SOLAS is worth every penny!

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

i just took my sea doo out yesterday to test out the repairs/upgrades i made in the passed few days.

i bought a solas concord 13/21 impeller, oem wear ring, anti rattle cone, along with new seals, rings, lubes, and gaskets.

it was cavitating HORRIBLY the first two times i took it out. i had never owned or ridden a ski before so i thought that was just how it worked. after alot of research and asking around i tackled the project myseld and DAMN! she's ALIVE!... it will do a spin around with minimal effort, takes off outta the whole like crazy, and just flys top end. it was an amazing feeling of success yesterday to be able to do this myself and have such great results.
(i know, i know, its an old ski, its big, its slow, it sucks compared to yours, i know, i know... so please just resist the temptations... lol jk)

i also spent the whole sunday last weekend buffing and polishing the old girl to bring back her shine while i was waiting for my parts to be delivered.
i need some advice on refurbishing the topside of the black hard rubber bumpers, they are a lil rough and now have some compound on them that i cant get off.
i am thinking that i should wet sand em and look for some dye to make em deep black again. i have some "black" wax from my black box wax kit that i was thinking about putting over the white compound and see if it will wax out after i wetsand em.
what do yall think?

 

[brandon32689]

Came out good man I am thinking about ordering one I just don't want to loose top speed. And you were thinking about sending your solars back and keeping stock Haha. Glad it all turned out good for you man.

 

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

i must say, you called me out! you were actually the deciding factor on installing it.
so THANK YOU! it was an amazing improvement. and you cannot beat parkeryamaha.com's price.

now its your turn GO FOR IT! lol

 

[brandon32689]

Lol well I'm glad you liked it and I remember your thread when you got that ski. You've done so much in just a little time. It sure cleaned up good. I am gunna order one for both skis next month. Prob get those anti rattle cones to. I spent sat at the lake weather was nice.

 

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

well i also had to drop it off for a week at the shop to get the starter rebuilt 2 weeks ago. the bendix rusted and i didnt know what the hell i was doing to get it off and i was scared of cracking the stainless exhaust. so i paid a shop to stick it to me ($270 total) ouch!...

so yeah, ALOT of time, effort, and money are constantly getting poured into this ski. but when its done and perfect, it will definately be something to be proud of. its just a long uphill battle getting there.

so yeah i have only had it a month, but it feels like a year as much as we have been throught together lol

 

[brandon32689]

Lol I hear you man I have had about 8 het skis since I was 18 and I'm 22 now. I like the little projects. The 2 I have now I have done a lot of work to one. Put a new motor and starter and all in it. But so far I have had about 4 decent lake trips with little to no problems. So if if will stay this way I'm good.

Ouch man. I hate taking stuff to the shop. Luckily our seadoo shop is friendly and good people they will tell you everything to try and other alternatives instead of ya drop it off lol.

 

[Dr Honda]

My old Si has a Solas impeller. They work very well on the older skis... and help with the top speed. My Si from the factory is only supposed to go around 38 MPH, but with no mods, and just the Solas impeller... it will do a solid 45 mph.

Ski looks good... now you just need to paint the trailer.

 

[unbroken]

Back to black from mcQuiers will make the black trim look great. What pitch solas did you go with?

 

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

i got the solas concord 13/21. it seems to be an awesome match.
i got the turtle wax black trim restorer, but it is crap. seems to just be clear gel regular shiney stuff and didnt help at all.
i will get some back to black then

 

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

the trailer being nasty kinda sucks. i would love to paint it. but i dont live on a lake. the closest one is 40 minutes from here. i have no where to put the ski while i blast and paint it. so, its gonna have to wait a lil while.

 

[Minnetonka4me]

No one knows the trick???

Take a heat gun to the trim...heat it up slowly and you will see it change black. You just gotta be careful not to get it too hot.

Didnt I tell ya you would not believe the difference??

Now...Can I talk you into putting some huge Liquid Militia decals where the old big seadoo decals were? I can prob get some blue w/ black outline.

