How to Determine Year of Motor and 1 other really stupid question

"I have a Johnson GT Venom 200

"I have a Johnson GT Venom 200hp.} The model number is V2008TLETF and serial number is G 03501780.

How can I determine how old it is?

Secondly, (here's the stupid question - I am new to boating so bare with me) what kind of gas do I put in it? It's not a mix right?

The boat seems to run fine (had it out twice for about an 45 minutes each). There seems to be 1/2 a tank registering. Is there anything I should do, or put into the gas prior to filling the boat back up?

Thanks to anyone who responds"

"Jared, you have a 1993 model

"Jared, you have a 1993 model but believe your model number is V200"S"TLETF. No big deal though.

And yes, this just takes regular gas (I don't have a manual for newer than 1990, so can't say for sure if it's calling for greater than 87 octane, but in "most" cases, regular is just fine).

It is an oil injected model, so there will be an oil tank that you will need to keep filled up with modern 2 cycle marine oil.

The only thing that I would run in your tank is some fuel stablizer (available at marine or auto parts stores).

Modern gas may have up to 10% ethanol (alcohol or methanol - sometimes called E10) in it and it's "bad" for outboards. The stablizer helps out and is recommended by the mfg's...

One other note, if you didn't get the operators manual with this, you may want to pick up a repair or service manual. Even if you don't plan on doing any/all of the work yourself, it is great reference and source of information..."

"Graham,
I can't thank yo

"Graham,
I can't thank you enough. I did not expect to get this much information. This has been extremely helpful.

I do have one other question. I keep on reading about how people are maxing out at 5,000 rpm or some where around there on their boat motors. The second time I brought my boat out I "opened" her up and at 3/4 throttle I was running around 5,500 rpm - I quickly brought the throttle down because I thought 5k+ was too much - what is a "normal" rpm for a motor to run at higher speeds? Do Marine Engines run at higher RPM's then Auto Engines? This is all new to me.

Thanks again for your help earlier. -Jared"

"Jared, each model of outboard

"Jared, each model of outboard will have it's own Wide Open Throttle (WOT) range. Even on the same horsepower built a couple of years apart, may be different.

In very general terms, most two stroke outboards will be in the 4500-5500 range or 5000-6000 range (again though, that is in "general").

A 4 stroke may run a little less, and then when you get to inboards or inboard/outboard it may drop to as low as 4000 max.

Your particular model is rated in the 5000-6000 range. So you can safely run all the way up to 6K however, you will get your max horsepower and best "wide open" running at about 5750. As long as it will get over 5K wide open, and you keep in under 6K, even if it has some room left, all will be good...."