Patent ID: 7395795

Claim:
An outboard motor adapted to be mounted on a hull of a watercraft, the outboard motor including an engine generally enclosed within a cowling and having a crankshaft arranged to extend generally vertically when an attached watercraft hull is in a cruising condition, the outboard motor further comprising a first surge tank disposed on a side of the crankshaft generally opposite a head portion of the engine, a plurality of long intake conduits having first and second ends and extending between an engine intake port and the surge tank, a second surge tank disposed between the plurality of long intake conduits and the engine, the second surge tank communicating with the first surge tank, a plurality of short intake conduits, each of the short intake conduits provided between the first and second ends of a corresponding one of the long intake conduits and communicating with the second surge tank, and valves for selectively opening and closing the short intake conduits.