[Bobble]

FPO or slow mode? Slow mode will cut sooner and have less overall power. Newer ones do this by key so the person you send off in slow mode cannot change it, it's an 08 right.
They do smoke a bit but should subside after a while. What was the temps outside and the water temp roughly?

[Crisp]

No it wasn't in SLO mode.
100% sure it was the right key, I checked before I started it.

It did 58mph once but then cut off at 40mph. I let off and got it to 58 again.

Outside temp was 60 degrees and water temp was probably in the mid 40's I would guess.

The guys over at greenhulk said it's steam not smoke which was my first guess but then this doesn't explain the 58mph top out or the cutoff that happened at 40. Acceleration wasn't very smooth at times.

Originally Posted by Bobble

FPO or slow mode? Slow mode will cut sooner and have less overall power. Newer ones do this by key so the person you send off in slow mode cannot change it, it's an 08 right.
They do smoke a bit but should subside after a while. What was the temps outside and the water temp roughly?

[Bobble]

Yep the smoke/steam is kind of indicative of water being in the exhaust jacket make sure you blow it out really well. They are "legally" limited to @65 mph. I say legally becuase there is no legally binding law but was a gentlemens agreement for safety but most manhufacturers have gone right by that by now. Also the speedo on all skis are notoriously wrong, heck my little 1200 hits an indicated 69 mph if I'm leaning a bit to the right and going with the current on a long run, and I'll get caught by 1500's and FI skis so we know that's just wrong. When you say cut out just a rev limiter but did it at 40 mph one time and then were able to accelerate to 58 mph consistently? I'll text my buddy at Kawi Tech services and ask, actually I've got a couple of people I can ask and see if there's anything to check out. Does it rev freely to redline?

[Crisp]

Yea I've heard it being off but showing high not low. Lol

I I'm hoping it's because I didn't let it warm up enough (about a few minutes).

On one run it felt like it was skipping or stuttering during acceleration but still climbing. For another run it made it to 40 and even though I had the throttle all the way down, it wasn't climbing anymore. I let off and got back on it and it got past the 40mpg 'barrier' and made it to 58 then stopped climbing again.
Very weird.
I'll give it another this weekend for longer.

Do ask your buddy if you get a chance. I haven't gotten much help from greenhulk.


Thanks brother!

Originally Posted by Bobble

Yep the smoke/steam is kind of indicative of water being in the exhaust jacket make sure you blow it out really well. They are "legally" limited to @65 mph. I say legally becuase there is no legally binding law but was a gentlemens agreement for safety but most manhufacturers have gone right by that by now. Also the speedo on all skis are notoriously wrong, heck my little 1200 hits an indicated 69 mph if I'm leaning a bit to the right and going with the current on a long run, and I'll get caught by 1500's and FI skis so we know that's just wrong. When you say cut out just a rev limiter but did it at 40 mph one time and then were able to accelerate to 58 mph consistently? I'll text my buddy at Kawi Tech services and ask, actually I've got a couple of people I can ask and see if there's anything to check out. Does it rev freely to redline?

[Crisp]

Btw. It's a 2007 250x with 35 hours.

Originally Posted by Bobble

Yep the smoke/steam is kind of indicative of water being in the exhaust jacket make sure you blow it out really well. They are "legally" limited to @65 mph. I say legally becuase there is no legally binding law but was a gentlemens agreement for safety but most manhufacturers have gone right by that by now. Also the speedo on all skis are notoriously wrong, heck my little 1200 hits an indicated 69 mph if I'm leaning a bit to the right and going with the current on a long run, and I'll get caught by 1500's and FI skis so we know that's just wrong. When you say cut out just a rev limiter but did it at 40 mph one time and then were able to accelerate to 58 mph consistently? I'll text my buddy at Kawi Tech services and ask, actually I've got a couple of people I can ask and see if there's anything to check out. Does it rev freely to redline?

[Bobble]

Here's the answer I got when I reached out to contacts at Kawi:

The second question is complicated and could be many things. Most likely not the ECU. Typically when the ECU fails it is sudden and complete. Kind of like an brain embolism. It's over baby. No Spark of High Heeled Boys. Actually not a gay thing, it just sounded good.

Most likely the belt is slipping. Either because it is adjusted too loose or water is getting on it. We have had some leaks at the drive-shaft bearing seal under a load. Can't see it unless you are under a load with the seat off. Also, could be a loose cooling hose which also will spray water under a load. Any water getting on the belt will cause it to slip. A loose belt will slip. A loose intake baffle could be causing this scenario. The baffle is located forward of the engine on the right side and is close to the side of the hull. If it becomes loose it could suck itself to the side of the hull. Kind of like putting your hand over the intake tube. Also, could be loose hose claims at the intake ducts between the supercharger and intercooler or between the intercooler and throttle body allowing pressure to escape. Could also be a bad fuel pump or water in the fuel tank. And this is all if the engine is in good condition which can be checked with a compression test. So that is most of the things related to the supercharger.

