Anybody ride ski's in the summer??

[Phizzer]

Just got a hold of a couple of jetski's, one is Kawi 900 zxi and the other is Yami Waverunner XL1200. Just got the 900 done this weekend, new top end from WSM, fresh bore, etc. Took it out for the first time yesterday and broke her in. Went down to the Yakima river and had some fun!!

However, I am looking to get a wetsuit. Just wondering if anyone has recommendations on which brand to go with, 2,3,4 mill suit, shorty vs. full. Pretty sure I am going to want a shorty for the summer time, but I have a feeling I will be riding later in the year as well. Does anybody wear a full in the summer??

 

[Reeb]

I wanna pick up a 650 or 750 stand-up this summer. Problem with used watercraft is that anything more than 5 years old is unreliable.

I've been around Sea-Doo's, Waverunners, and TigerSharks since I was a kid. My dad owning a dealership and later a repair shop, I've seen and worked on them all. I can't stand working on them, yet every summer I'm roped into being up to my armpits doing something for a friend or family. I used to buy and sell PWC's and worked at a rental shop too, 5 years is the max I would go buying used.

Unless I'm going to restore one and mod it out. Which is what I want to do with a stand-up. Something powerful, reliable, and completely new basically. I've done it before, but only for customers. This one is gonna be for me.

I won't own a sit down PWC again. Not unless I can't refuse the deal. I get so terribly bored on them now. 25 years of riding them will do that to a guy I guess.

 

[Phizzer]

Yeah, I mainly got the 1200 XL for towing people at the lake. The zxi I picked up for next to nothing so I figured why not. Im actually looking at trying to sell this zxi for stand up. Never rode one, but I have always heard the same thing, sit downs are boring compared to stand ups. I love the old 550/650 Kawi's. If I could find one in nice shape with the Retro graphics, I would snag it in a heart beat. There are a few guys around here with the Yamaha Super Jets, they look awesome and seem to rip, but a nice used one is around 5k, so until I save some sheckles, I'll keep my eyes open.

 

[Reeb]

I'd love to find a Polaris Octane actually. But they are so few and far between it's ridiculous.
The only sit-down I would actively seek out is a Sea-Doo HX. Actually I wouldn't even actively look for one. But if I came across one for a good price I'd buy it and rebuild it.
The only sitdown that I continuously have fun on.

And in reality, all PWC's are kinda boring unless you have a couple, and you know how to ride em. The problem, is that if there's multiple machines, there's bound to be an accident. It just comes with the territory.

We used to have a houseboat and rent Sea-Doo's off a dock we pulled around on the Shuswap Lake every summer and I kid you not, every single time we rented more than one to a group, they came back with a scrape, scar, or something broken every single time. I could never understand how people could get all discombobulated, but I've been riding them for awhile...

 

[Phizzer]

There is actually a SeaDoo close to me that is for sale that looks similar to the one in the pic, but I believe the model is different.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/boa/4451665871.html

Just wondering what you liked about this ski that made it appealing for you?? Power to weight ratio? Performance and handling?

 

[Reeb]

Yeah that SP is a '93. The one in my pic is a '89 or '90.

Why I like the HX? It's small, narrow, light and is the closest handling sitdown to a standup there is.

Not the most powerful, but that's ok, with big power comes big weight in these things.

I once put a 900 TigerShark motor in a Sea-Doo hull. It was amazing fun, but ridiculous. Couldn't get any top speed out of it, just became a nightmare to keep stable. Ended up sinking it twice before I sent it down the road.

Got a 1000cc Daytona with a donor motor sitting at the shop now. Wanna build a small riverboat using the motor. Just another project to add to the list.

 

[Skidoox]

I have a couple PWC's

 

[Reeb]

How does that Sea-Doo 3D? thing work? Is that what they were called? I always wondered and wanted to try one but the local dealer either didn't sell one, or sold it so quick I didn't have a chance to see it.

 

[christopher]

Sold my skis and bought sleds.
But it sure would be fun to toss a leg over this bad boy out on the lake.

 

[Skidoox]

How does that Sea-Doo 3D? thing work? Is that what they were called? I always wondered and wanted to try one but the local dealer either didn't sell one, or sold it so quick I didn't have a chance to see it.

The 3D is a lot of fun, I like the cart seat the best. We now have 3 of them in our group

 

[Reeb]

Just picked up my new ski!!!

 

[Phizzer]

NICE!!!!! My buddy has an RXP and its crazy fast. I got out this weekend on Lake Washington for awhile and had a great time. Weather was decent, put 3 hrs on my rebuild over the weekend. One thing I noticed, compared to my 2 cylinder cat, this triple carb. motor likes fuel. In that 3 hrs of running, I burned nearly 2 full tanks of fuel.

So here's a question for you guys, the ski I just rebuilt is a 900 zxi, all stock pump, intake grate, etc. When I was out this weekend, it wanted to cavitate and it took some effort to try and get it to top out without doing so. This ski is new to me, I haven't pulled the pump off yet, but the clearance on the impeller/liner looks good to me? I'm fairly new to this, but work on outboard jets all the time. I would imagine the clearance would be similar? About the thickness of the playing card is how I would judge before which was somewhere in the area of .012" I believe.

What kinds of things should I be checking when inspecting the intake grate? Maybe a different impeller?

 

[Reeb]

Either you have some debris in the grate, or the impeller is damaged causing the cavitation.
You gotta watch out with the throttle on the big ones. Constant 'blipping' of the throttle is detrimental to fuel mileage. Good throttle control goes a long ways.

 

[Phizzer]

There's no debris. It had got to be the impeller then. I'm going to pull it tonight and check it out. And I was def. blipping the throttle trying to get the thing to nut cavitate throughout the day. The leading edge of the impeller blade would create air bubbles and create cavitation correct?


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[Skidoox]

The most likely explanation for the symptoms you are having is a bad impeller

or excessive impeller to housing clearance. I suggest getting under the ski while on the trailer, removing the intake grate and using an feeler gauge to check the clearance between the edges of the impeller on all three blades and the impeller housing. The service limit is 0.024" (0.3 mm.)

 

[halffast800]

I got a 1200 pro. Polaris. Pretty fast and really nimble but the new ones don't even compare. Really kicked my but on the straights but I could turn around and head back faster.

 

[Phizzer]

Well I have discovered something new. Looks like there is a couple of pump veins with some dime size pieces missing from the back side. From what I have read, these areas can become stressed from a bent shaft or impeller, and the caviation is what causes them to actually break. So I guess I will be pulling the pump and see what the heck is going on. Hopefully I can get something going before this weekend! Can you repair the veins?? Pretty good with a TIG welder.

 

[Phizzer]

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[Phizzer]

The easiest one to see is at the 2 o'clock position on the back side of the vein.

 

[Mafesto]

Can you repair the veins?? Pretty good with a TIG welder.

I believe they are magnesium?