Suzuki 20 vs 25 (side by side photos)

After a few months of online researching I thought I'd settled on what I planned to purchase, A 1648 rivoted Jon with a 30hp suzuki efi. So today I finally stopped by to take a look at what I thought I wanted... I looked at the specs of the 20 and 30hps and knew it was heavier, but wasn't prepared for the actual size difference. I realize the photos shows a 25hp, but the 30hp is the same size. As you can see the 25 is huge compared to the 20. I want to keep things really simple, so I may drop down to a 1448 and a 20hp, unless you fine people here think I can get by with a 20 on a 1648? Also, does anyone have any input on these newer suzukis 4 stroke EFIs? They have been out for about 4 years and I can't find any 2016 posts discussing its realibility.

BTW, the smallest of thee 4hp.

Why not go with the 30hp you planned on?

Yes you could do a 20 on a 1648 and be fine. I had a 15 on one that worked great. The key is the riveted boat. It's much lighter then a all welded MVX type hull. If you was to go with a MVX, then get at least a 25. Not a fan of loosing 2' of boat for 5 or 10 hp.


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My son has a 1648 riveted Jon with a 15 hp Tohatsu. It will do 22 mph with three people and gear. It gets on plane easily, no performance problems.


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Size difference aside, what is the weight difference?

In the neighborhood of 300 pounds or more


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The 20hp in the photo is 97lb. The 25hp is 136lb. The 30hp is 163 (it only comes in electric start and power tilt/trim... I want to keep my next tinboat simple. I want a 1648 flat bottom, no modified V, and new tiller engine.

That boat should be capable of handling the 30hp engine fairly easily. Boar manufacturers know every engine that is out there and their ratings are conservative.

I run this on a Gheenoe! This is a 3-cylinder. Weight is around 130#



Better shot to give you an idea on how narrow the stern is.



Would I recommend something like this? No, but your boat is very capable in comparison.

gatorglenn said:

In the neighborhood of 300 pounds or more

Click to expand...

We arent comparing a 15 to a 140 here. Good lord.

Personally, you will enjoy the electric start. I know i did when i owned my 25 hp Mariner. I would just go with the 30 if its not cost prohibitive. Just because you have the extra power doesnt always mean that you have to use it.

Sorry guys I thought the question was weight different between the hulls of a 16' riveted jon and a MVX jon.
I am in the camp of max the hp to the hull. But a 15 will do find on for the combo he's wanting. Personally I would get the 25 hp. Because it will do a great job for so many different boat sizes.


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Thanks for all the input. I guess I was shocked the size difference from a 20 to a 25 once I got my eyes on it. I'm pushing 250 and so is my fishing buddy, so I guess I'll end up going with the 30. Once I lay some wood/carpet down, gear in, and our fat arses loaded a 20 might struggle. .. Honestly, if I knew the 20 wouldnt struggle to get on plane I'd go with it. Speeds no a factor as I fish within a couple of miles of the boat ramp 90% of the time, but I gotta plane out. I dont know of anywhere I can actually test the combo.

https://youtu.be/sjsIJOkhEgg this guy does a lot of test with different combos check it out might help your decision
Look at his YouTube channel if he hasn't tried it no one has good hunting

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I don't know the suzuki's well enough to give you a side-by-side comparison. That said, I do know the Yamaha's. I have a 1548 war eagle, with an older 25 hp 4 stroke Yamaha. Couple years ago I bought a 15hp 4 stroke to help my dad out since it was electric start and his old 9.9 JohnnyRude was giving him fits starting it with the manual starter, especially when cold. Anyway, before I was to give it to him, I had to make sure it was in tip-top shape and reliable. Thus, I did some work on it and then clamped it to my 1548 to run it. To my surprise, it ran within 4 mph of the 25hp. The difference, however, was VERY apparent in the time it took to get on plane. About 10 seconds. The 25hp is on plane in about 3 seconds. That's only 7 seconds difference but let me tell you, it's an eternity in certain situations. Keep in mind that the war eagle has a lot of "lift" built into the hull, thus it will plane easier than a lot of boats it's same size and weight. Hull weight without the motor (just the hull) is 353 lbs, plus the trolling motor (39 lb) plus the battery (41 lb), and me.

The 20hp is obviously 5 hp more than a 15, but, I personally think that if you'll be using is on a heavier 1648+, that you may not like it too much if you find yourself loading it heavy or running in current. In my case, the 15hp just didn't have the torque that the 25 does, mainly because the engine is MUCH smaller on the 15/20hp (they are the exact same yamaha outboard with minor differences). I haven't run a 20 much, yet, though...just enough to know that it's a sweet little motor but I couldn't compare it like I did with the 25 and 15. Most of the 20hp motors that I've rigged on customer boats were on 1542's and they all say the same thing, that they wish it had a little more torque to get on plane when running a little heavy, say, decoys, dog, hunting buddy, shells, guns, etc. Some of the older folks who spend a lot of time idling/trolling absolutely love them.

i am going to be putting a new suzuki 20 or 25 on my lowe 1648 riveted jon .. there will be like 2mph difference and 60+lbs .. 2 cylinder 20hp and the 25hp is 3 cylinder ... i run a shallow river, so i am prolly gonna go with the 20 to get a shallower draft and less wieght to drag just in case .. back in 93 i had a 1648 with a 20hp mariner on it .. it ran fine and came out of the hole great .. soooo i'm gonna save the 1500 bucks and go with the 20 hp .. i can get the 20hp for 3000 and the 25hp is 4500