solution would be to set up the lower unit trim tab/anode (depending on the normal running trim angle) to provide as near as possible to neutral steering torque when planing.

With the motor set perpendicular to the water, the WOT average was 46.9kmh over a 30cm chop. Based on my testing of the oil-injected 60H, the estimated fuel consumption would have been about 24lt/hr. Experimenting with motor trim would have increased the WOT average by a few kilometres an hour.

Due to the absence of an undercowl oil tank, powerhead access is excellent. Yamaha recommends servicing the Enduro 60 every 100 hours or once a year (also for waterpump impeller replacement) after the first two years. Six-monthly or 50 hour services should be performed after the initial 10-hour check.

Because the Enduro 60 is so popular in the Asia-Pacific region, it should remain in production for at least another decade, ensuring a good parts supply for many years to come.