Speedster 200 reverse gate adjustment

[rkkoeb]

I have a 2006 speedster 200 and I notice when I am in neutral my boat wants to move forward all the time. If I pull back toward reverse a little then it seems to be in what I would think is neutral. Is this a common thing and how do I go about adjusting this.

 

[sacfireman]

I have the same thing. I have to feather it between neutral and reverse. I know The Sweet spot for it to be in true nuetral.. my mechanic says it's just the way it is and that he can't adjust the cable

 

[DougsNewToy2019]

I have a 2006 speedster 200 and I notice when I am in neutral my boat wants to move forward all the time. If I pull back toward reverse a little then it seems to be in what I would think is neutral. Is this a common thing and how do I go about adjusting this.

I have a 210 Challenger. and my mechanic said that the pumps are never truly in neutral as they are always turning. The boat will always be in motion unless turned off. This is to keep the pumps from overheating. Just turn the boat full right or left and it will basically spin within its own space.

Hope this helps.

 

[rkkoeb]

I found a happy true neutral spot, I pull the lever back just past neutral and it seems to work nice.

 

[JPass]

I have a 210 Challenger. and my mechanic said that the pumps are never truly in neutral as they are always turning. The boat will always be in motion unless turned off. This is to keep the pumps from overheating. Just turn the boat full right or left and it will basically spin within its own space.

Hope this helps.

The reason there's no true neutral is because the drivetrain (pumps) are directly connected to the engine. If the engine is running, the props (impellers) are spinning. The only way to get "neutral" is to cancel the forward movement by slightly lowering the buckets into reverse until they basically cancel each other out. There is no transmission or gearbox in our jetboats unlike other boats.

 

[beergut]

your mechanics are full of shit. of course you can fine tune the neutral position on your ski / jet boat. i just did it on my sportster- but the process is tedious and literally impossible to do in the shop so they don't do it. you'll have to adjust the reverse bucket up or down- there's a cable adjustment on the left side of the pump- you'll need to disconnect the reverse cable and turn the adjuster, reconnect it, put the boat back in the water and try it out. you may need to do it a few times to get it right. no big deal for those of us who live on lakefront property- but a pita if you gotta park at a lake access ramp for 2 hours to mess around with your reverse adjustment. do you really want to pay a dealer $300 in labor to fine tune the neutral? that's whats so great about the new IBR systems; you can easily fine tune the neutral by simply pressing the VTS up or down while idling in the water.

 

[beergut]

your's may be different, but all i have to do on my sportster is remove a cotter pin, pop #25 up and spin it up or down the cable to move the reverse bucket- and fine tune the neutral position.

 

[JPass]

your's may be different, but all i have to do on my sportster is remove a cotter pin, pop #25 up and spin it up or down the cable to move the reverse bucket- and fine tune the neutral position.

The only thing one would need to keep in mind is to make sure the reverse buckets lock in the up position when the throttle is fully engaged. If you adjust to the point where the latch no longer catches, then you run the risk of dropping your reverse buckets at WOT should anything fail, like a cable, cotter pin or other hardware.

 

[beergut]

The only thing one would need to keep in mind is to make sure the reverse buckets lock in the up position when the throttle is fully engaged. If you adjust to the point where the latch no longer catches, then you run the risk of dropping your reverse buckets at WOT should anything fail, like a cable, cotter pin or other hardware.

that lock was removed by the previous owner on my boat- i need to order the parts to put it back together again.

 

[James.Moon]

My 180SE does move ahead slowly in neutral position. Once I realized this, I like it and find it handy when docking. True neutral is more susceptible to inadvertent boat spinning. Of course you can move the lever slightly towards reverse to full neutral of you wish - no need for adjustments - just practice the feel - jockeying from neutral/forward to true neutral or even momentarily to reverse allows super control when docking.