My Search for the RIGHT JetSki. . . . .

[veedubtek]

I've played with my trim a bunch. 54? hours now, I could live without it so far. Mostly lake/ICW/river use.

 

[Neutron]

I use trim quite a bit on my FZS svho. Really wish it had cruise though. My right hand goes numb after cruising around for a while at 40mph or so
Even with gloves on

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

haaa make a Jeff cruise control and this will be a thing of the past. How do you think I drive the ski standing up with no hands or standing on the or on my back steering with my feet, Half a rubber flat bungee cord and a wrist coil and you are all set.

 

[veedubtek]

My VXR didn't have cruise. It lasted about 6 months, lol.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

My Jeff cruise works so damn good I never use my factory cruise assist , I can put this on any ski and it even helps bump up the idle speed in no wake zones Haaaa and if you attach the lanyard correctly it has tension on it so that all you need to do to kick it off is just tap the throttle a second and it pulls itself out from under the throttle lever fast.

 

[Neutron]

I like it Jeff gonna try it this week. Thanks

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I have posted about this many times It works even if you are just on a long ride and you want to cruise at a steady speed without holding on to the throttle at all! Just can't beat the price and if you have an older ski without fly by wire throttles you add a slot in the center to accommodate the throttle cable.

 

[robert843]

haaa make a Jeff cruise control and this will be a thing of the past. How do you think I drive the ski standing up with no hands or standing on the or on my back steering with my feet, Half a rubber flat bungee cord and a wrist coil and you are all set. View attachment 59761 View attachment 59762

Damn wish I would of seen this before the Abaco trip.

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

Damn wish I would of seen this before the Abaco trip.

Ha I bet you did! You definitely manned up going 200 miles in and out of the throttle in a single day.

Running across the ocean the cruise on my FX, along with the adjustable handlebars so I can stand more upright when riding, are the 2 most important features of my ski IMO. I've played with trim a lot but find myself riding in the neutral position most often.

 

[0627Devildog]

Was out on the lake today and came across an 08' Kawasaki Ultra250x. . . . . Texted the # and the guy sent me this link for it:

https://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/boa/6222807628.html

$5k for a 10yr old ski seemed a bit high to me. . . . So I went to NADA Guides and it puts it right between low and avg retail:

http://www.nadaguides.com/Motorcycles/2008/Kawasaki/ULTRA-250X/Values

It didnt exactly get rave reviews here:

http://www.personalwatercraft.com/manufacturers/kawasaki/2008-kawasaki-ultra-250x-review-734.html

And there appears to have been some known issues with the 07' Model year. . . .

Anyone thoughts on this one?

I know @Cobra Jet Steering LLC isn't a big Kawi fan.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I practically gave mine away and I would never even accept one, not even for free, seriously I hate Kawasaki I sold a 3 year old ultra 250 for 35oo just to get rid of it. I wouldn't take one of those if it were given to me .
I actually asked someone who owned one how he liked it before I purchased mine , he said he hated it and listed all the reasons , I ignored his warning so I learned the hard way I deserved what I got. My advice KEEP LOOKING !

 

[0627Devildog]

I practically gave mine away and I would never even accept one, not even for free, seriously I hate Kawasaki I sold a 3 year old ultra 250 for 35oo just to get rid of it. I wouldn't take one of those if it were given to me .
I actually asked someone who owned one how he liked it before I purchased mine , he said he hated it and listed all the reasons , I ignored his warning so I learned the hard way I deserved what I got. My advice KEEP LOOKING !

Coming from you. . . .I'm not even going to go look at it now.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Stick with a Yamaha really I do and I put lots of hours on them and the sparkplugs don't cost 18 dollars each and the pumps last longer than 40 hours, I had Kawasaki tell me that the pump that lasted 160 hours was normal wear. hell I put 5 or 6 hundred hours on a Yamaha pump consistently. The list of issues I had with the ultra was unbelievable and the 1100 dollar warranty I purchased was basically worthless, the hull design is VERY nose heavy so no wave jumping and the fuel consumption is ridiculous. If you looked at a non supercharged model I hear those are much better but they still use plug wires and coils and 18 dollar spark plugs that fail with no warning. The pumps hold up better , my son has one of those and it is fairly reliable.

 

[robert843]

@0627Devildog I loved my Kawi it ran flawless through a Bimini trip and a trip to Abaco Bahamas plus the many other adventures I took it on. That being said mine was not supercharged and I would steer anyone away from the super charged ones they just have to many issues even the newer ones.

 

[0627Devildog]

Couple ski's to look at in the next few days. . . . up next an 08' FXSHO for $5600 w/trailer and 317hrs.

What type of concerns if any should I have with this many hours?

 

[Ronnie]

I had two 06 fx cruisers, one was ho powered. The blue one died of a failed ecu ($1200)at about 300 hours. This was prefaced by a failed rectifier ($100). If the rectifier looks new I would ask why.

Then of course usual items. Wear ring and impeller. Grease in the intermediate bearing fill hose, also oil on the air filters (believe it's still powered by a 1052 cc 160 hp mr1).

My fx ho came with two learning / security key fobs. You will want at least one of them.

 

[0627Devildog]

Back on the hunt again. . . . being end of season I have been looking to snatch up a deal.

Came across a 2011 VX Cruiser with 71 hours. . . . . .

Includes a trailer, EZ Port Dock (Which matches my EZ Dock Perfectly), Cover, and life vests.

Price $5500. The KBB is $5K, the EZ Dock is $1500 new, and the Trailer is $500+.

Feeling pretty good about the value of this deal. . . . . It has the "bullet proof" MR-1. . . . .

So what should I be looking at as far as compression for each of the cylinders on the MR-1?

 

[Ronnie]

@0627Devildog , what are the ccs and hp?

I ask because I had an 06 fx cruiser with a 998cc/140 hp motor and another with a 1,052cc/160 hp motor and the 1052/160's performance is noticeably better off the line and close to 10 mph more on the top speed. Assuming the vx weighs between 800 and 900 lbs like my fx do anything less than 160hp may be disappointing to you.
Can you take it for a test ride?

Did Yamaha do away with the sport v. Deluxe models of the vx? I remember one of the differences in the first versions was that the sport did not have reverse.

 

[0627Devildog]

@0627Devildog , what are the ccs and hp?

I ask because I had an 06 fx cruiser with a 998cc/140 hp motor and another with a 1,052cc/160 hp motor and the 1052/160's performance is noticeably better off the line and close to 10 mph more on the top speed. Assuming the vx weighs between 800 and 900 lbs like my fx do anything less than 160hp may be disappointing to you.
Can you take it for a test ride?

Did Yamaha do away with the sport v. Deluxe models of the vx? I remember one of the differences in the first versions was that the sport did not have reverse.

Not sure of the exact HP, but my understanding is its the 1052 MR1.

This specific model DOES have reverse though it is manual (v.s. the new "ride" system).

Top speed according to boat test is 54mph.

Looking at her on Sat to do compression test, visual cylinder inspection, wear ring/impeller inspection, and if all goes well a test drive.

 

[Speedling]

The higher output MR-1 had a color sticker on the top of the engine vs the regular (140hp) one which had black and white I believe.