Advice on Sponsons for '97 GSX

[DesertMat]

My wife rides a '97 GSX. She loves the ride and the way it handles and doesn't want to change a thing in that department. Unfortunately the sponson on the port side developed a crack and now there is a triangle shaped piece about the size of a Doritos chip missing. She loves to ride the ski pretty aggressively and I know it is just a matter of time before the whole thing goes. From what I have been able to gather, the GSX sponsons are weaker than most and are known to break. I would like to replace them with something that will not change the way the ski handles, but I am not sure that OEM is the way to go either. Replacing them does not look like it will be fun and I would like to do it only once. So my questions are this:

1. When it finally does go, what is the potential of damage to the hull.
2. Which sponsons would you all recommend?

Thanks!

 

[Jetskigoodies]

I have had them break on a gsi and a gsx. The gsi had the exact same thing happen, first a crack, then a triangle chip, and it has not broke since the triangle portion broke. That was 2 years ago. Now on the gsx they both broke right off. The hull had no damge on either of mine. Replaced with oem used ones. I know [MENTION=41828]Minnetonka4me[/MENTION] has them. I will be buying some off him soon. I just bought a 96 gsx off ebay and am driving to IN to pick it up and it has a broken sponson. This time I am going to fill the sponsons with a closed cell foam I bought when redoing the stringers on my boat. Hopefully that will help. I think it will. Behind the sponson there is open voids where it seems there should be some sort of brace. In the gtx sponsons there is braces it the open voids.

Here are some pictures of the gtx sponson and their braces.

The gsx should probably have had them also.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

OEM. These things are so old, do they still make after market?

Besides. Why mess with it if it works?

 

[DA080682]

Wonder if filling the voids with an epoxy resin would help?

 

[Minnetonka4me]

Yes...it would definitely help. I also think they work loose over time then the sponson puts added stress on the mounting studs.

What side do you need? I forget but I only have one side left in stock...

Aftermarket wise it will make it handle much more like its on rails. They tend not to bounce quite as much.

Worx still makes them, as well as Danny's sponsons.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

along the same topic, i never really paid close attn to the stock sponsons, just confirmed that they were there and moved on.
do they change much from model to model ?

 

[Minnetonka4me]

RXs had a change over to a two piece in 01 I think. The sponson is the same on every hull type...IE GSX/GS/GSI, XPL, GTX/GTI, etc.