Briggs & Stratton Outboard Motor Review: Let me explain it is mostly aluminum! The premiere small engine manufacturer of America and the world, Briggs & Stratton has made a brilliant move building a 5 hp four-cycle outboard motor. No, it isn’t the same engine as on your lawn mower. It is a brand new design strictly for marine use.
A long anticipated motor from a USA citizen’s perspective. I was weaned on small Briggs & Stratton motors for go-carts, mini bikes, and yes, the faithful lawn mower. I learned the sound that they would make when you milled the head down to raise the compression. I also know the sound of a head gasket leak when that same over-milled head would blow the gasket out the side. Then you had to find solid metal gaskets made from copper so the engine would run for longer than ten minutes. I always wanted to mount one of these lawn mower engines to a boat, but other projects took precedence, and I never got my wish. This is why I was so excited when I called Briggs & Stratton and spoke with them about getting a motor for testing.
I was surprised when it arrived in one box. I didn’t think that the fuel tank and motor could fit together in the same box, but they did. It was a compact shipping crate and the motor with a 3-gallon tank were well protected from the rigors of shipping. My wife about fell over when she saw the box and immediately demanded that I take it out of the living room where I had put it before taking it out of the box. I explained to her that it would not get the house smelling because it didn’t have any gasoline or oil in it. She informed me that she would throw a tablecloth over the whole thing if it stayed there a minute more than it should. It seemed small at first but it was a rather large box!
What a shock when I opened the box and found a camouflaged motor! I think the rep thought it was a hunting magazine when I mentioned Duckworks Magazine and MAIB. Camouflage is the brand new option for the motor and it looks great. When I go to a messabout, I’ll just put bushes on my boat and sneak up on group.
What a nice finish this motor has, and everything looks in its place. The throttle grip has just enough tension to not accelerate but make it very easy for turning. Briggs & Stratton provides everything you need except the gasoline, and even then they give you additive so your gas won’t go bad and cause varnish in the carburetor. This motor is far from a lawn mower just in its ignition system. It has full electronic ignition and a speed governor. The motor will never go above its four thousand RPM red line. I put gasoline in the tank, hooked on the hose and put oil in the crankcase. It was the moment of truth when I switched the line open on the petcock and pressed the gas line bulb a few times. Choke and VROOM! Take off the choke, and it fired up perfectly so I shut it down.
With the help from my wife and the lawn tractor we managed to get the copper P.C. Bolger Brick and Briggs & Stratton outboard motor to the shore across the road from my house. I put the PFD’s in the boat and paddled out where I thought there were no rocks and started the motor. Every time I pulled the starter cord the engine would fire up. I then eased the outboard into reverse and backed up. So far so good. I slipped the very crisp gearshift into neutra,l then forward, and off I went. It actually scared me when I gave it a little gas.
part 2 Briggs review
