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Wow! PWCs are fun!

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jamesbern

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I got out for my first time ever yesterday. Holy crap this is fun! According to my buddy who went with me, my XP ran awesome! At the end of an hour or so of messing around we ran through about 5 gallons. We probably ran it a good 30-40 minutes out of that time.

I never realized they were this fun. We both managed to get tossed once. Reboarding in deep water is a bit of a challenge, but not too bad. I can't wait to do it again.

My main worry was if it was leaking and at the end I had maybe a liter of water in the hull..basically nothing by what my friend said. I'm so happy I got it instead of another motorcycle. Hopefully it keeps running well for me.

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That is great you discovered how much fun these skis are!

I would comment that you should look into where the leak is coming from. I would think that it may only get worse. Possibly some of the more mechanically inclined members can respond to this.

Enjoy!
 
I don't think you're gonna get may arguments on this forum. As far as the water in the hull. What's a liter about 1-1/2 quarts? Sounds about normal after hard riding, especially if the ski threw you. I wouldn't worry about it for now, but keep and eye on it.

A lot of us who have been around for a while are ex motorcycle riders who are looking for something a little safer, water is a lot softer than pavement. Anyway keep having fun.

Lou
 
I don't think you're gonna get may arguments on this forum. As far as the water in the hull. What's a liter about 1-1/2 quarts? Sounds about normal after hard riding, especially if the ski threw you. I wouldn't worry about it for now, but keep and eye on it.

A lot of us who have been around for a while are ex motorcycle riders who are looking for something a little safer, water is a lot softer than pavement. Anyway keep having fun.

Lou

Agree with both paragraphs!
 
Thanks guys. As to the water in the hull, I may be misjudging. It might have been 12 ounces if that. Which is basically less than two glasses of water. When my buddy was riding it he was jumping it and really going to town. :) For the amount of hard riding i'd say it was pretty damn dry inside.

Hoping to get back out this weekend.
 
even if you have a little water, just turn your pump on and it will take care of your excess water from when you were riding hard, plus a little water is normal
 
even if you have a little water, just turn your pump on and it will take care of your excess water from when you were riding hard, plus a little water is normal

yes, the bailers should suck out the water during the ride, what I do on occasion is lift the seat when idling and peek inside and see if i'm high and dry, but that small amount is nothing to worry about at all.

glad you had fun ! getting the hand of deep water boarding is really just a matter of practice, balance and upper arm strength, just get tossed about 25 more times and you'll get real good at it ! once you get a few rides under your belt, you can start practicing 180's, 360's and jumping a few wakes when the opportunity presents itself.

remember that long stretches of full throttle are really not that good for a 2 stroke, so try to resist that, i try to keep at 70% throttle most of the time, better for the engine, and it gives you a little throttle left when you need it for a quick turn.

have fun !
 
I was jumping a bit already. Nothing crazy, just my own wake. It is a really odd feeling when you go to turn hard at speed and the ski just slides and loops out. :D
 
remember that long stretches of full throttle are really not that good for a 2 stroke, so try to resist that, i try to keep at 70% throttle most of the time, better for the engine, and it gives you a little throttle left when you need it for a quick turn.

have fun !

What would you consider long stretches of full throttle?
 
It is a really odd feeling when you go to turn hard at speed and the ski just slides and loops out:cuss:

This is the sensation I don't like that leads me to install aftermarket sponsons. There will be no 180's or 360's after that though, move the bars at speed and it's going to turn(with or without you). Modifying can be addicting so you could just trim down for better steering.

Part of the reason that it is so fun is that you got yourself the right craft.The X4 is commonly listed as the ski to look for, congrats!

I often learn a lot from spim, but I want to clarify this WOT(wide open throttle)thing. I agree with what he said if you use rpms instead of the physical throttle position. 80% throttle is your lean spot. When you pull it wide open from there you do not usually gain that many rpms but you open all the jets in the carb(carbs) to flow at their potential. I think if you have a healthy engine with a clean and properly tuned fuel system then you should be ok to hold WOT indefinitely, right?
 
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The feeling of turning quick is awesome. Coming from street bikes where i've hung off to "drag knee" i'm used to using my body weight. I found it fun trying to find the right amount of "hang off" without the feeling that the ski is going to tip over. It is such a cool feeling.

