Tips on towing broken down ski?

[rdfish1]

I understand it is necessary to tow a broken down ski at slow speeds to avoid damaging it, maybe drowning??

Anyway, Tim told me to pick up a set of fluid clamps from harbor freight and a 50 foot tow rope. In the event I break down or one my my guest riders, can someone help me figure out which hose I am supposed to clamp? In my case it's an 08 gtx 155. There are many hoses in the engine compartment.

Second, are these skis capable of towing a broken ski at 20-30 mph? Assume the broken ski would require a rider to steer it. Just seems like a pretty heavy load for a ski to be pulling.

Hopefully I won't break down but after my trip to lake George, I realize it can happen quite easily.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

funny, when I broke down it was my first 4 stroke break down so I was questioning which hose myself, its the inlet hose coming in from the rear, mine was easier to find since I have a water strainer installed so I was able to clamp it up right there. On my two strokes I used to have a couple of bright yellow zip ties on the correct hose so I wouldn't fork it up, but actually my old XP was only towed once as well and it was only half mile so we did it slow. (no clamp)

if you are clamped off properly then you can tow it at any speed that the tow vehicle can handle and once your up on plane it tow's pretty well, the long rope helps to keep it far enough behind the wake so its not sliding back and forth like a drunk ski. Mine was being towed at approx 30mph, 5mph would have taken about 4 hours.

 

[rdfish1]

Tim, thank you. Were you riding on your broken ski to steer it while being towed?

 

[1of500]

Sorry for the power tow

 

[Mickirig1]

You have no steering with no power from dead ski's engine. Figure out what hose is the " in " cooling hose. I wrap it with gray duct tape with "clamp here" in black marker. A small vise grip set at the right size is in the back storage compartment in a baggie. I tell new riders about it. Tow ropes with clips are in the front storage compartments. If they do not understand the instructions call us on their cell phone..One of our ski's will be there shortly.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

Sorry for the power tow

oh ya, you yanked mine around like a red headed step child. Poor Ginger was getting slapped lol.

But at that point my engine was already farked so it really didn't matter lol.

Trust me, i've towed ski's behind me with a heavy finger before.

fish: no you can't steer w/o power I rode in the boat and bitched about the fact that there wasn't any beer in there.

summary: buy a good clamp, a strong long rope, identify the correct hose at home, then keep fingers crossed that you never need them.

 

[1of500]

oh ya, you yanked mine around like a red headed step child. Poor Ginger was getting slapped lol.

But at that point my engine was already farked so it really didn't matter lol.

Trust me, i've towed ski's behind me with a heavy finger before.

fish: no you can't steer w/o power I rode in the boat and bitched about the fact that there wasn't any beer in there.

summary: buy a good clamp, a strong long rope, identify the correct hose at home, then keep fingers crossed that you never need them.

Now you can say that you rode an rxx and got towed by one not many people can say that

 

[snikwad003]

Sorry for the power tow

That was awsome, heard the rxx scream, then see spims ski get jerked around like a prius on a tow truck.

oh ya, you yanked mine around like a red headed step child. Poor Ginger was getting slapped lol.

But at that point my engine was already farked so it really didn't matter lol.

Trust me, i've towed ski's behind me with a heavy finger before.

fish: no you can't steer w/o power I rode in the boat and bitched about the fact that there wasn't any beer in there.

summary: buy a good clamp, a strong long rope, identify the correct hose at home, then keep fingers crossed that you never need them.

Will have stocked cooler next time:cheers:

Now you can say that you rode an rxx and got towed by one not many people can say that

Would keep my face as close to the exhaust as possible for that tow :willy_nilly:

 

[Spimothy Leary]

Now you can say that you rode an rxx and got towed by one not many people can say that

tru dat.

I will admit that riding the carbon x4 put a bigger smile on my face and I didn't even push it that hard since I didn't want to take a swim.

I really enjoyed the XX, it was reminiscent of riding my old gp1300r but pulled a little harder off the line, midrange was very similar and it handled about the same, slightly more aggressive in the turns than I was used to.

Brought back good memories. I never had the chance to ride a triple pipe GP but some day i'll get the opportunity.

What I liked most is that it is a special ski and like you say, not many can say they've had seat time on a twin piper XX and i'm glad I was able to join the ranks of the few & the proud Thanks so much for sharing it, won't be forgotten.

 

[snikwad003]

By the way [MENTION=85931]rdfish1[/MENTION] you can stuff a tennis ball in the exhaust port of the ski being towed to prevent water from entering that way. On my boat I have installed ball valves in the feed lines from the jet pumps. I found the 3/4 inch pex ball valves you can get at lowes or the depot have a inside diameter just over 1/2" and fit in the hose with a little force, not sure if your 4choker is 1/2" or not.