Sea Doo XP's good skis?

[Bansheex13]

Are there any weak points or common problems with these skis? I am looking to pick up a cheap ski and they seem to be around $1500 for about 1996's. I know a lot of people don't like Sea Doo's but what is the reason for this?

 

[Vikesfan]

Re: Sea Doo XP's good skis?

The 96 XP (and SPX's) were know as X4 skis and are considered some of the most playful ski's ever made. The had 800 cc engines that are easy to work on and have a very good aftermarket for. The are very fast accelerating and are great for jumping. They have good but not great top speed. In 97 Seadoo switched hulls and in 98 they added the larger 951 engine. I have a 98 XP, but for the price range you are looking for a 96 XP would be a great choice if you want a fun ski to take out by yourself. An X4 ski is kind of a small ski and will be very tippy if you plan on riding double on it. If you plan on riding with someone else or towing you should probably look for a bigger ski in that price range. (Seadoo GTX or a Yamaha Waverunner might work) For more info you might want to do a search on Sea-doo.net

 

[ReelSlinger]

Re: Sea Doo XP's good skis?

Hey Vikesfan... if you're still looking at sea doos, I just saw a couple of late model skis at liquidation on BOATRAC http://www.boatrac.com . You might check it out, contact the lister and see if they have additional used or late model inventory.

 

[waterinthefuel]

Re: Sea Doo XP's good skis?

Good, not great, top speed? That was the one bike I couldn't outrun when we got ours in 1995-1996. The yellow XP was the yellow bullet you saw out on the water. Those things would do almost 60. Ours did 46 on the GPS and I couldn't even BEGIN to keep up and ours is a 750 yammy.

 

[Vikesfan]

Re: Sea Doo XP's good skis?

Good, not great, top speed? That was the one bike I couldn't outrun when we got ours in 1995-1996. The yellow XP was the yellow bullet you saw out on the water. Those things would do almost 60. Ours did 46 on the GPS and I couldn't even BEGIN to keep up and ours is a 750 yammy.

In it's time the 95-96 XP was the fastest thing on the water. By today's standards it's quick but not fast. The new Seadoo RXP-X will do over 68 and has a 0 to 50 of under 3 seconds. Most new skis will do at least 50 and most are close to 60 with the top dogs close to 70 out of the box.

Not a lot of the new ski's will be able to compete with the fun factor of the X4 boats or the 98-02 Xp's. I will never get rid of mine and would highly recommend a 95/96 XP or 96-98 SPX or 98-2002 XP if you can find one in good condition.

 

[DJ]

Re: Sea Doo XP's good skis?

We had an XP and a Yam. The Sea Doo was much more reliable, faster and did not porpoise like the Yam.did. The Doowas also much easier to maintain. Things just seemed to be easier to get at-IMHO.

It was the hands down favorite to ride. Many times because it was the only one that would run.

We have since sold both the PWC's since the kids got older, they never got used.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Sea Doo XP's good skis?

I had the opposite experience, than DJ. either way i was more than happy, when the buyer pulled them out of my driveway.

 

[Steve Mahler]

Re: Sea Doo XP's good skis?

my two cents - in my family we have a newer - 03 i think, Sea Doo XP with direct injection; and an older Waverunner 3. the Doo is of course much faster, but is also much less stable in the water. Even with a skinny rider, getting on at a dead stop is a balancing act. BUT, the dang think will rip you off the seat and easily clear 60mph. The Yam does like 45.

 

[Seadooman03]

Re: Sea Doo XP's good skis?

Ive leanred to "Sea-DOOn'ts"..haha...Ive run a few xps in my day, and all my friends have owned Sea doos.....most reliable engine is the 850. You get into the 951 Carbed engines and your gonna have issues. I dont know of a single person that hasn't' had water break threw the exhaust pipe and murder the cylinder walls. Altho, the 98-2002? XPs are the carvers and the hole shot killers, there fun. If you want a true ski, go with an XP Direct Injection, its not carbed, and THEY never seem to have any motor issues. You'll get performance, handling like non other, very comfy to ride with that shock in the seat...not great for 2 up. They have a decent after market world still. (rossier engineering used to be top notch) You can also check out www.greenhulk.net great site for the PWC world.

 

[Vikesfan]

Re: Sea Doo XP's good skis?

My 98 XP has been bullet proof. It's over 10 years old and I have never had any problems with the engine. The only thing I've had to do to it maintenance wise is clean the carbs every season. I still have 130 compression in each cylinder and it can still run with the best of them. I think the reason that mine is still running great and others have had problems with them is because I maintain it very meticulously. A lot of people just gas and go and that doesn't work with a performance ski. If you ride it like I do it will get wet and you will occasionally get some water in the engine bay. (It can come in through the vents on the hood of the ski) You need to be aware of that and know how to get the water out and what to do if somebody flips it over and floods the engine with water. If you take care of it an XP can be a reliable ride.

 

[Seadooman03]

Re: Sea Doo XP's good skis?

My 98 XP has been bullet proof. It's over 10 years old and I have never had any problems with the engine. The only thing I've had to do to it maintenance wise is clean the carbs every season. I still have 130 compression in each cylinder and it can still run with the best of them. I think the reason that mine is still running great and others have had problems with them is because I maintain it very meticulously. A lot of people just gas and go and that doesn't work with a performance ski. If you ride it like I do it will get wet and you will occasionally get some water in the engine bay. (It can come in through the vents on the hood of the ski) You need to be aware of that and know how to get the water out and what to do if somebody flips it over and floods the engine with water. If you take care of it an XP can be a reliable ride.

hmm..your very lucky then. I maintain mine very well, but i sure as hell don't baby it much. It's a toy, there meant to be abused and have fun with. But, im hard pressed to believe there reliable. Esp. once water comes over it when your barreling threw a 5 foot wave....(front ends on these are exceptionally heavy, so there tendency to nose dive is great, which is when you suck the water in.) Everything eles ive never had to replace...other then engine failures prematurely due to the exhaust pipe splitting open from all the bouncing..(even with the factory seal, the bolts are not thread locked from the factory, they will break lose and back out).

To avoid this issue, i'd recommend removing the pipe, adding thread locker (red) to the bolts, and put some exhaust gasket sealer on both sides of the gasket. Ever since i did that i have never had an engine issue.

 

[Vikesfan]

Re: Sea Doo XP's good skis?

Seadoo actually has a fix for the pipe issue. They did a recall and repaired the issues they had with some of the earlier ski's. I believe all XP's from 2000 on had the fix and all the 98 and 99's that did not could be taken in and have the issue corrected for free.

For what it's worth, I ride in fresh water and have never taken mine in salt water so that might be why I've never had any problems. Salt water is very hard on an engine and any salt water ingested by an engine will do more damage than fresh water will. There is a whole lot more maintenance needed in salt water than fresh. That is true of all ski's but it especially important on a ski like the XP that is prone to taking on water because of its aggressive nature.