[Crisp]

I'm looking to add one to my stable.

I'm good with cars, quads, and bikes, but don't know much about jet skiis.
I've done some research and read that the RXP-X and the SHO are good performance wise, but the SHO might be a little too big.

I'm fine with a 2 seater - im not looking to carry 3 people or a bunch of beach things in the 'trunk'.

I'm basically looking for the ///M3 of Jet Skiis.
Any suggestions?


I'm looking to buy used and around $7k. I'm a bit scared with the RXP-X and that supercharger... I read the superchargers start having problems after 2 years which is right when the warranty expires.


Thanks.

[TiAg335i]

The Yamaha FZR - pretty much built for racing and is like the M3 of Jet Skis

Other very quick skis would be the Kawasaki Ultra Series (3 seat though), Yamaha FX SHO, or the RXP. Don't cheap out and get a slower jet ski, you WILL regret it. All these skis new are way over your budget. Get it used if you have to.

[Crisp]

Originally Posted by TiAg335i

The M3 of Jet Skis would be the Kawasaki Ultra Series (3 seat though), Yamaha FX SHO, Yamaha FZR (i'd get this) or the RXP. Don't cheap out and get a slower jet ski, you WILL regret it. Get it used if you have to.

I'm definitely going for used to get the best bang for the buck.

I'll look into the FZR, didn't think of that one.

I'm looking to get the fastest ski out of the box, but at the same time, affordable ($7k used).


Thanks for the suggestion.

[TiAg335i]

You can definitely, definitely, get an extremely fast ski used for about $7K. That's actually a great budget to work with for used, you have your pic of almost anything, barring almost brand new stuff and really new models.

Yamaha's are really quite reliable. I had a 1998 GP1200 I just sold for $2k and that machine never let me down on the water while on the water.

The new RXP-X looks mean as hell. Nothing beats the feeling of flying past cig boats at 65+ MPH on the water.

[Crisp]

Originally Posted by TiAg335i

You can definitely, definitely, get an extremely fast ski used for about $7K. That's actually a great budget to work with for used, you have your pic of almost anything, barring almost brand new stuff and really new models.

Yamaha's are really quite reliable. I had a 1998 GP1200 I just sold for $2k and that machine never let me down on the water while on the water.

The new RXP-X looks mean as hell. Nothing beats the feeling of flying past cig boats at 65+ MPH on the water.

Good to hear.

Now I need to find solutions for storage (summer/winter) and how to tow the damn thing around. lol

This is going to be an expensive summer hobby.

[Rated M]

I have had an Rxt for 5 years now and have yet to have any service issues. Just routine maintenance. I have about 400 hours on it as well..


Go seadoo you wot regret it

[Crisp]

Originally Posted by Rated M

I have had an Rxt for 5 years now and have yet to have any service issues. Just routine maintenance. I have about 400 hours on it as well..


Go seadoo you wot regret it

Do you run it in salt or fresh water?

I need something durable enough to live in salt water sadly.

[Feyd]

mmMMm... Jet Skis...


My quads are burning already.. LOL.




Had my first experience with a Jet ski a couple years back when I was camping with a bunch of friends. One of them brought a pair of jet skis along for the group to use for the week.

So much fun... but I couldn't walk for 2-3 days afterwards. Every time I was egressing from the RV I'd literally fall down the steps because my quads were so damn sore from being used as shock absorbers.

[richardbb85]

any of you fish from your jet ski? lol

[BMWinNorthdakota]

RXP/t... / thread

They are absolutely NUTS. Crazy fast.. and they look the best IMO

[Comet]

Sea-Doos are the fastest
I owned 2 Polaris jetskis (they are hella durable) that lasted us around 6 years.. Good engines, and great durable body... I've had friends smash it on all kinds of things (rocks, each other, etc...) and they still float to this day (engine bay got flooded though)

Don't get a Yamaha.. they are the pissing Jet Ski..

[Feyd]

Some real winners in that video.


But that's right... it's Florida, AKA the Redneck Rivera. Don't believe me, just check out the F250 on 44s.



I hate hate hate Florida. I don't give a fuck.. when my kids want to see Mickey Mouse we're flying to California, or Europe.

[Nedim]

I'm interested in buying a jet ski as well. What are some good websites to look at?

[Crisp]

Originally Posted by BMWinNorthdakota

RXP/t... / thread

They are absolutely NUTS. Crazy fast.. and they look the best IMO

Yup, seen this one.
That's why I was leaning more towards the RXP-X.

Performance is amazing, I'm just worried about reliability.
Those things are pushing up to 17psi into that motor from the superchargers.
I've heard that the supercharger plates would need to be replaced after 2 years and that's when the warranty expires. Eh.


Any suggestions about where to keep the damn thing? I just found out that BMW has zero solutions for towing unless you have an SUV. This means that I would need dock space around NYC/ NJ area. That's going to be fun....

[Dmitriy@AUTOcouture]

I bought a 2003 SeaDoo GTI last year for $300 : )

Got it from some guy on craigslist who stole it from some other guy on craigslist about 4 years ago. It was sitting in his back yard ever since, he never really got a chance to ride it but I know that he flipped it over and had to replace the engine with a new one for some reason.

Anyway, I put about $1k into it for all the engine and cosmetic work.

Now it rides like a beauty and is registered and title'd in my name.

It is slow though and I am considering selling the current and getting a new one.

I will say this, one of the most important things is to figure out where you will store it and how you will tow it. BMW charges $500 for the trailer hitch for the X5 + $200 to code it. Its rape.

