Well the woman and I went Jet Skiing more then a few times and she (and me of course) are considering picking up one of the older (95-99) Jet Ski's. They seem to be pretty abundant on craigslist from anywhere to 500-3k. Anyone have any experience with owning a ski? 2 stroke vs 4 stroke? Maintenance, breakdowns, recommendations, etc? I've been researching on PWCforums and whatnot, but they don't seem to have a braineack FAQ

 

No experience other than they are a freakin blast.
Knowing little about those motors, I would say two stroke for the fun factor, 4 stroke for the maintmance factor.

 

those new seadoo supercharged ones look freakin badass, get on eof those haha. 255 horsepower! more than most turboed miatas here!

 

My mom's Yamaha 110 hp 4 stroke 3 seater is perfect. It will ride 3 people and tow one. With two people and one in tow it's a beast though. With one person its a blast to romp around on. Pretty much ideal because its good on gas and you don't have to mix the oil.

Pretty much any realiable jetski you can get will be fun. So shop around and get the most bang for your buck. By bang i mean HP and reliability.

 

me and my bro own a 07 honda aquatrax f12x 1235cc 4 stroke turbo engine.......dont know how much power, but MORE THAN ENOUGH, the thing is ridiculous on the water, but dont know much about maintenance since he does all that...

picked it up from craigslist for 6200 in great shape with the trailer.

 

I have the non-supercharged basic 130 HP version, and it scoots pretty well. I think it will hit almost 60 MPH on the water IIRC. Very nice PWC, it's actually the wife's toy.

Mark

 

2 seaters are a lot more fun if you like to go out and jump and stuff. Look into the seadoos made up until 1999 if this is your thing. 3 seaters are nice if you like to just cruise around or want to pull tubes, etc. and don't have a boat. 4 strokes are a lot cheaper to maintain, but a 2 stroke is usually more fun due to weighing less. I personally would opt for a 1997-1999 Seadoo SPX or one of the new supercharged seadoos.

 

I have had a couple throughout the years, nothing right now though. My dad's marina didn't want me to keep them in his slip with his boat. Even though he had a private slip. Whatev. I prefer the simplicity of the 2 stroke, even if I have to mix in my own oil. I also like the smaller, lighter crafts as they're more fun to carve through wakes and jump stuff.

My advice: get whatever is cheap on CL and enjoy.

 

Seadoo HX FTW! Fun little machine, and no one wants them so they usually go pretty cheap. You have to start from the water, and it will leave you pretty sore and tired. They are pretty fast and fairly light. Not ideal if you just have one or two jet skis, but makes a fun toy along with a civilized watercraft.