Benefits (or flaws) of each 2-stroke models (GTI, X4, XP, etc.).

[benjilafouine]

Hello again,

I said last week that I would start a new thread every week (well, while I have ideas on potential subjects, if you have any suggestions, please send me a private message so that we don't start a bunch of threads at once) to entertain us during this in-between season period. I know some of you ride all year round or almost and that a few of you are riding in summer in the south hemisphere but here it was snowing when I saw the last guy tonight pulling his boat out of the water at our local dock... Outdoors temperatures will be dropping in the lower 20s here tonight so you can understand that the season is more than over...

So here is this week's subject. As my description says, I own a 2003 GTI LE but I barely know about these old skis. So my question is: please elaborate on the benefits and flaws of these old 2-stroke skis (GTI, X4, XP, and others, etc. etc.). I am way inexperienced on all these models (for example, I see some older skis than mine are really going fast, how come?). Wiki is not very forthcoming talking about 2-stroke skis. You can write about performance, reliability and mechanical aspects (or anything else)' I am interested. And also, which 2-stroke model is a "vintage" model in your opinion? Pictures are welcomed. I am showing my face for the first time on this forum (I think)! Always afraid of losing my glasses....



Let's go!!!

Benji.

 

[benjilafouine]

So I will begin! I own a 2003 GTI LE and here are the likes and don't likes about that ski.

Likes:

- Spacious cargo. I can being lots of stuff with me.
- When I am running at higher throttle, it feels as light as a feather.
- It is really a 3 persons ski, I did it on multiple occasions this summer.
- Very comfortable as a long chair...
- Speedometer is cool.

The less likes:

- Just annoying, but when cruising at low speed, water seems to want to go over board (from the front).
- Maximum speed could be better (no more than 44 mph).
- Original seating seems to be getting mildew.
- Really hard on gas.
- Needs to be connected to a CANDOO (?) to read the engine hours as aside from speedometer, gas gauge and oil levels, nothing else is included.

Aside from blowing an engine at 130 hours, I love it! My last 2-stroke for sure however.

Benji.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

My 1995 XP I think it was, had the 720 and it was a sweet ski IMO. I bet that model/engine really put BRP out in front.

 

[AdamXP800]

X4, the most fun, nimble, quick, playful ski made. IMO the x4 is the most desired hull out of all the old doo's. Labeled as a 2 seater it's really a solo rider ski. You can do 2 up but it's very unstable at low speed. It's a blast to throw around on the water and the best wave jumping machine ever produced. The 787 powered x4 has plenty of power, will jump clear out of the water on take off and reach speeds close to 60 MPH! As long as it is well maintained, the 787 is a very reliable yet powerful engine.

96 XP800!
Keep the 2 strokes alive!

 

[AdamXP800]

Benji, Invest in a splash guard. It will keep that water out of your face. (See my ski above)



96 XP800!
Keep the 2 strokes alive!

 

[benjilafouine]

Yeah, I was looking at that in another one of your posts. The issue I am talking about is when I cruise at low speed like about 10 mph, It seems as if the front of ski wants to drown and if you hit the throttle a bit, the issue does away at 15 mph. Then the ski gets to plane at about 25 mph. Is this splash guard only useful at higher speeds? If waves are bigger than two feet, I usually cannot cruise faster than 25 mph or I get a shower!

I am curious, what is the maximum weight/load the X4 can carry?

Benji.

 

[AdamXP800]

My old 96 Gti road like that. Front end was under water at low speed.



96 XP800!
Keep the 2 strokes alive!

 

[benjilafouine]

This is the most annoying flaw of my ski but otherwise, it is very stable. Impossible not to get your feet wet!

Benji.

 

[jammin777]

back in the day i bought a brand new 97 gsx and only put 56 hours on it by the time i sold it on 04. i loved that ski which was crazy fun yet very stable for a 2 seat class. the only problem i ever had with that ski is that the vts stopped working at around 45 hrs. the design of the vts seems the be a major draw back with the older skies and is a good idea to check the vts rod through the hull boot for cracks and splits to keep the water out of the vts module. other than that it was gas and go and very reliable.
the downside was that at times, i kinda got board with it towards the end because i wanted more of a challenge. at that time the x4 xp would have probably fit the bill but knew nothing about them. the 95-96 x4 xp and the 98-99 xpl are the only 2 skis that come to mind in the seadoo lineup that would give the gsx a run for the money in the nimble fun factor.
fast forward to 2013 i bought a non running 99 gsx rfi and did a restore. it had major problems starting in water when hot. battled it almost 2 seasons, getting fed up i went on the dark side and traded it in for a 2015 gti 130.
i'm sure the rfi would have been a great ski but the wife would not let me spend another penny on that ski BUT, she let me buy a new one lol! i'm sure a mpem would have fixed it lol! anyhow, my aging body couldn't take the beating the smaller ski's provided on rough water but, some day i would like to try the x4 which would be a nice 2nd ski for jumping and such and use my new couch for a cruiser lol! even though the gti is surprisingly nimble and fun for a couch and cuts through chop well.

 

[TheMachin0]

I wouldn't trade my x4 for anything but maybe 2 x4s. once you get passed the unstable part it is the best looking highest jumping loudest thing on the water. it takes an absolute thrashing and thrashing and thrashing and thrashing and the next day you do it again. parts are cheep and still available. the only con is its not vary family friendly and loves to drink a lot of fuel. the journeyman of watercraft 40 bucks an hour lol

 

[Spimothy Leary]

the only Flaws/complaints I had about my 96 xp was the crappy 9 gallon fuel tank.

45 miles is a sucky range for anything with a motor, and putting the T-tank in was a bit of a PITA, kind of had to wait for an excuse, like blowing the motor.

