97 GSX 951 should I keep it?

[dequity]

Just bought this thing last night. It has the motor out. I thought it was an earlier model with the 787 motor. (Which i have one of those) But it is not.

Trying to decide if I want to keep this for myself. I already have 2 96 XPs. And I love them. How much faster would this GSX with the 951 go if i bought an entire shortblock for it? How different do they handle than the 96 xp? Are they more reliable that the 96 XPs?

I'm getting older (43) and perhaps a slightly larger ski would be a good thing. But I want to be able to get BIG AIR from wakes and such. I just don't care for the new big turbo skiis. They feel like boats.

 

[nerdlinger]

You should be able to hit 60+ with a 951 engine, so compare that to whatever you are doing with the 787. As far as reliability, that depends a lot on how well you take care of it. I've heard people say the 787 is indestructible, but the 951 is a solid engine that can handle a lot of abuse. I have 150+ hours on mine.

Depending on your definition of BIG AIR, what you catch with a 97 GSX will likely be similar to what you catch with your 96 XP. I can get some air with my 99 XP (with the 951), but its not like riding a stand-up.

I agree about the new 4-strokes. They are too bulky and heavy. Lets enjoy our "old" XPs before the tree huggers take our 2-strokes away.

 

[GADABOUT]

951?

I have a 97 GSX that runs 60+ to this day and I have 515+ hours on it. Runs great but I never jumped much with it after the first few years. I am confused as my engine is the 110hp model that I thought was 787 but not sure anymore. The 130 hp came out the next year and the boat looked different I think. I thought the 951 was the 130hp and the 787 was 110hp but like I said can't really remember. Hope this helps. Craig

This is the next day. I checked my manual and I am correct. The 97 gsx came with the 787 110hp engine. I don't think the 951 was available untill 1998 or 1999 but not sure of the year. My 97 has a bright red seat with purple trim on of course a white boat. The later 130 hp the seat was like a burnt red almost brown color. A friend had one. Any chance yours is a 98 or 99? If not and your sure the motor is the 951 it must have been a conversion which I think according to this site is very hard to do if at all possible. From what I understand the pump is much different. I would make sure of the year of the boat and the engine size and go from there. Possibly the people you got it from was really not sure about the engine. The boat will have the typical number on the back that will tell you the year and the tag on the engine wil tell you which it is. Now hope this helps! Craig