Yamaha unveils new 200 BHP 4-cylinder ICE for jet boats

The new 1.9-litre engine is a new design, aimed at durability and refinement.

Yamaha has unveiled an all-new engine for powering WaveRunners and Jet boats. The new engine comes in the form of a 1.9-litre 4-cylinder engine producing 200 BHP at 7,600 rpm.

The new engine replaces the older 1.8-litre supercharged unit, which makes 225 BHP. Although the new engine has less horsepower, reports state that it's not a huge practical difference for a WaveRunner. The personal watercraft has an electronically limited top speed of 67 mph, which the new 1.9-litre engine can easily achieve.

The new 1.9-litre engine is a new design, aimed at durability and refinement. It comes with a new exhaust manifold with dedicated pipes for each cylinder. The bore has been increased by 2 mm (from 86 mm to 88 mm) with a channel to route cooling water to cool the valve seats. Mark Sagers, Senior Watercraft Factory Service Technical Specialist, stated, "In a 250-cc motocross bike, the maintenance schedule calls for a new piston every nine hours and it's putting out specific power like a NASCAR engine, or almost Indy." He added, "Boats are more on the lower end of high performance, so we can make them last thousands of hours."

Sagers went on to add, "These will run a very long time at WOT. Waverunners are often idling or WOT, and there's no middle ground. But I've seen Waverunner engines with more than 1500 hours and no major mechanical work. It's staggering that these mechanical things can live through this."

Source: Car&Driver