Another possibility which we have seen on many occasions is a failed pump bearing. If this happens the impeller pushes the drive-shaft forward putting extreme pressure on the crankshaft pushing the crank against the engine case causing severe engine damage. The loss of performance is two fold. Less pump pressure and engine damage. Most likely both if operated for any length of time. Can be found by removing the pump to check the bearings and pump shaft and by removing the valve cover to check for aluminum debris.

So as you can see, the symptoms you described can be caused by a number of issues. A good tech can have it diagnosed in a short period of time. However, there are not that many of them out there. What he should do is take it to a dealer first. The dealer can contact the Hot Line for help. I can get a field rep involved if necessary. I have a very good one in the NY area. Maybe you should get the HIN for me and the guys contact information.

So in short you can have a dealer look at it, preferrably the one that did the prior work and we can go from there. Since you mentioned you had some water in the hull and since I provided that to him that's how he came up with the scenarios. If the dealer is not to responsive or concerned PM your HIN and contact info and I'll pass it along.

[Crisp]

Originally Posted by Bobble

Here's the answer I got when I reached out to contacts at Kawi:

The second question is complicated and could be many things. Most likely not the ECU. Typically when the ECU fails it is sudden and complete. Kind of like an brain embolism. It's over baby. No Spark of High Heeled Boys. Actually not a gay thing, it just sounded good.

Most likely the belt is slipping. Either because it is adjusted too loose or water is getting on it. We have had some leaks at the drive-shaft bearing seal under a load. Can't see it unless you are under a load with the seat off. Also, could be a loose cooling hose which also will spray water under a load. Any water getting on the belt will cause it to slip. A loose belt will slip. A loose intake baffle could be causing this scenario. The baffle is located forward of the engine on the right side and is close to the side of the hull. If it becomes loose it could suck itself to the side of the hull. Kind of like putting your hand over the intake tube. Also, could be loose hose claims at the intake ducts between the supercharger and intercooler or between the intercooler and throttle body allowing pressure to escape. Could also be a bad fuel pump or water in the fuel tank. And this is all if the engine is in good condition which can be checked with a compression test. So that is most of the things related to the supercharger.

Another possibility which we have seen on many occasions is a failed pump bearing. If this happens the impeller pushes the drive-shaft forward putting extreme pressure on the crankshaft pushing the crank against the engine case causing severe engine damage. The loss of performance is two fold. Less pump pressure and engine damage. Most likely both if operated for any length of time. Can be found by removing the pump to check the bearings and pump shaft and by removing the valve cover to check for aluminum debris.

So as you can see, the symptoms you described can be caused by a number of issues. A good tech can have it diagnosed in a short period of time. However, there are not that many of them out there. What he should do is take it to a dealer first. The dealer can contact the Hot Line for help. I can get a field rep involved if necessary. I have a very good one in the NY area. Maybe you should get the HIN for me and the guys contact information.

So in short you can have a dealer look at it, preferrably the one that did the prior work and we can go from there. Since you mentioned you had some water in the hull and since I provided that to him that's how he came up with the scenarios. If the dealer is not to responsive or concerned PM your HIN and contact info and I'll pass it along.

Thank you so much for reaching out to him.
I really appreciate it.


Before I seek help from a dealer, let me take it out for one more test ride and see how exactly it behaves. This way, I can help with troubleshooting also.

I'll then PM you my contact info so you can pass it along.


Again, thank you very much.

[Crisp]

So I filled it up with 93 octane and took it for a 30 minute ride to flush out as much of the old fluids as possible.

Within 5 minutes that I started it, it stalled, right near the launch ramp.
I started it again and it stayed alive but I didn't give it a chance to stall again as I kept the RPM up.

I kept it around 1/2 to 3/4 throttle and easy acceleration. I took it at about 40-50mph only because it was very windy and wavy, but I kept it at that speed for a while.

At the end of the ride, I started messing around with it and it felt fine. No hesitation, no white smoke, nothing other than the usual battery warning when I turned it off and back on, so I guess I need a new bat.


Now my new problem:

I got dock space and a float. It was no problem getting it on the float, but a bitch to push off. The float does not have rollers:



Any tips on how to push it off? I don't have much room to push from the front. The easiest option was to actually jump in the water and pull the jet ski off from the back while pushing away on the float with my feet.

