What is the Best Brand of PWC? What Should I Avoid?

[GregKawa300LX]

Re: What is the Best Brand of PWC? What Should I Avoid?

... $9k in the stock market for 5 years might net you another $6k in returns, but thats another story

Or it might net you $6k in losses, I'd rather 'ride' my Kawi than the market. ;-)

You weren't kidding about sucking down fuel, I burned up a full tank after about 1.5 hours of riding. I am also having a challenge finding 91 octane on the lake so it looks like I may have to buy some booster to get the 89 fuel up to 91. All prices I'm willing to pay for the extra hp the SC adds. BTW, I paid 9,000 for a 2011 300LX that only had 12 hours on it (assuming I can rely on what the meter reads, my guess is that is easily reset by cutting the power unlike analog odometers). Seems like that's a pretty fair price given that new ones retail for $14k.

Regardless, I'm very happy with my purchase thus far and plan to yank my kid around the lake on a tube this weekend to 'test' its towing capacity.

 

[WaterDR]

Re: What is the Best Brand of PWC? What Should I Avoid?

Which is the challenge with the SC models.....they do use a lot more fuel and hard to find the higher octane. That same motor without the blower will go 120 miles on a 30 gallon tank. Thats pretty impressive. I would not rely on octane booster as they really don't work can foul your plugs (turns them orange). You may want to do some research first. You also want fuel w/o ethanol.

Fortunately around here, we can get the good stuff because there is so much boating on the river.

As to the market, the market will always be a better investment than any "toy", but what fun is that?

 

[dannyual767]

Re: What is the Best Brand of PWC? What Should I Avoid?

I'm with WaterDR on the issue of octane boosters. I don't trust them.

If it were me, I'd get a couple of 5 gal gas cans and fill them up with premium at the gas station and take them to the water with the ski. I've got some of the old school gas cans with vents that pour quickly, don't leak and don't require a third hand to operate!

 

[CJ River Rider]

Re: What is the Best Brand of PWC? What Should I Avoid?

Which is the challenge with the SC models.....they do use a lot more fuel and hard to find the higher octane. That same motor without the blower will go 120 miles on a 30 gallon tank. Thats pretty impressive. I would not rely on octane booster as they really don't work can foul your plugs (turns them orange). You may want to do some research first. You also want fuel w/o ethanol.

Fortunately around here, we can get the good stuff because there is so much boating on the river.

As to the market, the market will always be a better investment than any "toy", but what fun is that?

A 30 gallon tank in a jet-ski!?!?!

 

[WaterDR]

Re: What is the Best Brand of PWC? What Should I Avoid?

A 30 gallon tank in a jet-ski!?!?!

Sorry...typo. It's a 20.

 

[Bikeluver43]

Re: What is the Best Brand of PWC? What Should I Avoid?

I've personally owned a 94 Kawi SS, 95 Seadoo XP (probably the most fun ski I owned) and a 97 Yami GP720. The Sea Doo and Yami were 100% reliable machines, never gave me a problem and never a hiccup. The Kawi had an unfair dis-advantage as it was my first ski and had a bunch of aftermarket parts on it which at the time I thought was awesome- the thing never ran right.

I personally don't see the downside of the 2 stroke models if you stick to the tried and true models. The Seadoo 720 (719cc) & 800 motors were nearly bulletproof - I still see many for sale with the stock motors with strong compression, running excellent. That says a lot for the motor, plus that hull was the most fun you could have on the water. These newer Ski's are too big and bulky - Ride an older XP then ride a new model and tell me which is more fun.

My Yami was an awesome ride as well. Much more stable, drier ride, fairly quick and once again very reliable. My good friend bougt an 02 GP800 after riding mine and his was also very reliable.

I think the two stroke problems were mostly on the higher end HP models that were simply pushing too much HP out of a small 2 stroke motor. The 951 Sea Doo was always plagued by water leak issues, and Kawi seemed to always have problems with their 3 cylinder models as well.

I would stray away from a well kept, good compression, STOCK 2 stroke ski. They were the most fun and agile models you could buy. They are also very cheap to buy and own - Can be had for a few grand, and the tanks are much smaller that would last a good few hours of riding if you were WOT the entire time.

 

[CJ River Rider]

Re: What is the Best Brand of PWC? What Should I Avoid?

Sorry...typo. It's a 20.

LOL, that would be a hell of a cruiser!

My 2 cents, I've owned a 08 Kawasaki STX-15F since new and it has been bulletproof, it has 180 hours in 6 seasons, I'm still even on the original battery. The only problem I've had is when a dealer botched a fuel tank recall by leaving 2 cooling hoses off, hardly Kawasaki's fault. My friend owns a newer Kawi 300x and while he has not had any big problems, there is definitely more maintenance and the need for premium fuel. When my body gets too old to take the chop anymore, I'll probably buy a Kawi Ultra, same hull as the 300 but no supercharger to deal with. I'll settle for a little slower.

I also own a 97 Yamaha GP1200, I bought that used and it too had a lot of aftermarket parts. I have had a lot of problems with it, but with not knowing the history, I can't blame Yamaha. I now have the motor apart and there's practically nothing original on it, WSM pistons (over-bored), WSM crank, etc. Even one carburetor body is a different color than the other two. God knows what that thing has been through.