Heavy Guy on a Seadoo RX DI?

[User98]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on this forum and thank you for all your replies in advance. My family has been looking into buying a jet ski and has decided that this spring we will. I have been looking around on Craigslist and have found a 2002 Seadoo RX DI in beautiful shape. It has 175 Hours and is priced at $2350 without trailer. My question is: I am a heavy guy (about 300 pounds) and I am wondering if I could comfortably ride alone on this jet ski. Would being only about 50 lbs shy of the weight capacity effect stability a lot? Also, are there any other problems to look out for in this year and model?

Thank you

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

My guess is would probably think it's a bit "tippy" at low speeds but you'll get used to balancing. For that price, I think you should get a trailer but will defer to others.

That's a 2-stroke you know, and a rather complicated one at that. They run great when they're running correctly.

The advantage of 2-stroke is power to weight in a rather lightweight package.

I hope you are familiar with working on 2-stroke engines, I believe the 4-stroke was a vast improvement for those who aren't adept at wrenching, it's become hard to justify paying shop rates for 2-stroke repair (no matter what, repairs have become progressively expensive).

If you aren't a wrencher, imagine paying a shop near half or more the value of the ski for just about any except the simplest repair.

 

[Seadoobuddy]

Hi & welcome to the forum.

The DIs are great when running correctly but a B-atch to diagnose problems unless you have a can-do or a seadoo BRP "meter" ....dang it I can't remember what they are called.

 

[Minnetonka4me]

I think it would be fairly stable even being 300lbs. The RXs arent very tippy.

SDB brought up a good point though...the DIs are not very user friendly and unless you buy a candoo pro and a fuel pump tester/gauge there is very little you can diagnose yourself.

Welcome to the best Seadoo site on the planet!!! If there is anything I can help with just let me know.

 

[Coastiejoe]

I will echo the above.

The ski in question is pretty stable and you would quicly learn to handle slow speeds with it.

As a general rule, 2-strokes are pretty eay to work on and MUCH cheaper than the 4-strokes. HOWEVER, the DI ski is a beast to its own. I would NEVER own one unless I stole it by such and amount that would give me about a grand to cover parts and repairs. The fuel pumps fail fairly often and are several hundred dollars.

I own two newer model skis with the 4-tec engines. Absolutely LOVE them. Yes they cost more, but they run great and require no oil mixing or separate oil tanks. You put gas in the tank and make sure there is oil in the engine and you go. hey have a closed loop cooling system which means if you are in salt water, no salt water will touch the engine as it has its own closed loop cooling system that has antifreeze.

For the money, I think you can do a bit better. If it sounds like I am trying to scare you about DI skis, I am. When they are running as they should, they are fantastic. When they are not, they are hard to diagnose and expensive.

 

[Seadoobuddy]

[MENTION=75519]User98[/MENTION] what is the status of this ski, did you buy it?

 

[russellb]

I am a big guy myself at around 315#. I used to have a 1999 GSX RFI. It is a 2 passenger ski weighing around 500# with a weight capacity of 350#. I got rid of it because I could not get back on the ski from the water. As I would try to climb on the rear of the ski would sink down in the water. One time I even got water in the engine because of this. I could get on next to the dock and even ride my son as long as I pushed off from the dock and immediately got into the throttle. When I would come to a stop we would tip over if we didn't jump off. I'd suggest going ahead and getting a 3 passenger PWC if you are a bigger guy. The newer 3 passenger SeaDoos have a weight capacity of 600#. Hope that helps. I wish someone had told me that before I got the GSX. It could have saved me some disappointment. Don't get me wrong though, it was a lot of fun to ride.