Ski recommendations

[veedubtek]

Now with the big ol' 242, I'm thinking I'm gonna want something small to whip around on say Saturdays where I work 1/2 day, or just when the wife and I wanna just hit the lake for a couple hours. I'm seeing FX HO's in the 2004-2006 range for about $4500 or so, which fits my budget perfectly.

So, my only real definites are at least 2 seater, 4 stroke, and around that budget. Storage enough for at least a 6 pack would also be swell. Would anything work better? Looking for 0 maintenance really. Probably 1o-15 hours per season max.

Sidenote - I've never ridden a jetski before, and there is WAY too much to do to the boat to even consider modding this thing. Just hunting turnkey fun out of the box.

 

[DieselCamel]

#ihatemoney

 

[veedubtek]

#canttakeitwithya

 

[Ronnie]

I have two 06 fx waverunners. The fx ho (160hp 1,052 cc motor) is the way to go in my opinion. Very little maintenance and if something does go wrong there are a lot of used parts available on line. If you can find a newer one with a 1.8L engine (non supercharged / no turbo) you may want to pick that up instead, that way if one of the engines dies in your boat you would have the option of take it or parts of it out of your ski.

These things are like couches or love seats, very easy to ride. Go older/smaller and you may have a problem staying upright on it. My son has a 96 waveblaster 2, I've ridden it twice, way too small for me at 180+ lbs. The vx versions are cheaper but do yourself a favor and make sure what ever you get has a reverse gate, you probably won't use it much but it is nice to have when you need it (e.g. At the dock or when you want to hover with the engine running or just want to wait for other skiers to catchup to you while going slow). I would stick with the fx ho, it has a higher top speed and accelerates faster than a vx of the same year.

 

[veedubtek]

Thanks, @Ronnie . Pretty much just what I was thinking. The newer 1.8's are more than I wanna spend, but I've found 3 04/05 fx's right in my sweet spot, and I'm sure I'll be happy with an mr1.

 

[Ronnie]

No problem. Id stay away from the 140 hp, 992 cc variant of the mr1. It's the non ho, I have one and have had my share of problems with it. The latest one being the ecm died and it looks like I will have to buy a brand new one for $1100ish. Can't just get one from and ho. Not a great feeling considering the market value is around $4k for the ski when it is running. The o6s and up have integrated rear view mirrors that are mounted a little higher out of the strike zone. The fx ho comes with two multi function gauges, two pop up cleats and all have hour meters in case you are wondering.

If you can, test ride it before you buy it. Skis may start and pass a compression checks on the trailer but run like crap once they are in the water or not start at all when a load / water is put on the impeller.

 

[veedubtek]

So, is the HO just a 160hp MR1, and still naturally aspirated? For some reason I was thinking the HO's were charged, and I was straying away from those.

 

[Ronnie]

The ho in those years, before the 1.8l engines were put into the boats are the 160 hp 1,052 cc engines no super or turbo chargers. The non hos were the 998 cc 140 hp engines. My skis use the same hull but the 140 version accelerates a lot, a lot more slowly than the ho and is about 10 mph slower at the top end as well. Another nice feature of ho (at least the crusier and probably the non cruiser) is that it has a remote which you which allows you not only to prevent the ski from being started by anyone with a lanyard but also has a valet mode which let's you cut down the power for new or less trustworthy riders. As you can probably guess, I'm a big fan of the yamaha fx series of skis. Good luck and have fun with whatever you decide on.

 

[veedubtek]

Well, looks like I am somehow ending up with a Seadoo. Got a deal lined up for an 04 RXP for $3600. Already had the charger rebuilt, new wear ring, 200 hours, galvanized trailer. Should work out perfect, and considerably cheaper than every FX HO I'm finding. I can't imagine how fast this thing is gonna be having the exact same powerplant my last boat had...

 

[Ronnie]

Congrats, it sounds like a deal I wouldn't pass up. I bet it will do 65+ mph easily and will get there quickly, it should anyway. Are you taking it for a test ride/sea trial before you close the deal?

 

[veedubtek]

Against all sound and sane advice, no. I just don't have time. I hope that doesn't bite me in the ass later. Wear ring is only a week old, and the charger was done 30 hours ago. I figure the only real worry is the impeller at this point, and worst case, I've got the original from my boat still, and a Solas upgrade isn't that expensive anyway. I'll do a compression test and hope for the best.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

That's average retail for the ski so it's not a bad deal or all that great a deal. can't really trust the hours on them any more since the mepm can be reprogrammed or if it has a new one the hours start at zero , just a heads up I would ask where the ski was serviced and then do some recon with that dealer to see if the hours are correct, and get a history on the ski. Also inspect the pump vanes by the impeller most were plastic and they get broken off during use if something gets sucked in the pump. Others were aluminum and I own one with the original brass hub and vanes, I carried it with me when I owned sea doo skies because of all the issues I had with pumps. Nice thing is you can change one out right on the boat ramp pretty easily, Also inspect all the hoses and especially the exhaust hoses and clamps, if that year has the exhaust bellows and I believe it does, be sure it is in good shape I had to replace several and they cost in the 500 dollar range just for the part, when they leak the exhaust gases and water get in the hull. The exhaust gas slows the top speed down a lot since carbon monoxide won't support combustion . Also closely inspect the motor mounts, I had issues with them quite often and that contributes to the bellows going bad when the drive train shifts around from torque, check and see if there is a spare dess key for the ignition since the ski will not run without it, if it goes bad or you loose it you are STUCK period. Just a learn mode key will save you and let you get back, Been there done that and a whole lot more. Not trying to talk you out of it, just conveying some of my experiences with sea doo. Not a big deal but those run on premium fuel also.