"2006 Model" Mercury/Yamaha "hybrid"

[fairdeal]

on another thread yesterday, Rodbolt wrote

back in the day mercury marine and Yamaha worked on the 4 stroke models as a joint venture.
...
since 03 mercs are not anywhere connected with Yamaha or Yamaha cconnected to mercs.

Its extremely rare that Rodbolt is "wrong" - on this forum - but the photo evidence is pretty strong:



Note the "Mercury" cover over the spark plugs -
and the labeled "Command Link" wiring on the stbd side -
which we know would have been post 4/2005 Yamaha production

noted Boston Whaler enthusiast James W. Hebert noted Mercury's "own" 4-stroke - what he dubbed the "Veradito" -
being first seen by the public in early summer 2006

[rodbolt17]

rodbolt aint wrong.
merc finished production of product in stock.
Yamaha provided warrenty parts.
Yamaha and merc parted ways in 03 after merc sued Yamaha over a price/product dump lawsuit that the FTC ruled against merc.

merc lost.
the divorce was on.
the joint venture began back in the early 90's on the F9.9 and the F50.
grew to the F25,F40,f115 and the f200/225.

the joint venture ended after the lawsuit in 2003.

google it.
or do like I did and chat with some folks at Kennesaw GA.

[fairdeal]

There a number of interesting things about this unit;

I've never seen one of the "YamaMerc" F225s -
but from its Merc Service Manual, it appears to have been entirely Yamaha - except for the paint and decals.

This 90 - and I assume the 75 and 115 also - just the engine is Yamaha -

steering arm, bracket, t/t, LU - and cowlings - are actual Mercury.

And the wiring/ECU is especially intriguing.

[rodbolt17]

the F200/225 mercs used a merc lower pan and hood.
there were also minor differences in VST venting.
merc made there own 75 and 90 motors.

[fairdeal]

...merc finished production of product in stock.
....
the joint venture ended after the lawsuit in 2003.

I could google it -I'm guessing I would find that the settlement included a bit more than "product in stock" in 2003 -

presumably a negotiated continued supply of engines until Merc could get its own engine on line.

I have no interest or desire to "prove you wrong" -

but look at the photo -

was a yellow-taped Command Link connector hanging on the side of an engine "in stock" in 2003?

[rodbolt17]

the first production commandlink was the 05 model. the prototypes had long been in limited test production.

what the details of the settlement entailed I don't know.
I do know that in 03 the marriage ended in divorce.

[boscoe99]

It is not uncommon for two companies to both be suing the hell out of each other for one issue while at the same time agreeing to work together on other issues. Nothing personal. It is just business.

99.9% of the folks at Yamaha USA would have no real idea as to any business relationship between Mercury Marine and Yamaha. The 0.1% would not be talking. There are non-disclosure agreements. Loose lips sink ships.

Many, many, many post 2003 Mercury motors and Yamaha motors look to be damn near identical. SM specs are the same. Physical attributes of the motors and related parts are the same. Torque specs are the same. Spare parts will plug and play with each model.

[rodbolt17]

unlike Volvo diesel, most outboard companies don't build most parts. they buy it from vendors. vendors sometimes sell to anyone.
kinda like working on a Rambler.

cant tell you how many camshafts and connecting rods in a Yamaha that have a ford oval cast in them.

[fairdeal]

implausible that the powerhead itself was assembled by Mercury.

They went to Yamaha's ECU supplier and said - "sell us whatever they are using - don't even bother to change their name in the programming" ?



they went to the wiring harness sub and said
"sell us what you are selling them - oh, and put their ERP number labels on 'em" ?



I don't believe it.

I believe this complete engine came off the Yamaha assembly line and went into a crate -

next stop Fond du Lac

Mercury pulled it out, bolted it to their parts, and stuck on a decal.

- a decal on the completed outboard -

Oh, and they test ran it, too

[boscoe99]

noted Boston Whaler enthusiast James W. Hebert noted Mercury's "own" 4-stroke - what he dubbed the "Veradito" -
being first seen by the public in early summer 2006

Have you ever read much by this guy?

IMO if you look up the meaning of the word "pedant" his photo will be there.

He has self authored many technical articles. He is the only guy that I have seen who will reference his own writings, as if they are independent, authoritative, third party documents, when he is trying to support a position that he has.

Yes, he is noted for liking his Boston Whaler. An Etec afficionado be he.