I just remembered one thing. When riding, I was getting 1 short beep every now and then. My fuel guage reads at two bars because the sender is broken. Could that be a beep to let me know fuel is "low"? I never got any other beeps beside the two at start up.
 
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What would you consider long stretches of full throttle?

myself... i consider a long stretch more than a minute. more below

It is a really odd feeling when you go to turn hard at speed and the ski just slides and loops out:cuss:

This is the sensation I don't like that leads me to install aftermarket sponsons. There will be no 180's or 360's after that though, move the bars at speed and it's going to turn(with or without you). Modifying can be addicting so you could just trim down for better steering.

Part of the reason that it is so fun is that you got yourself the right craft.The X4 is commonly listed as the ski to look for, congrats!

I often learn a lot from spim, but I want to clarify this WOT(wide open throttle)thing. I agree with what he said if you use rpms instead of the physical throttle position. 80% throttle is your lean spot. When you pull it wide open from there you do not usually gain that many rpms but you open all the jets in the carb(carbs) to flow at their potential. I think if you have a healthy engine with a clean and properly tuned fuel system then you should be ok to hold WOT indefinitely, right?

agree with the sponsons but its really a matter of personal preference. I've ridden the x4 with beach house and with stock sponsons, and personally I like when you are zipping along around the mid 30's, make a hard turn and drop the hammer and get the azz end to slide around, control the steering and the throttle properly and you and execute a nice sliding 360 in a very small space, and your heading in the same direction again. With sponsons, that 360 requires a solid grip on the bars !

as you move from rec to more of a hardcore rider, then the sponson's become a must, since you want and need precise turns and immediate response, but for a new rider the sponson's can make the craft a little difficult to control since the reaction to turning the handlebars at speed can be quite severe, the ski will execute a perfect 180/270/360 and you will land about 6 feet away upside down in the water :) granted this can happen with stockers as well but its much more consistent with AM sponsons.

now. to revisit the long stretches of Full Throttle runs on a two stroke...

Its not that your going to blow up the engine immediately, but from personal experience riding with newb's they have a tendancy just to want to run wide open for 3 minutes, turn around, run wide open for long stretches, (back when i first started riding, that's what I used to do all the time ! ) and honestly its not real healthy for the engine's shelf life. I am NOT a tuner or hardcore wrencher so perhaps other's will totally disagree but in general, IMO, it will shorten the lifespan of the ski and this is especially true if the ski is not what you would consider "100% healthy and tuned" ie: a used ski where the condition of the internals is unknown, now if you have a ski that isn't 100% and an inexperienced rider that won't notice the tiny changes that would indicate a problem before its too late. I absolutely know when my ski is not responding the way it should be, but during my first year of riding, I had no clue !

I generally run WOT for short stretches, then taper down to 45-50mph and speed back up again, varying the speed and rpm's. When I go on a longer cruise, i'm generally running between maybe 4000 and 6000 rpm, with short stretches of WOT.

i'm sure there is a tuner out there that may want to chime in on the actual implications of running "indefinitely" at WOT, and perhaps i'm wrong, i'm just relaying what I've been told by experienced tuners back when I was a newb, and one of the first things I was told was to stop running WOT all the dam time :) In general all i'm saying is that there is no practical reason to run at full throttle for more than a minute, and 30 seconds would be even better if you'd like to get more than a full season out of your ski.

and i'd be curious what a serious tuner would say about this.
 
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Well put as always Mr. Leary. I ride the same way(cruise at 4000-6000) and do not hold wot open for long either. I just want to feel like when I get one just right then I could without hurting or even miss using it. I also am curious to what a experienced tuner thinks. Your sponson description is as good as your Craigslist one!
 
:agree: I agree 100%, I'm sure that I'm not as an aggressive rider as y'all, however that's why I like the 787 over the 720. You can get decent performance out of a 720 ski, but only if you're riding at WOT most of the time. I like having that little extra reserve that a 787 gives, especially when sliding into curves, 180's, 360's and jumping wakes. I also cruise at around 5000rpm but it sure is nice having that little extra when you want it.

Lou
 
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