noob...quick question on new buy ! help

[elpalletero82]

ive been part of this forum for a while now i had a 97 speedster but sold it shortly after signing up here... but now im back with a new quest. im looking into buying a new ski for the summer but i dnt have major cash trying to stay below 2k and be on the water every weekend.
for starters is this possible??? 2k for a reliable jet ski ?

i was looking at the gsx 951... dnt know much but herd there pretty decent and quick but also herd the 99 xp limited is good too. so my questions are any of these skis good and are they in my budget ?? are they reliable ? im a Craigslist hunter so thats were ill be making my purchase any and all advice is welcome whether bad or good thanks fellas !!!

 

[ocod]

I've seen a couple of the xp with the spring seat.
They are fun to ride but difficult to get on in deep water.

The 951 GSX are fast ski but have problems in crank blowing holes through case. Most will be rebuilt or needing one from what I seen on Craigslsit.

Narrow search bubble to specfic model and seperate the sea doo for more options.

But you'll have pickens with that price range.
Where boughts are you?

 

[elpalletero82]

I'm from Miami...I'm looking for a ski that's fast and fun and I'll spend more time on the water than in the shop !
I know this a seadoo forum lol but I was also wondering about the gp1200's what the input on that a little more pricy but it's an option ?!? Thanks in advance for the help fellas

 

[ocod]

You can see in my avatar my fleet of Seadoos
fast and reliable is anything with the 787. Safer and a little slower 717.
Theres two 96 xp for under a 1000

Can't really comment on other.

Where in Miami. I'm near 75

 

[Minnetonka4me]

The 951 if def susceptible to crank blowouts...they cannot handle ANY pitting on the rods and bearings. If you can keep water out of the motor they last a long time.

I would HIGHLY recommend a 96 XP if you plan to ride 1up and like to jump.

 

[elpalletero82]

So the 951 is no good ?? I rather go a little fast than jump to be honest... Why a 96 xp what's so special about them ? I've actually read a lot on here and every one recommends them lol why ?

There selling a 97 gsx with "110" hp idk why motor that is ? For 1600 is that a good ski ??

 

[elpalletero82]

ocod I stay in Hialeah...

 

[elpalletero82]

The city of progress lol

 

[Spimothy Leary]

I'm from Miami...I'm looking for a ski that's fast and fun and I'll spend more time on the water than in the shop !
I know this a seadoo forum lol but I was also wondering about the gp1200's what the input on that a little more pricy but it's an option ?!? Thanks in advance for the help fellas

not a fan of the gp1200 not that fast stock (kinda sluggish), porpoising issues, and expensive to rebuild. but lots of storage

i'll have a gtx 800 ready for sale in a week on the west coast of FL with a freshly rebuilt motor under 2K, prolly in the 16-1800 range, just finished to motor rebuild and its ready to drop in.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

So the 951 is no good ?? I rather go a little fast than jump to be honest... Why a 96 xp what's so special about them ? I've actually read a lot on here and every one recommends them lol why ?

There selling a 97 gsx with "110" hp idk why motor that is ? For 1600 is that a good ski ??

when a 951 blows, it blows in spectacular fashion, imo avoid the 951. the 110 hp is the 787 motor, preferred motor over the 951 IMO. 1600 for a clean 97 gsx is a fair price if its in good shape and motor is not worn out, salt water damage, etc. i'm always leery of miami ski's due to likelyhood of salt damage.

 

[elpalletero82]

What should I look for when buying a "Miami" ski ?lol how can I determine salt damage ? And I seen a couple xp cheap what's the difference between te gsx and xp ? I would obivously get the xp 800 ...an by 1up they mean one rider right ?
I've also seen a couple newer xp like 99 or 98 around 2k are those still prone to blow cranks ?

Sorry for the noob questions ! But this help is greatly appreciated !!!

 

[elpalletero82]

About how fast would you say an XP goes stock ?

 

[Matt Braley]

The 96 XP goes about 55mph if all is well with it. Why not get that GTX with a fresh motor being dropped into it? You only loose a couple mph due to it's larger size but you gain stability and storage. Thats your best chance of being on the water every weekend having fun for under $2k. You don't want no stinkin Yamaha.

