2 Stroke Outboard Motors
10 two stroke outboards in stock, from 6hp to 200hp and $850 to $3,995. Lighter, simpler and stronger for their weight. Used and sourced stock only, since almost nothing new is built this way now.
A two stroke fires on every revolution rather than every second one, which is why it makes more power for its weight than a four stroke and why it has so few moving parts. Emissions rules ended the carburetted two stroke as new stock in most of the world, so what you find now is either used or one of the surviving direct injected designs. They remain the right answer when weight is the binding constraint, and for anyone who values being able to fix an engine on the water.
Shop by specification
All 67 enginesHorsepower
Stroke type
Four stroke57
Two stroke10
Shaft length
Start type
Steering
Choosing two stroke
Weight for power
This is the reason people still want them. A two stroke can be 20 to 30 percent lighter than a four stroke of the same output. On a small tender you lift on and off a transom single handed, or on a sailboat bracket, that difference is the whole argument. It also means faster acceleration onto the plane for a given hull.
Fuel and oil
Older engines run a premixed ratio, commonly 50:1, mixed in the tank. Later ones carry an oil tank and inject it automatically. Either way you are buying two stroke oil as a running cost and there is no sump to change. Get the ratio wrong on a premix engine and you either seize it or foul it, so confirm the ratio for your specific model.
What to check on a used one
Compression across all cylinders, and whether the readings are even. A cylinder 15 percent down on its neighbours points at a ring or a scored bore. Look at the plugs, look for water in the gear oil, and run it in gear under load rather than on muffs. Everything that comes through us is compression tested before it is listed.
Questions on this range
Why are there so few new two strokes?
Emissions regulation. A carburetted two stroke passes a proportion of its fuel and oil straight out of the exhaust, which no longer meets standards in most markets. Direct injected two strokes solve that and are still built, but manufacturers have largely moved their volume to four strokes.
Are they harder to look after?
Different rather than harder. There is no oil or filter to change, and fewer parts to go wrong, which is why they are still favoured somewhere remote. Against that, they foul plugs at prolonged low revs, they want the fuel mix right every time, and old fuel causes them more trouble than it causes a four stroke.
Is buying a used two stroke a risk?
It is a known quantity if you check it properly. Compression is the headline number, water in the gear oil is the deal breaker, and hours matter more than age. Two strokes carry a ninety day parts and labor warranty from us. We would not sell one we had not run.
Can I still get parts?
For the common Yamaha, Mercury, Johnson and Evinrude models, yes, both factory and aftermarket, and they are generally cheap. Parts for smaller or more obscure lines get harder each year. If long term parts supply matters to you, say so and we will steer you towards the models still well supported.