Chance to pick up a couple of 'Doos with problems..

[mike_dmt]

Found a 91 XP and a 93 SPI on a trailer for cheap. Owner says they ran great, but started having problems.

Both have symptoms of running out of water, but once in, run poorly or not at all. They had them checked at a shop, one supposedly has a bad stator, the other a bad coil.
The purchase includes parts to repair both.

I will do a comp. test before I buy to make sure they just aren't plain worn out. I believe they both have the yellow 580's in them, so what am I looking for compression-wise?

And do the symptoms sound like they could simply be spark related?

Thanks!

 

[B_PWC]

I know the white 580 compression is 150psi... no lower than 135. I think the yellow is the same...

I just went through a 92 and 94; there are a lot of issues it could be.... anything from cracked fuel pickup lines that are sucking air, to poor compression, or even worse bad bottom end seals.

For me I would only buy them if I could part them out for that same price. Speaking from experience, they can quickly become a money pit.

 

[Minnetonka4me]

Its prob fuel system from that discription...but yeah it can be a money pit when they are only worth about $700 each on a good day.

 

[mike_dmt]

Yeah, I was thinking they might have the gray fuel lines in them still.. It sounds like the owners have had them for quite a while, but upgraded and these sat for a bit. I won't know until I go look at them tomorrow.

And I totally agree with both of you about the money pit situation, I should be able to land the package for around $6-700, and I need a double trailer anyway... Worst case scenario, I might be able to make one good one from the two, and just part the other one out..

I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[Dr Honda]

Yep... most people don't want the old skis... and even the parts are harder to come by. Especially the rev-limiter, and CDI.

I got $1000 for my 90 Si this year... but it was EXTRA clean, and it's not a common model. (They made it for half a year in Canada)

Basically... two non-running, pre-96 skis are worth what the double trailer is worth. I wouldn't give him more than $600 for both of them... assuming it's on a nice double trailer.

As Minitonka said... running, in "Normal" condition... they are worth $700 each

Here's what a $1k pre-96 looks like. (that's prime $$$ for an old ski, and that's with a very nice galvanized trailer)

 

[96spxpos]

Clean? more like EXTRA CLEAN TO IMMACULATE! I've only seen one other ski as nice or nicer than this one, and its because it sat in an old man's garage untouched under a cover for 13 years,(but then you get into issues like dried out seals and gaskets and dry-rot)

But yea, well taken care of, Doc!

 

[Dr Honda]

But yea, well taken care of, Doc!

Thanks for the complement. It was a restoration project.


Here's what it looked like when I picked it up:

 

[mike_dmt]

Nice looking SPI Doc, that's for sure. My '90 SP looks almost identical except for my handlebar cover and front plastic cover are blue. Mine sat in storage under a cover for quite a while as well, so still looks pretty good besides a small tear in the seat. Im thinking of a color change this fall/winter... I'll post some pics of the progress.

BTW, whats the difference between the SPI and a regular old SP?

 

[Sink]

Can't see much difference, Doc... ROFLMAO! Looks nicer than what SeaDoo did when they made it new!!! WOW! Nice job!!!

 

[mike_dmt]

Well, it turned out worse than I expected.. lol....

Showed up to meet the owner in a small town, since their house would've been difficult to find. And, it turns out they own/operate a pawn shop just off of an Indian reservation.. "Oh well", we figure, maybe it'll work out. Nope. Pull up, junk cars and projects everywhere, Sea Doos were just about garbage. Worked on by who knows how many different "mechanics". The one that did have acceptable and even compression had been "worked on" by some hack who apparently needed to cut or splice into half the wires in the electrical box...

The trailer was the best part of the deal, but even it had been worked on... lol.. no permanent lights or wiring...


The best part was......NO TITLES!!!! I asked, they said they had them.... Goes to show, you never know what people are gonna try and sell on Craigslist...LOL