 

[elpalletero82]

To be honest I'm not a fan of the over sized stability hauls I won't be riding 2up often and un stable sounds like more fun anyways lol
Anywho I'm pretty much thinking between a
96 xp 800 or
97+ gsx or gsxl or 97+ xpl
If I can snag a good clean for the right price
Kinda pulling for the 96xp after seeing a couple YouTube video on wave jumping thanks for the help fellas will keep you guys posted

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

I've GPS'd 68.8 in my 02 XP w/a 951. ALL OEM (except a Solas Concord)

I also got 360 hours out of my last factory 951. Before the exhaust gasket failure killed it. (which was fixed in '01)

So... it's not an unreliable motor, and the fact is... it's the most powerful 2 stroke sea-doo made. It does take a lot of TLC to properly assemble / build a powerful, reliable 951 however. Some home rebuilt ones seem to fail prematurely. However OEM ones and most shops rebuild them just fine. (And offer a 2 year no fault).

For a beginner however, in the used market, then I would agree a rebuilt 800 would be more 'reliable' assuming someone's had to do work to it... which is most likely the case with 12+ year old skis.

the '99 SPX is the same ski as the '96 XP, but 3 years newer... same hull, same engine.

the only GSX with the 951 silver was the '99 I believe. Black hull / red deck I believe. the '98 had the 'white' 951.... which is another can of worms you don't want.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

To be honest I'm not a fan of the over sized stability hauls I won't be riding 2up often and un stable sounds like more fun anyways lol
Anywho I'm pretty much thinking between a
96 xp 800 or
97+ gsx or gsxl or 97+ xpl
If I can snag a good clean for the right price
Kinda pulling for the 96xp after seeing a couple YouTube video on wave jumping thanks for the help fellas will keep you guys posted

well, a 97+ gxs is an stable hull and by comparison to any x4 hull, its oversized, imo its still pretty nimble, turns great, and rides 2 up just fine, but definitely bigger...

if your primary concern is fun factor, then any x4 hull with a 787 is ideal. upside, huge fun, downside, not practical for two up, extremely small gas tank and it will beat you up in the surf, I rode in heavy chop just last night on my X4, 3-4 foot seas, my daughter rode for 40 minutes, came back soaked head to toe, breathing hard, I rode for 30 minutes, came back soaked from head to toe, breathing hard, (and we're both in "jet ski shape" but we both had a BLAST !. Until you get into jet ski shape, after about 30 minutes of surf riding your legs will hurt, your knees will hurt, and your arms will feel like rubber.

once the xp changed to the wishbone hull 97+ it became bigger, a tad more sluggish and more stable and its much easier to ride two up but still not ideal IMO. personally if I was going to have the 97+ hull, i'd go with a 951 powerplant, it makes a difference, I have owned a 97 xp (787) and found it fun but sluggish only kept it for 2 months, but my 02 XPL was quite fast, still a little slow out of the hole (prop would have helped) but i could hit 60+ easily, it was a nice cruiser and had good fuel range, but i don't like the 951, so I sold that after about 5 months, and then went with the 96 xp. one thing I remember about the wishbone hull with the 951 that always pizzed me off, the storage bin is right over the engine, and it gets friggen hot, used to melt my sammiches and my ice wouldn't last for chit.

i have a buddy that just blew his crank on his 951, poof there goes $450, and he considered himself lucky since he didn't blow a hole in the case, which would have doubled his repair bill.

(of course thats not an issue with the x4 hull, but thats because you can barely fit a sammich in the storage bin lol)

 

[brock1]

i have a 97 hsx with the 787 and i wouldnt trade it for the world its the best ski i have evr had and i will always recomenned them to new buyers. i have had a gp 1200 and yes they FLY but like everyone said they are expensive to rebuild and they are in my opinion VERY high strung

 

[Spimothy Leary]

here's a nice pic of a gsx that was super clean, my buddy owned this for a few months, had it for his girlfriend, and it sold for $1800 i think.

this was my XPL (sorry, it was an 01, not an 02) I always thought it was a beautiful ski. sold for $2750 and my main problem was the concerns over the 951 otherwise I would have kept it.

