A little jet ski history for you.
The original jet skis, early and mid 90s Sea Doo XPs, Yamaha Raiders and Ventures, Kawasaki Zxi and 750s(stand-ups and early sit-downs) were small and unstable, but fun, cheap and great for playing around close to shore.
In the mid 90s, we saw significant improvement in skis with the Yamaha GP, GPR and XLs, Sea Doo RX and XP Limited, and Kawasaki STX and Ultra. These skis started to get bigger and more powerful. For ultimate performance (at least bang for your buck) these are some of the best buying choices.
In 2002 we saw the introduction of the 4 stroke PWC. Yamaha and Kawasaki used variants of their motorcycle engines, and Sea Doo’s engine partner Rotax developed a 3 cylinder, single cam 4 valve engine. With an increase in hull size and weight, they were smoother, safer, and more stable in rough water. There was also the addition of electronics – fuel injection, GPS, etc.
These larger and more sophisticated hulls and engines meant a significant increase in price and complexity. A basic 2 cylinder 2 stroke (like a Yamaha 700 or 760) might have a total of 65 parts including nuts and bolts for the entire engine. A modern 4 stroke will have 100s of parts in the head alone.
Polaris made some great skis (1992-2004). They won “Ski Of The Year” in the magazines several times and made some of the cooler hot rod skis off the showroom floor. If you want to see something with a cool motor, check out a Polaris PRO.
The problem is, they stopped making skis over 10 years ago, which means there is little or no factory support, few shops have the tools or experience to work on them, and parts are scarce. This doesn’t mean they are bad skis, but it does mean that the ownership experience is going to be more difficult and possibly painful. If you have issues with Polaris fuel injection, you might never get it fixed.
Honda produced their AquaTrax skis from 2002-2009, again making parts quickly becoming hard to source.
Tigershark has the same issues, only more severe (1993-1999). They were only made for a few years…. a long time ago.
There are also a few specialty market manufacturers that have come on the scene over the years, making custom race or trick skis. You may have heard of Rickter, Wamilton, Hydrospace or some others.
PWCs continue to evolve with changes in engines and hull styling, as well as the addition of more and improved electronics. What hasn’t changed for as long as manufacturers have been phasing out 2 strokes (mainly due to government pollution regulations) is the age old question….2 stroke or 4 stroke?
What’s your pleasure?
