Tips for making sure I'm renting a quality PWC [2010 GTX]

[theinsider]

I'm looking to rent a 2010 GTX from someone who doesn't live near the water so doing a quick test ride isn't an option but I want to make sure I'm getting my money's worth before driving about 200 miles to the lake where we'll be for a week. Is it possible to start and rev the engine out of water to check the RPM? What kind of quick inspection(s) can I do with it out of water to ensure I'm getting a quality ski? I'm not paying the guy anything until the day of so I can back out if I'm not happy with what I see.

 

[Coastiejoe]

Yes, you can start and rev the engine, but that really will not tell you much other than "it runs",,,

Take a look from the intake grate at the wear ring, make sure there is nothing obvious wrong or that it is not worn out. Look in the engine area, is it nice and clean or dirty and oily?

 

[theinsider]

Yes, you can start and rev the engine, but that really will not tell you much other than "it runs"

If you were to start it and hold the throttle down all the way, couldn't you find out how it accelerates? Or will that not tell you much out of water? One of the problems I had with a previous rental was that it accelerated terribly, taking way too long just to get over 5000 RPMs

 

[3ftDeep]

That's a tough one. Definitely make sure it starts, and give it a bit of gas to see what it does, but there's not much you can tell without getting it on the water. One general thing: if the hull is clean and looks like it's been well maintained, there's a good chance the pump will have been taken care of. Ask if it's been serviced regularly, and if so maybe ask to see the receipts (he may be a friend, but you are paying to rent it, after all). Check the oil for any milkiness, and that it's at the correct level. Good luck!

 

[Coastiejoe]

You can peg the throttle and it will rev, but it will hit the rev limiter and bounce on and off the limiter..

 

[red2blue]

You peg the throttle on my ski while on the trailer....we're gonna have a problem. Curious....who's renting you their personal ski?

 

[Hawk388]

Revving a Ski out of water is NOT a good idea. You can start it to make sure it runs, but you'll likely piss the guy off if you rev the hell out if out of water. It causes damage to multiple components if done too much. Just ask the guy to let you water test it. If the engine area looks well maintained, you should be fine.

 

[theinsider]

You peg the throttle on my ski while on the trailer....we're gonna have a problem. Curious....who's renting you their personal ski?

I actually don't know if it's his personal ski. He has a pair of Yamaha's that he also rents out. The reason we're renting from this guy is because of the value. The average rate now where we go (Tahoe) is like $140 per hour for a basic GTI and they're tight asses about how you can even use it. Even with sharing, just all of us averaging about 3 total hours of ride time for the week would be close to $2k and that's just way over our budget. Unfortunately, buying our own is also not an option at this time. For several years we had no trouble because the place we go to had a great rate of $90 per hour and after a few years of getting to know the management, they dropped their prices down to $60 p/h for us.

 

[bikerdib]

Peg the throttle on my skis while on the trailer and that is the last time you would touch any of my skis!