Damage and leaking on SHO power trim and tilt reservoirs had us scratching our heads as it isn’t a common occurrence. Here’s what we’ve found.
It didn’t take too long to discover what was happening; improper
devices were used to support the motors while trailering. Most
users know it’s a good idea to support a tilted motor to relieve the
load on the PTT assembly as well minimize transom stress while
bouncing down the highway. Apparently it is not unheard of for
some users to grab the most convenient item at hand to wedge
between the transom brackets and the swivel bracket. A scrap of
2′ x 4′ or a chunk of firewood seemed to work fine for years on
their ol’ oil burner, it’ll work fine on their new SHO powered bass
buggy, right? Didn’t look so pretty but it got the job done.
For years the PTT assembly has been buried inside transom
brackets overbuilt for the application, kind of out of harm’s way,
even when ol’ Joe stabs that chunk of wood in there to support
the motor. Well, not so with the SHO motors. The VF200, VF225,
and VF250 models use nicely sculpted transom brackets to
provide better access to the PTT when checking the PTT fluid
level and at the same time minimizing unnecessary weight (see
the adjacent photos). Now that chunk of wood will contact some
part of the PTT assembly regardless of how they try to insert
it between the brackets. This is not a problem when the user
properly supports the motor with a Yamaha Trailering Support. Not so good when a chunk of wood is used.