97 XP, purty but sluggish (ya, we repainted it black) sold for 2K.

here's 3 of our x4 hulls and they all would sell for 16-2000 assuming we brought them back to near stock. I've probably got 2500 invested in mine, and wouldn't be able to sell it and recover my money, if I was to sell it, i'd probably go back to stock and ask 1500, and sell all the AM parts.

as you can see, the x4 is easy to tip over also, here's me doing an oopsie during a 360 spinout... if you've never been on the x4 before, expect quite a few oopsies

 

[Spimothy Leary]

i have a 97 hsx with the 787 and i wouldnt trade it for the world its the best ski i have evr had and i will always recomenned them to new buyers. i have had a gp 1200 and yes they FLY but like everyone said they are expensive to rebuild and they are in my opinion VERY high strung

I disagree that the gp1200 fly's, at least stock it doesn't (it was fast on the speedo, but slow on the GPS ), I had the gp and i was really disappointed in its top speed, i thought it would be faster out of the hole and top end and it wasn't at all, my buddies in their 787's (modded) passed me all the time.. did spinouts, then passed me again, and all i did was chug along in a straight line. found it kind of boring, the only time I really enjoyed the 1200 was in light to heavy chop, since I could plow right thru and not get tossed around like a rag doll, it was a great ski for the beach because I could ride all day w/o getting worn out.

 

[LouDoo]

By far my 96XP is my favorite ski, you really have to own one to appreciate it. However it depends on how you ride, to be quite honest the 96XP sucks for cruising. I think a 96 or 97GSX is a good compromise, while it's not as much fun to ride as the 96XP it's far less tiring to take on long rides or cruises. It's got a 787/800 engine so it has plenty of power and it's very stable will ride two comfortably and very reliable.

I would suggest buying a 96 or 97GSX now and adding a 96XP later, neither ski will break the bank.

Lou

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

the last time I rode my buddies '96 XP, he ran out of gas LONG before my ski's did ... we had to tow him in!

 

[rotaxrule1]

I highly recommend the 787 motor. All 3 of mine have the 787, and it provides plenty of power from my GTX to my XP. If you want to play around, go with the 96 xp as the others said. It is quick, simple, and very nimble. Although my GSX is fun too, just heavier (but more stable for a 2 seater).

I had a GTX and GTI back in the day with a 720 and 650, both good motors, but too slow for my taste. Rode an XP with the 951 once, a little more powerful than the 787, but not sure if it is worth the risk based on what I have read about it.

:cheers:

-Brandon

 

[Brucetafer]

amen, i rode my neighbors kawacrappy 1100D and it was a PIG, my xp 787 runs circles around his ski... easy to work on and pretty solid from what i hear from everybody..

 

[Spimothy Leary]

I highly recommend the 787 motor. All 3 of mine have the 787, and it provides plenty of power from my GTX to my XP. If you want to play around, go with the 96 xp as the others said. It is quick, simple, and very nimble. Although my GSX is fun too, just heavier (but more stable for a 2 seater).

I had a GTX and GTI back in the day with a 720 and 650, both good motors, but too slow for my taste. Rode an XP with the 951 once, a little more powerful than the 787, but not sure if it is worth the risk based on what I have read about it.

:cheers:

-Brandon

the best of both worlds, (for mechanics only, not for newb's) is the x4 hull with the 951 inside, it friggen jumps out of the water, hauls azz mid range (arms out of sockets) and has incredible top end....

my buddy has one and its a hell of a ride... !

 

[gbone87]

as everyone is saying here 787 is a good reliable motor. You would have to decide how your going to spend your days. I got two 97 gtx's. I almost bought two 97 gsx's but they have no storage. I like to put them in and head out with drinks, food, and anchor to stop by different beaches and islands on the west coast of Florida. If you plan on staying close to where you put your ski in then the gsx would be a great ski, if you plan and leaving and not coming back for a few hours you will find the storage on the gtx much more convenient.