1996 and 1997 SeeDoo SPXs

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95C1500

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As with all of my threads, I like to post a little background. If you don't care, skip to post 2.

My childhood neighbor bought these things 10 years ago. I think I might have had the chance to ride them one time. Then the lake rose so no one could go out on the water. They sat for couple years and when we tried to take them out again, the 96 didn't want to run all that great. According to my neighbor, it would rev on the water but wouldn't actually accelerate. So he took it to a dealership and they suggested the impeller and wear ring were the culprit. He had them rebuild all four carbs while he was there. He got them back, took them on the water and it had the same issue. They sat again. We had a tornado hit the neighborhood in 2016(?) which hit the yellow one leaving a hole in the fiberglass hull. That's where he lost all motivation. In 2017, he told me (a broke college kid) that if I posted them on craigslist, I could keep 10% of the sale price. I was optimistic and listed them higher than I should have. No bites, ad expired and I never renewed it.

Fast forward to this afternoon, my dad got a call from his neighbor. He asked my dad if he wanted the jet skis. My dad wants nothing to do with owning them but said he knew someone who might. So, I got the call from my dad, hopped in the truck and headed that way. When I showed up his neighbor tossed me a set of keys to the various locks on the trailer and I gave it a once over.

They aren't in great shape. Neither have ran in almost 5 years. Trailer tires are shot and it's missing a taillight which was robbed for another one of his trailers. I asked what he wanted for them and he told me to haul them off and he'd sign the title over. So, that's $0.
 

95C1500

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Short summary: I got a pair of free jet skis! Since the tires are shot, I hauled it 10 feet to the other side of the fence to it's new temporary resting place in my parent's backyard.

One is a 1996 (green) and the other is a 1997 (yellow). The 97 has double the horsepower but a hole in the hull and the green doesn't run great. I have not figured out what model yet (Im thinking they are both SPXs) or engine sizes yet. A good wash, tune up, carb rebuild, fuel filter, fresh gas, trailer tires/lights, trying my hand at fiberglass repair are the first things I'll do. I want them running and usable. I'm not going to dump a crap load of money into these things. I'll get some better pics tomorrow after I wash them.

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They aren't the pontoon boat I want, but they'll be fun if I can get them running. Anyone know anything about PWCs? Because, I don't.
 

skylark

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Somewhere around 97 or so I traded a car for 2 early 90's skidoos. They were fun for a few weekends but they got old quick. I offed them and moved on.
 

95C1500

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Somewhere around 97 or so I traded a car for 2 early 90's skidoos. They were fun for a few weekends but they got old quick. I offed them and moved on.
I honestly expect the same outcome for me. They've always looked fun from the outside looking in. However, my girlfriend is very excited about them instead of being indifferent, which was unexpected, so I'll probably keep them around for a while. Whatever the outcome, they'll be a fun little project.
 

df2x4

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What engines do they have? (EDIT - My bad, just saw you said you're not sure yet.) I'm not super familiar with SeeDoo/Bombardier parts stuff but I've ridden a bunch of them. The neighbors at my dad's old lake cabin had a few. They're lots of fun. We had a '97 Polaris SLTX 1050 and it would outrun all the SeeDoos and keep you much dryer doing it, though. :lol: I still regret not buying that Polaris when my dad got rid of it last year. It ran great and I could've scooped it up for around $1K with the trailer but I just had absolutely nowhere to put it.

Congrats on the score! No matter what shape they're in the price was definitely right. I'm sure you'll enjoy them.
 

95C1500

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What engines do they have? (EDIT - My bad, just saw you said you're not sure yet.) I'm not super familiar with SeeDoo/Bombardier parts stuff but I've ridden a bunch of them. The neighbors at my dad's old lake cabin had a few. They're lots of fun. We had a '97 Polaris SLTX 1050 and it would outrun all the SeeDoos and keep you much dryer doing it, though. :lol: I still regret not buying that Polaris when my dad got rid of it last year. It ran great and I could've scooped it up for around $1K with the trailer but I just had absolutely nowhere to put it.

Congrats on the score! No matter what shape they're in the price was definitely right. I'm sure you'll enjoy them.
The green one has the 717 Rotax and the yellow has the 787 Rotax. They yellow has double the horsepower and from what I've read, they kept getting bigger engines as the years went on. Vastly underpowered by today's standards but 25 years ago, I'm sure it was great!
 

df2x4

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The green one has the 717 Rotax and the yellow has the 787 Rotax. They yellow has double the horsepower and from what I've read, they kept getting bigger engines as the years went on. Vastly underpowered by today's standards but 25 years ago, I'm sure it was great!

The one with the 787 (800) should be a pretty fun machine. Our neighbors had one and it was the closest thing they had to keeping up with our Polaris. On relatively calm water it would run 50MPH no problem.
 

95C1500

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The one with the 787 (800) should be a pretty fun machine. Our neighbors had one and it was the closest thing they had to keeping up with our Polaris. On relatively calm water it would run 50MPH no problem.
Awesome! Now if I can just get them running. I'm going to check compression on both this weekend and if all is good, I'm going to redo the fuel system and rebuild the carbs on both. After that, I'll fix the hull of the yellow and then just enjoy them.

They cleaned up nice though
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sewlow

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There's clubs here where they do day, weekend or week long trips up the coast or the local rivers. Full wetsuits. Camping gear. Miles & miles of uninhabited coastline within a 3-4 hour ride outa Vancouver.
A popular trip for the more hardcore riders is to circumnavigate Vancouver Island. Van Isle is 290 miles long & 65 miles at the widest.
For fun. Yea. Crazy.
But then, there's some people that do that same trip in a kayak, too.
I don't know why.
On the Pacific side, there's nothin' west until Japan.
They're all using big new High-perf machines, though. Which are probably worth more than my truck.
Some of those guys have gone much further north, too. 1/2 way to Alaska.
I like riding them, but 650+ miles? That's a bit much.
...and like anything that floats, they can be just a big hole in the water for your paycheck.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/B...58b7905de53de4!8m2!3d49.282645!4d-123.1205718
 
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95C1500

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There's clubs here where they do day, weekend or week long trips up the coast or the local rivers. Full wetsuits. Camping gear. Miles & miles of unhinhabited coastline within a 3-4 hour ride outa Vancouver.
A popular trip for the more hardcore riders is to circumnavigate Vancouver Island. Van Isle is 290 miles long & 65 miles at the widest.
For fun. Yea. Crazy.
But then, there's some people that do that same trip in a kayak, too.
I don't know why.
On the Pacific side, there's nothin' west until Japan.
They're all using big new High-perf machines, though. Which are probably worth more than my truck.
Some of those guys have gone much further north, too. 1/2 way to Alaska.
I like riding them, but 650+ miles? That's a bit much.
...and like anything that floats, they can be just a big hole in the water for your paycheck.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/B...58b7905de53de4!8m2!3d49.282645!4d-123.1205718
Geez. I'd never do it. I like messing around on a lake for a few hours. I would not like to make a camping trip out of it.
 
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