The Latest News in Outboards

[GLutzow]

I am ashamed to admit that I have, in the dark recesses of my garage, a British Seagull Engine. It will run forever. Spew oil, yes; a b%^&*^ to start when you really need it, an unqualified yes; did it ever leave me stranded, no. You can repair it with a knife, a screw diver and a pair of pliers, in fact it came with exactly that as a kit. Carry a spark plug, some cork(for a gasket), some oil and gas .... off you go.

[bottomscraper]

I am ashamed to admit that I have, in the dark recesses of my garage, a British Seagull Engine.

Polish that puppy up and display it in your living room! Or even better modify and race it!



That is just soooooo wrong!

[Steve Laume]

That is great! A racing Seagull in the modified class.

You can bet that thing was put together in a location with long cold winters, Steve.

[GLutzow]

I want a copy of the recipe for the drink that prompted this mod; it must make for some awesome parties!!

[Queen Elvis]

....as American as apple pie....

Precisely.

Apple pie certainly isn't American. We had apple pies in England long before you were a colony.

And yes, I'm being deliberately provocative. Sink me!

[The Patriot]

Well, friends, it's time to own up. No, there really are no tooth fairies, and unfortunately there really are no Harley Davidson outboard motors (Google is your friend). There are however Harley Davidson decals, and these are what I used on my new Tohatsu 3.5 HP 4 stroke outboard to replace the original tacky Tohatsu decals. I have already congratulated Russell on his keen eyesight.

There is a long story behind this tradition that actually involves bikers but I won't bother you with the details here. Suffice it to say that having an outboard that's just a bit different has probably prevented more than one set of itchy fingers from stealing it. In addition it's always entertaining to see how folks react to such absurdities. Not that I am in a position to draw any conclusions or point fingers.

Tohatsu makes great outboards. Harley makes great decals. Who could resist that combination?

[The Patriot]

... We had apple pies in England long before you were a colony ...

You type quite well for someone from that era.

[Queen Elvis]

And it turns out that the Harley outboards are indeed as American as.......

[Oswego John]

And it turns out that the Harley outboards are indeed as American as.......

.........apple pie? Hmmm, sounds more like pie in the sky.

This is a good time to mention one of my all time favorite songs, Don McLean's "American Pie" (drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry, and good ol' boys drinkin' whiskey and rye".

Queen Elvis, are you familiar with Nortons, from your side of the pond? I wonder if they have decals for the seagulls?

Good show, guv,
O J

[sfreihofer]

For those of you who would scoff at a Harley Davidson outboard, let me remind you that 90% of all Harleys ever built are still on the road....




The other 10% made it home.

[tartansailor]

For those of you who would scoff at a Harley Davidson outboard, let me remind you that 90% of all Harleys ever built are still on the road....




The other 10% made it home.

That's more than one can say about a lot of imported cars that I could, but wont mention.

Dick

[Kilgore]

The guys at South Park did a send up on HD riders here:
http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/251889/

[Steve Laume]

South Park is hilarious!

The one part they missed is that all the Harley's always started each time they were ready to ride.

They could do a jet ski episode just like this one.

Thanks for the morning laugh, Steve.

[ronkberg]

Back in the day, I had a Norton Commando and also "NORTON" decals that I had in case the tank ones got damaged. A great ride and had the typical oil leaks of imports back then.

Since I am about to name my Typhoon "SeaGull", I could use some of those decals. Just wondering if the birds would look more kindly on my boat if named as such and poo less on my decks.

Almost time for me to apply bottom paint and schedule launch for early June.

G'day, Ron

PS, Steve, yes the Harley's started but only after many powerful KICKS.....unlike my Norton that had an electric start to supplement the kick. Oh the memories........

"The one part they missed is that all the Harley's always started each time they were ready to ride. "

[Como No Cruising]

When cruising the Caribbean in 1978 I had a British Seagull. Once I learned its little quirks it started every time and ran well. The thing was loud, greasy and obnoxious, but dependable.

One day, while running full throttle, it decided to go for a swim. Blew a few bubbles on the way to the bottom. I thought that was the end of my old clunker. It was a sad moment. We had such wonderful times together. I decided to dive for it and clean it up in case I got another and could use it for parts. Two dives later, in fifteen feet of that wonderful clear blue Caibbean water I had the beast back aboard my hard dinghy. Rowed back to my Pearson 35, rinsed out the motor with fresh water and then 100 proof Rum Alcohol (Purchased by the gallon for $1.50--made great stove fuel), filled up with fresh gas/oil mixture and tried starting it just for grins. It started, ran like normal and was still running when I sold it with the boat a year later.

In 2004 we dropped our Johnson 15 into 45 feet of water at Savu-Savu, Fiji. Thankfully, it was not running at the time. We recovered the engine two days later, dismantled, flushed with fresh water and sprayed with WD-40, changed lower unit lube and cranked it up. Put it on the back of a 20 foot fishing boat and ran it almost full tilt for an hour--just to dry it out. It is still running today. But, I seriously doubt that it would have survived had it been running when we dropped it. Viva the British Seagull.

Your mileage may vary.