1996 SPX Oil issues and new to jet skiing

[biglurr54]

Hi, I just bought my first jet ski. I have grown up boating and have finally broke down and bought my first ski. I bought a 1996 SPX and trailer for $400. I was reluctant at first but i ran a compression test on it and both cylinders were at 135 and it started cold no problem. It needed a new steering cable. I put a new steering cable in and got it running great. It had a full tank of gas. The oil reservoir has been removed and the gas and oil lines are a mess. There’s lines not hooked up to things and just alot of mayhem in the fuel delivery area. Also the vts is disabled and a manual system has been put on. I get the new cable in and cleaned up the wires and water lines as best I could. I took it out on a small local lake and ran it on the old gas oil mix. It ran great the whole time. I’m very pleased with it. Now I and ready to take it out for a full day of fun but I wasn’t sure of the proper oil to fuel ratio. I was searching on this forum and found 40:1 or 50:1. Which one is better for this application? I want reliability and longevity not power. Also I saw on a post that the oil tank is needed even if you’re not using it to lubricate something else. I don’t have the tank and I’m not sure which line they were talking about. Could I fashion a small reservoir of oil for this purpose? Also can someone explain this oil lines location and purpose to me so I know what I am looking for?

 

[sunbaby69]

oil reservoir feeds the carbs and also has llines to and from the crankcase. If you removed oil pump to run on premix, you still need the reservoir..