I don't feel like diving in that nasty dock water though and I don't want to pull the ski off using a rope from the dock because that would put too much stress on the mounting points of the float....which is why I pulled the ski off by pushing away on the float itself and not on the dock.


My new solution: spray WD40 on the rails. lol
Any ideas?

[Mahmood07]

Originally Posted by Crisp

So I filled it up with 93 octane and took it for a 30 minute ride to flush out as much of the old fluids as possible.

Within 5 minutes that I started it, it stalled, right near the launch ramp.
I started it again and it stayed alive but I didn't give it a chance to stall again as I kept the RPM up.

I kept it around 1/2 to 3/4 throttle and easy acceleration. I took it at about 40-50mph only because it was very windy and wavy, but I kept it at that speed for a while.

At the end of the ride, I started messing around with it and it felt fine. No hesitation, no white smoke, nothing other than the usual battery warning when I turned it off and back on, so I guess I need a new bat.


Now my new problem:

I got dock space and a float. It was no problem getting it on the float, but a bitch to push off. The float does not have rollers:



Any tips on how to push it off? I don't have much room to push from the front. The easiest option was to actually jump in the water and pull the jet ski off from the back while pushing away on the float with my feet.

I don't feel like diving in that nasty dock water though and I don't want to pull the ski off using a rope from the dock because that would put too much stress on the mounting points of the float....which is why I pulled the ski off by pushing away on the float itself and not on the dock.


My new solution: spray WD40 on the rails. lol
Any ideas?

I always sit on the nose of the jetski (with my back to the jetski), grab the front bumper thing on each side, and push the jetski back using my legs and arms. Most of the power comes from the legs, so it will be easy. As long as you have a stable platform to place ur legs on while u push, ur good.

[Mahmood07]

Something like this :

[Crisp]

Originally Posted by Mahmood07

Something like this :

LMFAOO!!!!




Love the drawing.

Yea that looks simple but here is my issue:







Sadly, I have no room at all towards the front to push it off.
I'm thinking about turning the float around and pointing the front towards the dock so it also reduces some stress on the mounting points.
Then I would need to think of a way to place a bumper or something on the dock so I don't slam into it when I ride up the float.
Freakin small ass float!


The only other idea I had was the WD40 the float by the 'rails' or contact points, and use the car jack to lift the front of the ski a bit in order for it to slide off. This should be easier on the back, as I have already strained it trying to push it off.

[Bobble]

Silicon spray the float and sink the ass end some and rock it off the float. I would not put anything on your hull as I have seen, kid you not, people who have sprayed their hulls and then launch their skis right into the back of their trailer box or worse yet right off into their tow vehicle. Drunks in the summer at the Colorado river are worth the price of admittance watching them crash and break their shit right and left. We saw a guy several years ago so drunk park his ski right on the rocky abutement of a jetty putting a hole the size of a tennis ball in the hull and stumble away. Here's another idea that just came to me, try some surf wax on the floating dock but whatever you do only do a lIttle bit at time so you don't just slid right thru.

[TiAg335i]

Damn. That looks like a crappy float. My float was angled downward, and there was plenty of room to push it off. Had absolutely no problems pushing it off.

Try getting another float?

[Crisp]

Originally Posted by TiAg335i

Damn. That looks like a crappy float. My float was angled downward, and there was plenty of room to push it off. Had absolutely no problems pushing it off.

Try getting another float?

I got it dirt cheap with the dock. I couldn't pass it up.

I'm definitely going to look into another one though.

[Crisp]

Originally Posted by Bobble

Silicon spray the float and sink the ass end some and rock it off the float. I would not put anything on your hull as I have seen, kid you not, people who have sprayed their hulls and then launch their skis right into the back of their trailer box or worse yet right off into their tow vehicle. Drunks in the summer at the Colorado river are worth the price of admittance watching them crash and break their shit right and left. We saw a guy several years ago so drunk park his ski right on the rocky abutement of a jetty putting a hole the size of a tennis ball in the hull and stumble away. Here's another idea that just came to me, try some surf wax on the floating dock but whatever you do only do a lIttle bit at time so you don't just slid right thru.

LOL!

I don't drink and drive anything.
I'm going to try it a bit at a time. I can't get completely under the ski when it's on the float anyway, so I was just planning on spraying the contact points on the back of the ski just to get it sliding a bit.

Ehh I need a new float.

[Bobble]

Spray the float not the ski that way it can be put on a trailer properly with out sliding off. Not sure how NY is but too many EPA nazi's in Cali so use something that is biodegradable unless you are sure no one will care. Hence the surf wax comment. I'd try that before buying a new float.

