How to choose a jetski?

There are so many different models that I can't really decide. Base price isn't so much a factor, but I don't want to have anything that burns so much fuel I think twice about taking for a spin. And I have read the average model only lasts around 300 hours? That sucks! What jetskis do you guys own?

 

Done

 

I had one for a couple of years. Sold it. If you are the only one you know that has one it sucks. If you are going to buy one better make it two so you can bring a friend along. You'll get more use out of it.

 

Yamaha FXSHO look it up!

 

I want to know why this is in the 3rd gen section...

 

Remain calm

 

I have a 2002 Honda Aquatrax with over 400 hours that I bought new in 2003. I would recommend a 3 passenger ski as a 2 passenger ski is better suited for one person. I would buy another Honda if they made them but they don't so that leaves Yamaha. Kawasaki would be my second and only choice other than Yamaha.

 

Go to pwctoday.com

 

Is it true that the average jetski lifespan is only 300 hours? I have read that on multiple sites. Can't imagine spending 10k for 300 hours of use.

I was thinking Yamaha as well. But I have read that that seadoos have a closed-loop cooling system, which is apparently the big selling point over Yamaha. Does that matter?

How much gas would a recreation jetski burn through? I dont want to start spending $50 on gas every time I take it out.

 

I would think between maintenance, gas, food, lake... license fees etc.... its gonna be at least 100 bucks a trip.

 

Yamaha is what I’ve used and been around a lot I’m soon to be in the market to purchase a new one in the near future but! At the end of the day it’s a boat!
Bust
Out
Another
Thousand
If you buying new I’d check what has the best resale value in your area for both if you just wanna weekend warrior it! It’ll start to be more work then fun to keep it well maintained. I’ve heard of skis getting more warned down sitting in garage the being constantly used due to dry rot in seal and hoses! Seeadoo has a lot of new tech but may not have long term reliability and resale you may need just my opinion!

 

Maybe look into a little jet boat or something

 

I had a Kawasaki 1100 for a number of years. It was an awesome jetski. While it was a lot more practical when I lived in a small town (as opposed to a big city), it was fun

 

How much did you spend on gas on each outing? Did it only last 300 hours?

 

300 hours, in my opinion, is a lot of hours for something that may only see a few hours of use per month. Unless you happen to live at the waters edge, you'll likely only take it out for a few hours at a time.

For most of the time that I owned that jetski, I'm thinking that I likely took it out to Senators Wash (near Yuma AZ) once or twice per week to play for a while. After a bit I'd bring her back, tie her off to the trailer, and study for a while (rinse and repeat). In terms of gasoline I usually didn't use all that much gasoline per outing, it's been a few years but I'm guessing that I used maybe a couple of gallons each trip.

 

I was a huge jet ski fanatic back in the day.Yamaha seemed the most reliable between Yamaha,Kawasaki and seadoo.I haven’t spent any time with other manufacturers..I miss my super jet and the road trips we used the make to havasu..

 

You have to figure out what kind of riding your going to do. Fun stuff such as jumping waves, boat wakes on a super jet or other stand up or a waveblaster I. Cruising around and hitting the hot spots and hanging out with others. Taking other people with you on your ski and how much stuff you need to take with you. I mainly ride my seadoo Gtrx and some times take the Rxp out these days. I used to only ride stand ups , blasters and X2s. But the older I got the more I wasn't appreciating the beating the old skis put on me.

 

It costs me currently about 35 dollars every time I ride a seadoo because I ride till I get low on gas then head home. Realistically putting 300 hours on a ski is a lot unless the ski is a rental. I probably put 50 hours on mine last year because the 35 dollars for every ride was getting expensive. And when all my friends were working it got boring riding by myself. With the newer skis I prefer seadoo over Yamaha because of the way they look. I prefer seadoo over Kawasaki because of the new technology mostly because Kawasaki as of last year didn't have a reverse on the handle bar like Yamaha and seadoo have. My favorite old 3 seat ski is a Yamaha wave venture 1100 made back in the 90s.

 

If you are worried a about the operational cost, get a Seadoo Spark or Yamaha EXR. They are the lightest and lowest horsepower models available, also some of the slowest and cheapest as well. I spend less than $20 a weekend on gas for the Spark.

Also to get an idea on hours for a pwc, I rode every weekend for a month after getting the seadoo, and I barely have 15 hours. The boat lives on a hoist at the lake so I can use it whenever, and I would have a hard time putting 40-50 hours a year.

The 300 hour lifespan is bs with four stroke pwc. A modern four stroke that has over 300 hours is likely a rental and was beat to hell, so they sell them and buy new. Other pwc that have over 300 hours are also old, so parts start to age out and they are not maintained well or two stroke and wear out.

My father has a 1995 seadoo gts that will hit the water for its 24th summer this year. It does not look cool, or have enough hp to race or beat up, or tow well, but its been maintained and probably passed 300 hours a decade ago.