Bicentennial Viper/Yamaha Setup

Randy,

I am seriously looking at buying a ''76 Viper Bicentennial edition with a 115 Merc.  The boat is in excellent condition.  Is $4000 too much to pay for a boat like this?  Also, I will replace the Merc with a Yamaha 130 or 115 hp.  What would be the best height to run the gearcase in relation to the pad with the Yamaha?  Which prop would work the best?  What speed would this setup run?  What year Yamaha's would you recommend? 

Jim
(WI)

Jim,

    $4000 sounds a little steep, but they only made it one year and it is kind of a supply and demand thing. If the boat is what you wanted and it is in excellent condition, I don't think it is too out of line. $3000 or so would be nicer. The 115 or 130 Yamaha would be fun. A 115 Merc inline 6 or the 1500 XS would be even more fun. The 115's and 130 should have the gearcase propshaft at about 2 inches or so below the bottom. Running a 26 Yamaha drag prop or an old style 14 " Merc chopper of the same pitch, the boat should run in the mid 70's. Kurt Krebs had such a rig when he worked at my Dad's shop. We tried various jackplates, and the boat ran good with the 5 1/4" plates of the day. The top speed was 77mph at the peak and was pretty mellow in setup. We could have jacked it up a bit and went faster but at the expense of the overall throttle response. The 1500XS would be sweet handling but no faster as the HP output is about the same as the 130. I think you'll have a great time. Any Yamy from '86 or newer will be good and they made the 115 in a non-oil injected special that was a very good buy. There was not much between the 115 and 130 as the 115 was a real good 115. Hope this helps a little. 

Please submit whatever questions you have to IHRTechTalk@yahoo.com.  All questions and answers selected will be displayed on this page as they come in.  Note: though all boaters are welcome, priority may be given to I.H.R. members.  Randy can not be held responsible for any advice given.  Though his information and expertise is second to none, he has no control over what you do with your boat.  It is up to you to boat safely and act responsibly, and his advice is only to be used as a guidance for your high performance boat/motor of which you are the one responsible for the risks involved.

Thanks,
Mark C.

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