Hey my buddy wants to know if the place that serviced your ski was a Kawi dealership? His concern is they retruned the ski with excess water in the exhaust jacket which if they do it all the time long term he wants to contact them and telling them the proper way from a warranty perspective. Pays way too many warranty claims for stuff dealer's do. He was in a cranky mood the other day over Ninja clutches again.

[Crisp]

Originally Posted by Bobble

Spray the float not the ski that way it can be put on a trailer properly with out sliding off. Not sure how NY is but too many EPA nazi's in Cali so use something that is biodegradable unless you are sure no one will care. Hence the surf wax comment. I'd try that before buying a new float.

Hey my buddy wants to know if the place that serviced your ski was a Kawi dealership? His concern is they retruned the ski with excess water in the exhaust jacket which if they do it all the time long term he wants to contact them and telling them the proper way from a warranty perspective. Pays way too many warranty claims for stuff dealer's do. He was in a cranky mood the other day over Ninja clutches again.

LOL!

I didn't service it anywhere yet, the previous owner did. He said it was a kawi dealer in Long Island (I forget the name).
I don't understand how they 'fully inspected' the ski. I just got a new battery for it because the battery warning was going off, and the ski was hesitating. They didn't inspect shit, other than take off the plastic wrap from the winter.

All that's left to do now is adjust the throttle cable tension a bit.
This should have all been done by the dealer, that's what pisses me off.

[scrufy]

Originally Posted by Bobble

+1000 on Greenhulk but like this forum do not get too scared by people talking about the world ending and their ski dying, it's fraction of the true riding population.
Looks like oil just puddled up from a sloppy change. Just clean up as best you can and watch it the first few rides, if it returns you have a warranty and get it looked at. Change you oil at least every season and more like every 30 to 40 hours on the FI boats. They all tend to get a little fuel in the oil just like we get deposits on the intakes.
Also small amount of water in the low areas of the hull is pretty normal, that's why I pull my hull plugs when I tow, so it drys out and when I check everything before launching the first time of the weekend I know what's in there or not, just remember to screw the plugs back in.
Side note I'm getting to use a brand new modififed Ultra 300 first weekend in May, that should be a giggle and hopefully there's enough water to support the speeds of upwards of 75 mph on a gun.

Yup, another greenhulk member here. I have a modified FZS.

Only thing I want to caution you about is keep an eye on the oil. I know this is an old thread but oh well..

The Ultras all have a minor problem with oil dilution..i.e. They get gas in the oil. Can be serious if left unchecked for long enough. Most of the guys on greenhulk just change the oil more often...
My 2c.
Have fun and enjoy that offshore monster ... What the Ultras are known for.

[RedBarron]

I have a 2001 Yamaha XLT1200 that I bought new in 2001. The ski today has 358 hours. I have had zero issues besides basic stuff. I have no idea how the old thing still runs. I attribute it to using the ski a lot typically twice a month and in Florida it has a extend use period so it does not sit around. The Galvanized steel trailer that the ski came with actually rusted away and broke. I never though the ski would out last the trailer, FYI always buy a Aluminum trailer not galvanized steel.
Granted the new 4 strokes are MUCH better and much more reliable, but I cannot complain of a decade of use with my Yamaha and it still going strong.

If I was in the market for a Newer ski I would prob get a used 2008 RXT-X, and do a few small mods. But I kind of don't want to steer away from Yamaha since it has been so reliable.

[GAM3OVR85]

Here is my RXT-X 260, i just got it

[Mahmood07]

Originally Posted by MTL Bimmer

Here is my RXT-X 260, i just got it

Beast! congrats bro..that thing will pull like a train!

[Bobble]

Originally Posted by scrufy

Yup, another greenhulk member here. I have a modified FZS.

Only thing I want to caution you about is keep an eye on the oil. I know this is an old thread but oh well..

The Ultras all have a minor problem with oil dilution..i.e. They get gas in the oil. Can be serious if left unchecked for long enough. Most of the guys on greenhulk just change the oil more often...
My 2c.
Have fun and enjoy that offshore monster ... What the Ultras are known for.

All FI motors have a little gas in the oil due to the pressure in the crankcase, same reason why Catchcans are not working well in the N54 arena. Do agree best thing you can do is change that oil every 20 or so hours. You can get a good old fashioned hand pump oil vacuum on Amazon for like $40 and it really makes the job simple. If the OP sees this what was the dealers name that did the service? I'd like to pass that on to my buddies at Kawi Corporate, issues like that reflect badly on the manufacturer. They had a very similar issue with Ninja 600's where the clutches were not being adjusted properly after uncrating new bikes and the new bike prep, well they would eat the clutch from riders dumping them and had to warranty a lot of clutches before they got that controlled and informed the dealers who had the problems.