Bravo and 650 hp
 

I am looking at a 28' boat with a claimed 650 hp running a Bravo. I know its how it has been driven but in all reality , and I know its an impossible question , could this last a season or is it a time bomb? The next question is how and what would be the best replacement.

If it's in fact making around 650 then a safe bet would be a Bravo one XR Sport Master unit with a 1.35:1 or 1.50:1 gear ratio. They use a solid one-piece gearcase intended for higher HP and speed applications.

It depends on the year of the Bravo. If it is one of the older units with the thin floored gears it will not last long. If it is the newer style gears and you take it very easy it will last for some time. Jeff Wurl

I have a buddy that has a 699hp 496 blower motor in a 98 26ft Velocity with a Bravo 1 drive and it has lasted 3 seasons so far.

Depends a lot on the weight of the boat, the way you drive it and luck.

The boats an 01 so I ASSume an 01 Bravo, is that considered older?

yeah....but with what, 15 total hours??? :)

torque kills drives, not HP. A 454/502 spinning 6,000 rpms would be alot better than a 572 spinning 5,200.

I'm running a 1998 OL series Bravo 1 with 600+ hp in a 28' Velocity only 100hrs on it so far. My throttle only had two positions until I read how fragile the drive is. I change the oil every season with Amsoil Marine and so far it comes out as clean as it went in. I'll be tearing the drive down in a couple of months to make sure I'm not about to break something.

If you buy the boat, look around for a spare drive in the swap section. They are sometimes listed for 1000-1500. Then you will have no downtime if you blow one up. 6 bolts and off you go. Overall it depends on how the boat was driven, how you drive and what HP the engine is actually making. Good luck!

Im was running 620hp threw a Bravo xz and had ZERO problems and I did not take it easy on it. It had between 30-50 hours and had 60 hours before that on 710hp. I had it gone threw at the end of the season just to play it safe. I hear anymore than 700 and you're gonna start having problems. Also like many mentioned, weight plays a role. On a light boat like myselves, it wasnt a problem.... but if it was a 10000lbs boat I'd imagine there'd be some issues.

615HP/650TQ here with a Bravo one on my old junk 1984 27ft wellcraft excalibur. I have a spare bravo one and will be looking for more just so there is no down time come summer :coolcowboy:
Boat is kinda light for its size and i'll TRY to be easy on the throttle :evilb:
I'll let you know what happens to the bravo one come summer....

My Excalibur has the VP duo prop. Not to worried about blowing that with the smoking stock motor.

Not to jack someones thread, but Im running a basicly stock 525sc on a B1 (not sure if old or new, but if i was to guess, new) in a 98 24ft Outlaw SE. Ive been two seasons with it so far, with no problems and being very easy out the hole with it. Am I just a dead hole in the water waiting to happen, or can I keep up with being easy on it for a while?

I have been running 600 plus through my b1 for 4 seasons no problems just take it easy out of the hole and watch the air time my 2 cents

Thanks Park, just what I wanted to hear! Anyone else have any opinions on this?

24ft boat ok maybe.
38 w XRs and 650hp. Let me get the bills I have paid to repair!
Forget that I dont want to add it up.

Ya, but we all know how you Okie boys run!!! :party-smiley-004::drink:

650hp on a bravo is fine......however a 28ft boat with 1 engine/bravo is certainly a load for the drive....slow onto plane and ease into your top-end speed and it should last a long time...good luck!

I want to see more post like these. Easy on the throttle and watch for the throttle when in the air..easy enough I hope :evilb:

Kid, shut up already. You couldn't tell a bravo from a number 6, a manifold from a header, a carb from an oil pan, or your d!ick from a blower switch.

An XZ and XR are rated up to 700hp? I beleive, 650 if its not 700. If your easy getting onto plane, get off the throttle when you leave the water, and have a relativity light boat..... you'll be fine! Put that on a 38zr and you'll have a problem. But it on a superboat, activator, lavey and you won't have a problem! Pekerrun, its about time for you to beat it. You're a freakin moron.

