With the better reliability of today’s big outboard engines, the back-up kicker has been relegated to dinghy duty. But the four-stroke portable engines we’ve tested over the last three years 4- and 8-horsepower models are big and heavy. The 8-horsepower engines, which can exceed 80 pounds, can’t even be considered

Above: From left to right, Yamaha F2.5, Mercury 2.5, Tohatsu MFS 2, Honda BF2, and Suzuki DF2.5.

truly "portable." The 4-horsepower models (about 55 pounds) are easier on the back, but it’s still no fun to wrestle these engines on and off the transom.

Until recently, pickin’s have been slim if you wanted a lighter, compact four-stroke: the Honda 2 and the Yamaha 2.5. But three super-small four-strokes from Suzuki, Tohatsu, and Mercury hit the market this…