I know its a questions with alot of variables, but what horsepower would you start to worry about the xr and doing damage to it? This is assuming you were very gentle on the sticks getting up on plane.

Thanks!

625-675HP and 625-650lb/ft of torque is about the tops you can expect to get a Bravo XR to live with, even when you are easy on the stix! The new ones with newer gears seem even a little weaker than the older XR Bravo's. seems the gears don't hold up as well, so say many users and rebuilders.

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Agreed.
600-625 on both hp and torque.

There is a reason Mercury put the NXT's on 700's. I popped three XR uppers with my twin 700's..... once while cruising at 65mph!

Same here, popped 2 uppers in my Imco SC's but their just XR gear sets anyway.

Wow, thanks for the responses! I actually didnt think it would be that low. What would be the next logical upgrade for an 800+ blown motor? Is it possible to beef up the internals on the xr or would it make more sense to go with something else?

Depends on boat weight. BMAX is a good option and so is Arneson bravo conversion

Boat weight is 4500. Magic Sceptor 28

Agreed, anymore than 650 you're really pushing your luck. You need a SCX Extreme.

EDIT: In fact, this just popped up in the classifieds. I'd JUMP on it. You won't find it this cheap again.
http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o40681-en.html

Arneson ASD#7M. Bulletproof and more efficient than any normal or upgraded Bravo.

I'm running 625 hp and 670 tq on a 42 cig Tiger straight bottom. Had one lower failure at 472 hours. drive it right and no worries.