Did some research, seems many feel the OEM starters are much better than cheaper aftermarket. It appears in the late 90's, Sea-Doo switched from a 9 teeth Bendix gear to an 8 tooth to gain more torque. I'm a believer that the factory knows best, so were they on to something...
My experience with my three 787's over about 5 years is you only need about 1-2 revolutions of crank to fire up, don't really matter about speed, temp or anything. Key seems to be a good AGM battery, I've had the best luck for the $ with a Autozone Duralast Gold ETX16L, I believe the Walmart version is the same OEM relabeled. I've come to recognize what really matters when you’re in trouble on the water is having enough battery, the starters combined with the motor compression/torque is at the limits of any small starter. So how do you get the most of it?
Most seem to say rebuild an old OEM starter over buying a cheap non-OEM, and even ok to rebuild it with the same cheap brush/bearing kit put in the non-OEM. What appears many are missing is the cheaper non-OEM's seem to all have the older 9 teeth version Bendix. Read many posts of people saying you want the 9 teeth so the motor spins faster, but is this true? Yes, it will spin faster, but what is the tradeoff... If your battery, cables and starter are perfect, then no biggie; but this is never the case... Why not except the slower cranking of the 8 teeth, still starts fine, right? My experience says yes, it's a great trade off: 5-10 fast cranks (9 teeth) or 10-20 slower cranks (8 teeth). The 787 is reliable, if it simply rotates. Why not guarantee you get some cranking vs riding the fine line not.
The lower tooth count on the starter allows a weaker battery (worn starter, loose connections) to still start the engine, this in turn has a lower draw on the battery cause of the gear ratio, so it defiantly gives you more cranking time/attempts. So is it really an OEM starter is better, or they just have a better gear ration to last longer and draw less of a load from your battery? I becoming more of a believer that its really the gear ratio over the OEM vs non-OEM.
OTHER:
If you own an RFI, you know electrical power is a premium. Between the starter, fuel pump, injectors and ignition, this is a heavy load. I've went out on a full battery charge and during the ride had a low battery light come on. In an RFI, with the drain of the pump, injectors and ignition, I full recommend you get to shore immediately, within 5 mins you will be dead with all the electronics running. So, also ensure your solid state rectifier or mag are charging the batt. I installed a $3 volt meter from ebay under the hatch, so I can monitor I'm charging at all times. Another issue with the RFI's is the solid state rectifier, carry a spare, only about $25, but will save your butt. I believe they get burnt up from charging the battery with a wall charger while still connected to the system. I had this happen, but now when I wall charge it, I unplug the solid state module and seems to protect it, haven’t blown one since.
My experience with my three 787's over about 5 years is you only need about 1-2 revolutions of crank to fire up, don't really matter about speed, temp or anything. Key seems to be a good AGM battery, I've had the best luck for the $ with a Autozone Duralast Gold ETX16L, I believe the Walmart version is the same OEM relabeled. I've come to recognize what really matters when you’re in trouble on the water is having enough battery, the starters combined with the motor compression/torque is at the limits of any small starter. So how do you get the most of it?
Most seem to say rebuild an old OEM starter over buying a cheap non-OEM, and even ok to rebuild it with the same cheap brush/bearing kit put in the non-OEM. What appears many are missing is the cheaper non-OEM's seem to all have the older 9 teeth version Bendix. Read many posts of people saying you want the 9 teeth so the motor spins faster, but is this true? Yes, it will spin faster, but what is the tradeoff... If your battery, cables and starter are perfect, then no biggie; but this is never the case... Why not except the slower cranking of the 8 teeth, still starts fine, right? My experience says yes, it's a great trade off: 5-10 fast cranks (9 teeth) or 10-20 slower cranks (8 teeth). The 787 is reliable, if it simply rotates. Why not guarantee you get some cranking vs riding the fine line not.
The lower tooth count on the starter allows a weaker battery (worn starter, loose connections) to still start the engine, this in turn has a lower draw on the battery cause of the gear ratio, so it defiantly gives you more cranking time/attempts. So is it really an OEM starter is better, or they just have a better gear ration to last longer and draw less of a load from your battery? I becoming more of a believer that its really the gear ratio over the OEM vs non-OEM.
OTHER:
If you own an RFI, you know electrical power is a premium. Between the starter, fuel pump, injectors and ignition, this is a heavy load. I've went out on a full battery charge and during the ride had a low battery light come on. In an RFI, with the drain of the pump, injectors and ignition, I full recommend you get to shore immediately, within 5 mins you will be dead with all the electronics running. So, also ensure your solid state rectifier or mag are charging the batt. I installed a $3 volt meter from ebay under the hatch, so I can monitor I'm charging at all times. Another issue with the RFI's is the solid state rectifier, carry a spare, only about $25, but will save your butt. I believe they get burnt up from charging the battery with a wall charger while still connected to the system. I had this happen, but now when I wall charge it, I unplug the solid state module and seems to protect it, haven’t blown one since.