[Bobble]

Been riding and associated with Jet Skis since the early 80's, have tons of connections in the industry. Here's my two cents from owning about 10 of them over the years. Fastest is subjective, very subjective. Right now out of the hole with an experienced rider the supercharged Kawi will pull on anything, I'll bet my 1200 Kawi will out run most people with little experience riding in the short run. As far as Seedoos go they are maintenance nightmares. I have seen so many blown up Rotex motors I couldn't keep count, the Yamahas are quick but do not handle worth a damn on smooth water. Are you going to ride mainly in the open ocean or large bodies of water? If so the 3 seaters with the deeper hulls handle the chop and rising waves better than the smaller skis with flatter broader hulls, the catch is they are much harder to lean and throw in and out of turns. We ride mainly on the Colorado river, off days with out crowds so smooth glassy water is what we look for hence the preference in hull design. All this is comparing stock to stock, if you're ging to mod it with sponsoons and ride plates you can get anything to stick with the right tinkering (my ride plate is custom bent to keep the tail stuck in the water always). My suggestion is to rent them and see how they ride and which one you like best again alot of this is subjective to how you ride and where you ride. As far as storing goes, we just started to store ours outside this year due to losing some garage space to family issues, you'll need a quality cover for each ski and we top that with a cheap tarp we tie down over the trailer. On the trailer if you plan on salt water do not cheap out, just get a galvanized trailer. Our's is galvanized and has a walk board on it which I personally like most people do not, also make sure you have a box and spare tire hangar on the trailer. Have you ever towed a boat before, it can be tricky for newcomers and people on launch ramps are notoriously short on patience so be prepared and practice in an empty parking lot. Whatever you get get one with the least amount of time on it unless you know the person. Time on the motor and pump are critical. The Seadoos have closed loop cooling which is nice if you're in the salt a lot but if not just have an RV hose and rig up an hose adapter so you can quickly hookup and flush the skis right after you pull them out. If there's any other info just bump the thread or PM me and I'll be glad to give you my .02 from years of owning boats and such, oh and maintenance is a must too many people do nothing to thier boats and wonder why they break constantly. Like I said I have an 04 and 06 Kawi's we ride right now the 04 has 320 hours on it and it's never missed a beat but they both get seasonal oil changes, new plugs every two years and the valves adjusted every two years. We've only been thru one pump and impeller but that was my fault as I drifted in a shallow rocky bottom area and did not walk it out and sucked up a good size rock, changing those on the side of the road or on a beach somewhere is not fun, done that too many times.

[Bobble]

Originally Posted by Dmitriy@AUTOcouture

I bought a 2003 SeaDoo GTI last year for $300 : )

Got it from some guy on craigslist who stole it from some other guy on craigslist about 4 years ago. It was sitting in his back yard ever since, he never really got a chance to ride it but I know that he flipped it over and had to replace the engine with a new one for some reason.

Anyway, I put about $1k into it for all the engine and cosmetic work.

Now it rides like a beauty and is registered and title'd in my name.

It is slow though and I am considering selling the current and getting a new one.

I will say this, one of the most important things is to figure out where you will store it and how you will tow it. BMW charges $500 for the trailer hitch for the X5 + $200 to code it. Its rape.

Needed a new motor because when he flipped it pulled water in the exhaust jacket and sucked it up the motor hydro locking it. Happens a a lot more than you would think, I see at least one every summer dead that way. If you do that you would need to pull the plugs get the water out and then put it back together before starting it. Seadoos are probably the most finicky as they tend to have next to no cylinder wall and run at the edge of detonation thru the whole rev range.

Heck on of my neighbors sold a near new GTX a couple of years ago with something klike 16 hours on it with a tralier cover etc etc for 3.5K, paid like 12K for the whole setup and used it maybe 3 times. Lots of deals on used ones but check out the hulls for cracks and repairs on used boats.

[jaco]

If you want a good used ski a GP1200 yamaha or GP800 two stroke would be great. They burn a lot of gas but can be had for very cheap and are easy to mod. 155 hp out of a 550lb ski is great. The new 4 strokes are very very heavy.

We have had a 2000 GTI for the last 10 years and never had any issues with it runs 50 mph all day long.

[Year's_End]

We had a pair of black/green RXPs. They only just crapped out on us after five years of ownership (partial blame can go towards neglecting to take care of them properly about a year back). They were an absolute blast. No regrets with them. Plus I loved the color combo.

[Mahmood07]

I have had a GP1300R since 2004, it is much slower than the new sea-doos. I rode the RXP-X and the pull is Craazyy! everytime u pull the throttle it gives ur forearm a huge workout. What I don't like about the sea doos is they feel too big during turns. It is like your driving a boat not a jetski. With the yamaha, you feel it is more m3 like..

I have had many problems with the yamaha, but it's mostly because it stays put for long times during the year, and because our sea is REALLY REALLY salty. They guys i know with the new sea doo's don't see much maintenance like the ones with previous model sea-doos.

Whatever you choose, get ready to see a much better and much faster jetski the next year. The technology on these things update so fast!

White one is mine:

[TiAg335i]

Ya, and whatever you do, be prepared to drop money on these things maintaining them, fixing them, paying for gas, etc....

FWIW The GP1200's are fantastic wave jumpers and handle really well...they are really light for their big engine..they aren't that slow either, but def not the fastest

[Crisp]

I'm about to put a deposit on a 2007 Kawasaki Ultra 250x with 40 hours on it.
Spoke to the guy and he really took care of it from winterizing it to regular maintenance.
It's still under factory warranty until Sept 2012.

It's currently in storage and 'winterized' so I'm going this weekend to take a look at it.
Pretty psyched!



Thanks for all the info guys, you've been very helpful.