Whats a good Jet Ski?

Question

Im looking for a good NEW Jet Ski to have this summer! I wouldnt mind getting a Yamaha! But, I wanted to see what everyone else thought. I want one that I can just cut up and have fun...and I wouldnt mind going alil fast! ;-) One that will hold about 2 people and not a big family one that will hold abillion people haha ... any suggestions?? And around what price?

Answer 1

Depending on your budget, some good ski's would be:

Yamaha VX110, Kawasaki STX-12F, Honda R-12, and if you insist on a SeaDoo, the GTI . All are the entry level 4 strokes that can be had for less than $8k.  They are capable of going 52 - 54 mph in stock form.  Each has their own merits and drawbacks, so it's pretty much up to which one seems best to you.  My personal preference would be the the Kawasaki, closely followed by the Yamaha.  Out of those choices, only the Honda is a 2-seater, the others are 3 seaters.

Going up the price range, some skis with more power would be the Yamaha FX or FX-HO, the Kawasaki STX-15F, or STX-250,  the Honda R-12X or F-12X,  or if you must, the SeaDoo RXP, RXT, GTX-SC.  The costs of these will be from the high $8k - $12K range, with speeds in excess of 60 - 65mph possible.  Again, each model has their pros and cons, and what I might like may not be best for you.  My personal preferences would be the Yamaha FX-HO, followed b the Honda F-12X, then the Kawasaki STX-15F.  I'll keep my opinion of  SeaDoo to myself, but I'll admit a lot of people like them....at least for awhile, anyway.

Four strokes seem to be the wave of the future, much quieter and better on fuel management, no visible smoke from the exhaust, and cleaner for the enviorment.  The downside is they are harder to work on, typically have less storage space, initially cost more than a two stroke, and are about 150 pounds heavier than a comparable two stroke.  

If you want a new  two stroke model, some of my favorites would be the Yamaha 700XL ( virtually bulletproof, but slow ) Yamaha GP-1300, Yamaha GP-800,  or the  Kawasaki Ultra 150.  These range in costs around $7K - under $10K new

Answer 2

If your lookin for power, I would recommend the 2 stroke Yamahas.  They are ridicouslly fast with ungodly hp (the 1300 gpr in particular).  Only down side is that you constantly have to add 2 stroke engine oil with gas.  If your lookin for a great stable cruising (also fast) ski, go with the sea doos.  Make sure that there is tech support in your area.  We go through about 3 skis a year at my job because we eithier crash them or wear and tear.  We log around 14 hours of operation weekly on all our skis which is way beyond the normal operational expectancy.

Good input from sumting....  We removed the catilitic converter module, installed racing intakes, and added a nose piece to keep the front in the water.  We got the seedoos (3 seater) up to 59mph and the yamahas up to 68mph.  We usually use it on open ocean.