 

[benjilafouine]

[MENTION=62942]jammin777[/MENTION] How fast does your GTI 130 goes?

Benji.

 

[jammin777]

topped out at 54 mph via on board GPS. good hole shot and mids for an n/a

 

[skewba98z28]

96-97 GTX 787 = Best three seater two stroke seadoo ever made period! Stable, solid motor, mega storage
RFI, 951, DI GTX = Great when they are running, but when they are broke so is your wallet and hard to troubleshoot
GTI 717 = Good ski for the kids or newbies. Easy on gas and its hard to break a single carb 717. Even if you do there is plenty of room to work on it.
787 powered X4 = Needs no explanation other that AWESOME!
GSX = A more stable X4
SP/SPi = Very slow X4. Fun to play on, but you won't get anywhere in a hurry. The single carb 587 will sip gas though.

 

[benjilafouine]

So I am a newbie... No offense taken... I think that the GTI main benefit is that you can have three people on it.

Benji.

 

[Mickirig1]

We have 2 - 2000 GTI's, 3 person, single carb, 717 engines. They are like small boats. People call them floating couches. They are very stable and forgiving to new riders. Very little water splashing on you at most speeds. They do about 50+ at full throttle. Pulls a tube with 2 riders on the Ski real well. My Daughter is "The Pro" at getting people to go swimming real quick off the tube. We go to Lake Erie, Fairport Harbor a lot each season. Outside the Break Water the Lake gets Real! It will have 3 - 4 foot swells / waves. You climb them and get air. The Ski's land well and we climb the next one. I rode some different Ski's this summer. An XP, a stand up and a GTX. The kids with the stand ups and Dad, rode ours and put 5 gallons of gas in one of them. At the end of the day they were telling Dad he needs to buy some GTI's for them! They have only been upside down twice. Both times on Lake Erie. Gotta watch the 10 foot rogue waves!

 

[benjilafouine]

I wasn't lucky with mine this year but this ski is spacious, like the 4-tecs. And like other people say, I would like to have a second one.

Benji

 

[soccerdad]

96 GSX, a great ski for thrashing with one person, and fine to ride two smaller people on. Plenty fast for me. Turns great, but does like to jump out of the water and unload the pump in chop. A new grate helps a bunch. Can spin it and cruise. 15 gallon tank. 787

96 GTX, the sofa, pulls tubes, rides 3 up and not too bad to work on. 787 pulls tubes and wakeboarder fine. Much better in the chop than the GSX. Storage is awesome. Really stable. Can spin it if you work at it some.

Never rode an X4, but would love to some day.

 

[benjilafouine]

As the week ends, I have to find another interesting subject for next week. Here is s summary of all comments:

- Seems like smaller size and fast Sea-Doo's are very desirable probably they are very light in weight. BRP probably marketed the Spark to recapture that market.
- Some people (like me) will prefer the bigger skis that can pull tubes and have three passengers.
- There is still a passion for these old skis (even if last week's thread http://www.seadooforum.com/showthread.php?81284-2-stroke-engines-air-and-water-pollution that 2-stroke engines are on the way out no matter how fanatical people get about them).

So in the end, I think there are two kinds of riders: the "fast ones" and the "comfort ones". I am beginning to suspect that there are two reasons for that, (1) older people (like me) are more attracted by a nice stroll on a water plan and (2) younger ones are way more interested in jumping waves and go faster.

Next subject coming tomorrow night....

Benji.

 

[howie099]

I like the faster 2 seater models but moving to the 3 seaters. Had a 1995 SPX you couldn't have a passenger unless they were a 100lbs or less ski way narrow didn't like the turning maybe 20 years I would love it.

1995 GTX w/657x - 1st generation 3 seater - Easy to drive, stable in the turns, 2-3 people can easily fix on it, has reverse. Easy to work on No DESS .Has new engine w/3 hours on it
2001 GTi 2/717 - 2nd generation 3 seater - Kind of floats on the water steering feels more unstable than 1st gen, quieter since engine sits back more and larger hull, reverse is much better the 1st gen, more storage than 1st gen, easier to works on w/bigger hull, smoother than 1st gen w/different mounts

Giving a review of 4-tec for the comparison of the new
2004-2005 4-tec 155hp/215hp 3 seater (not sure of model) - this damn thing felt like driving a boat, wider seat feels like a snowmobile, they float on the water, super charger is just crazy when you hit it, storage it good, 3 people no issues, like the depth gauge, heavy beast

To me I would just buy the 14" boat of the 4-tec's than a 3-seater 4-tec. More comfortable, bring 3-4 people easy, do cool power slides, and not give up much in speed. I been in 4 tec boat and I enjoyed them more than the ski's and for money spent I can listen to some music.

 

[jammin777]

So in the end, I think there are two kinds of riders: the "fast ones" and the "comfort ones". I am beginning to suspect that there are two reasons for that, (1) older people (like me) are more attracted by a nice stroll on a water plan and (2) younger ones are way more interested in jumping waves and go faster.
Next subject coming tomorrow night....

Benji.

i actually like the best of both worlds i love the gsx for jumping and spinning but not as a cruiser in chop. i really would like to someday try a x4 xp for that reason but where i ride the water is usually choppy and is hard on the old body when cruising. before i bought my 4 tec i researched a lot for one that would be nimble yet cruise through chop well and the GTI fit the bill and still can toss it around a bit doing spins and such. it just takes a little body language to toss the couch around. (I almost considered a spark) at times i wish i had a gtr 215 for the sheer G's but the i think of fuel consumption and maintaining the sc. knowing me i would be hammering the sc very often. but still am quite happy with the GTI 130.
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