My buddy is going to look at a 97 speedster any advice?

[Jetskigoodies]

As the title says, a friend is going to look at a 97 speedster. I was wondering what type of issues should he be looking for. I know alot about the pwc's but nothing about the boats. Obviously we know about compression being 150. What is expensive to replace? What are known issues?

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

The interior condition I guess, which is obvious. Make sure to look at the inside of the keel for signs of having struck something hard, like a log. A split hull is no fun.

Other than that I think there's no wood in the fiberglass layup that will rot, which is one reason I bought my Sportster.

Oh, and if it's a twin engine with a single MPEM those MPEM's are near impossible to find replacements for.

 

[Jetskigoodies]

Yeah replacing stringers sucks, I did it on my 82 rinker. Alot of time and money went into that. I was more worried about reverse gates, shifter, gauges, what pieces if missing are horribly expensive to replace. Any seals that are issues

 

[racerxxx]

Check the cables and the control handle. Those are the expensive parts. The other stuff is mostly ski stuff. Verify MPEM works if you can. I'm sure you guys are getting it at a good price

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk

 

[Jetskigoodies]

Actually I am not sure how good the price is. It is suppose to be in good running condition. The exterior is in good shape. So not know about the interior. It also comes with a trailer

 

[Matt Braley]

I've saved a couple of these and parted a couple more last summer. I have lots of parts left over.

Cables are a problem in salt. I always work the steering wheel and the shift selector to see if they are stiff. It's no fun working in that little engine room either. The cables that go to the weedless grates love to lock up also.

It is a good model to have with the single carb 717's and the two separate water intakes(94 and 95's have a single water intake and cavitate no matter what).

The prices on runners is all over the map though. Newer jetboats keep the prices on these up. I wouldn't pay 3K for one that is seemingly mint cause slightly broken ones slip through cheap all the time and you guys already have the skills to remedy any issues. Like new ones still bring up to 4K sometimes.

 

[MLars]

As Matt said the steering cables will lock up in salt. My steering cable and weedless cables are both locked from salt water use. And the 97s are nice because they have only 1 carb per engine

 

[Brian J]

Actually I am not sure how good the price is. It is suppose to be in good running condition. The exterior is in good shape. So not know about the interior. It also comes with a trailer

What's the price? I bought and sold one last summer...or maybe two summers ago so I can give you a good idea.

 

[Jetskigoodies]

Okay quick update. My buddy went to look at it. 1 the steering is completely locked up, 2 the battery was dead so no compression check or electronics check. They are going back this weekend to check it out with a battery. The owner tried pushing it on them to take it as is. Obviously we know better. They also said a bunch of junk was in the boat like chains and garbage from other projects. He also said one of the through hull fitting leaked a bit. The engine bay was very clean though.

 

[Brian J]

Using it to store junk and a dead battery......I smell a fried MPEM..... I hope it all works out for you.

Assuming the MPEM AND both motors are OK it sounds like the $2,000 range to me. If the MPEM is blown, and engines are sketchy 500-1000.

My deciding factors would be:
MPEM
Engines
Do the seat covers need to be replaced.

Once restored and in the summer you should be able to get $4500

 

[Brian J]

Did you guys ever go back with a battery?

 

[Jetskigoodies]

Nope, I never went period. My friend just did not have a good feeling about the guy. He seemed like he was hiding something. Anyway I think it was $2000. It was supposed to be running and in great shape. When they got there it looked like it was used as his junk pile storage and he did not want them to come back to test it. He seemed irritated that they wanted to come back. He said at that price they should just take it.