He hasnt been active since the 21st . I think you scared him away. Kinda nice not seeing these on every freakin post.:drink::drink::drink::drink::drink::drink:

I agree with Park35, I have a 25 Checkmate pushing just over 600 with a B1, Just take it easy out of the hole, otherwise haven't had a problem.

:party-smiley-004::lolhit:

The XR is rated to 650hp. Even with that and with a light boat, be prepared to have new gears installed in less than 100hours. they may not spit teeth off, but they will start to pit and put metal in the oil. Once that happens, you are living on borrowed time. I dont care how you get on plane and how easy you get up to speed, the XR gears will start to go away with that much hp.

I know that everyone and their brother has a story about running 900hp through a stock Bravo 1 for 300 hours with no problems. But that is simply not the norm.

I have a 6000 lb boat with a blown 468 in it with a bravo 1. I'm running a 4 blade 26 bravo prop.I don't stab it out of the hole, although I have pushed into it, I don't just yank it wide open. Mine has about 175 hours of use and no problems so far. I don't run the boat all that hard and haven't seen anything yet, knock on wood...

Ive been more worried about the stock 330 hp coupler i still have on it, I figured I'm gonna smoke it one of these days.

Would like to add that I have drive showers and change the gear oil 3 x a season,was running a 26p or 28 for those 4 years once your gear oil is realy black ,might be time to freshin up

I ran around 750hp in my old boat for years on a B1 with no problems. One thing I was always told was bravo's love high RPM and will live longer in a motor spinning 6000 rpm than 5200 even if the HP and TQ is the same.

I have over 700hp on my bravo 1 its a 598 motor. Use bot three times a week pretty much all year. Spin 6k which is the limit on a bravo. Just be careful out of the whole and you will be fine. Keep your hand on the throttle and learn to feel prop slip etc.

Poke n Run, how much does your boat weigh? I have a 598, 800hp, 798 ft lb tq, going in my 272 Sr1 Formula with a b1 and I am concerned with the weigh of the boat.

You only have 1motor in your 272 ??

I have a 598ci N/A, 750hp in my 29' Kryptonite with an Imco SC. Upper gears were pitted up pretty bad after 80hours. I am always easy on plane, never floor it from a cruise speed, and always keep from spinning up in the air. My boat weighs about 4500lbs.

Yes sir, the boat is a 271 Sr1, not a 272, that was a typo!!

I dont know what to do at this point!! I am looking at about 1500 more lbs. than you with 50 more hp and a stock bravo drive!! Any ideas????

598,
I have a friend that runs a 28' Checkmate, I believe 5700 lbs, unloaded. He is running a 598" motor, NA. Been running the stock B1 from 97. It has been gone through once since new, a set of lower gears and new bearings. It has about 650hrs on it now. If you dont apply enough power to snap the teeth off the helical gears, they can last a long time. He drives his boat with respect, and runs it fast, so I would run that B1 if it is in good condition and not too loose.

Dick

Dick, am I correct that the weak floored gears (old style ) were changed out at one point? I broke the old style 2000 gear floor in my boat 9 years ago with 650 hp, Smitty

Thank you sir. I am going to put external steering on it and give the b1 a shot!! The most that can happen is it break and I will have to go to plan B.
The drive was replaced in 06 with the reman that is on the boat now and I think it has only 130hrs on it or so behind a 415hp 502.

Brad

I run 675 hp. and everything else the same.

Mine was in need of 5k to rebuild after about 80 hours.

Take the money you'll spend fixing the drive you have, put it with the $$ you'll get from selling your current drive & put that $$ towards the ultimate solution of either Arneson, Bmax or IMCO SCX. Anything short of that & You'll be fixing Bravo drives frequently.

What kind of price range are the Bmax and IMCO SCX's in?

Artic,
He is still running the thin floored gears in the upper that came with it. In 97 they must have had a good run of gears.

598.. No one can tell how long that drive will last. If it was setup properly, it may live. Depends on a lot of factors. If you sell it and go to an SCX.. It will live.. To switch to SCX is about $15k. A bit cheaper if you run the SCX upper with SC lower.
Not sure how much B-max is.

Dick