 

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

yeah man u were definately right on the solas. its great! thanks.
i almost chickened out and returned it since like u said the concord isnt recommended for my ski but on just a couple sites.
i am so glad brandon said just do it. cause once its installed its mine, even if it didnt work out.

my brother works at a local sign shop and a customer had him make some black liquid militia graphics, the words and logos. he has to make extras of every graphic incase of a mistake. so any of the kool extras, he brings home. so he sent me a pic of em and asked me if i wanted em. i havent picked em up yet but i guess i already got some small black ones he made me but the ones u talk about sound nice.
i have seen liquid militia on a few peoples sigs, but what is it exactly? i know its pwc related obviously. i have seen the clothing line on the web.

 

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

and as for the black trim. the mothers back to black, and the turtle wax trim restorer were both useless.
so i tried some of my turtle wax black box car wax i use for my black crown vic u see in a couple of the pix. its a black precleaner wax, black carnuba wax, and a black spray detailer. its all actually black and worked amazing! the trim looks new besides the chips and bumps in it. it is shiney and deep black. just an idea to pass along to any of yall. it erased the white wax and pretty much redyed it all black again.

 

[Minnetonka4me]

Yeah Liquid Militia is a Clothing line dedicated to watersports; PWCs specifically. They support the CRAP out of the sport!!!

I have coupon codes if anyone is interested! OH, and FYI I am NOT paid to pimp them...they are just a young couple that grew up around the sport and I feel deserve our biz. If you guys ever organize a event they will send tons of stuff to raffle.

Your story is funny....LM is already being bootlegged!! LOL They give away TONs of decals for free w/ purchase!

 

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

thats kool. i am gonna have to pass right now on the side graphics. i just like the sleeper look right now. its 22 years old and still in great original shape. but i may take the ones my brother made me and put em on the back where i put the solas decal.

i will definately look into the clothing more closely now that u explained it to me. thanks

 

[Minnetonka4me]

Although its truely AMAZING how nice your bar pad is...there is a guy on ebay selling the oldschool UMI steering for yours. I just bought a set of Beachhouse sponsons that fit yours too...although its a complete PITA to install.

Im a tard...I didnt see your graphics are perfect too. Yeah forget the LM decals.

 

[deepdiver]

Watch out for that trailer rust. I lost my dual trailer on I-95 going 65mph when the front Y just fell in. What a mess. Luckily a good samaritan helped me get a wrecker and get it back to Darien. I had to find a replacement pretty quick. It was hme made and had some external rust so I wire brushed, etc and painted it using spray cans of Rustoleum. Check with a sandblasting co. They may have a lift to take the doo off .
Nice job cleaning up your 1990. My 1995's sure don't look that good.

 

[unbroken]

No one knows the trick???

Take a heat gun to the trim...heat it up slowly and you will see it change black. You just gotta be careful not to get it too hot.

Didnt I tell ya you would not believe the difference??

Now...Can I talk you into putting some huge Liquid Militia decals where the old big seadoo decals were? I can prob get some blue w/ black outline.

I'll take some cool stickers

 

[Watson91]

That ski looks great! LM coupon codes? Lay them on me, I wouldn't mind to pick up a shirt or some board shorts possibly. I just cut my registration numbers, I thought about using the extra peice I have left to make a liquid militia decal for the back of my ski.

 

[Minnetonka4me]

Buy a few things at Liquid Militia....25% coupon code is LM2511. It only works thru phone orders, or Google checkout....not paypal.

In the notes put on there that Nick sent you the code, and that you need decals for your machine and even request a color. They will send you a ton and will try to send the color you need if possible.

I send out free decals with all the parts I sell...check out my profile for more info.

 

[soccerdan90]

Well I have a pair of board shorts but for $25 and how cool they look I will be buying another pair. I've never hear of LM before. Good stuff.

 

[Minnetonka4me]

yeah the close out prices are great if you can fit into them. Its not cheap, but you can feel good you are helping out a small company that supports the crap out of the sport. 25% off is nice too!

GUYS....they just got back from the Parker race and their site has issues...you may have to wait till tomorrow or call it in. thanks!

 

[Dirtbikes4fun02]

i will check em out tomorrow then. i like to help out the lil guys.

 

[IDoSeaDoo]

if you want to lift the ski off, you can just get a few people to help you. they don't weigh but a little over 400lbs. 3 decently strong guys should be able to do the trick. Getting it back on will be a bit more challenging I think. I use a cherry picker and a rope suspended from my ceiling to lift mine on/off.

 

[brandon32689]

Id like the decal for the side pb my ski to