96 XP Bogging Down

[PolloCalores]

Had my 96 XP on the lake today and about 5-10 mins after putting in, the engine suddenly bogged down and would only move roughly 5mph. I played with the throttle a bit and about 10-20 seconds later it was up and running again like nothing happened. About 5 minutes later the same issue occurred and I fiddled with the throttle again and it ran normally again. At this point, I decided to just take it off the lake in case something more serious began to happen. I am assuming this is a carb issue, but any suggestions are appreciated. Recently, I've also noticed that after the PWC has been running for a couple hours, it can take a couple minutes of cranking the engine to get it started and then about another minute before I can hit the throttle without it dying. This second issue only occurred twice and I hadn't considered it a priority as it only happened after a long time running. I suspect the two separate issues are connected, however, and any suggestions from anyone are welcome and appreciated!

 

[Cheflen]

Considering it takes a while before you can touch the throttle it sounds lean, have you tried starting it with the choke when it's hard to start? That would be a fuel delivery issue, do you have the tempo gray fuel lines?

 

[PolloCalores]

The gray fuel lines have all been replaced, and i have tried using the choke to start when it's tough, however, it doesn't usually make a difference. I'll give it a bit of gas and crank the engine till it starts. That usually will take approximately 30-90 seconds. I have asked other 2 stroke owners what the deal may be and they suggest it may be the needle in the carb sticking or something. Also, the ski has been converted to pre-mix, but I'm not sure that has an effect on this issue...

 

[mikidymac]

New Genuine Mikuni carb kits and needle and seats. Make sure you only have genuine Mikuni 80 gram springs too

 

[PolloCalores]

Thank you cheflen and mikidymac for your responses. I am going to pursue the Mikuni carb kit route as it is inexpensive and likely the root of the issues!