Jet skis?

[98tls]

waste of money IMO

Informative and positive as usual.

[AllanB]

I desire them, however as above for the price of a decent jetski you can by a late model small boat and take the family out (then again this may be the appeal of the wet bike).

Interesting link regarding the Sportster. Maybe I'm just a woos-arse but I've always liked the Sportster, apart from the lack of power - hopefully HD will use the XR1200 motor in a 'standard' sporty as well as the XR does not work graphically for me.

[H00dz]

Unless ya buying it out of the box, forget it. In my experience most are abused by inexprienced riders and they can be a royal pain the butt cost wise in maintenace and repairs unless covered by warranty. dont be seduced by their slick looks They only have a short term appeal. IMO

[racerhead]

Unless ya buying it out of the box, forget it. In my experience most are abused by inexprienced riders and they can be a royal pain the butt cost wise in maintenace and repairs unless covered by warranty. dont be seduced by their slick looks They only have a short term appeal. IMO

Exactly right.

Ive worked on a good few of them at this stage and no matter what make they are they will break down very easy and they aint cheap to fix either. If you can afford a brand new one that comes with a warranty then go for it and sell it as soon as the warranty is up.
For example of regular problems all caused by taking in water:
Starter motor and related electrics(last starter I changed took 5 hrs to complete the job)
Engine submerged, this can cause total engine destruction depending on rpm eg. bent con rods cracked heads, crankcase and shattered pistons.

And now talking from a users point of view
They are fun when used on rough water so you can jump and mess about but if been used on a calm lake they lose their appeal after a few hours because there is only so many times turning at full speed is fun.

If I had the money to buy one Id look out for a jetboat instead because its all the fun of a jetski with the handling but can also double as a normal speedboat to bring out people on when going flat out loses its fun.

Another thing with them is they are very thirsty fuel wise and cost alot to be out on one for a day.
900cc jetski will use about the same amount as a 5.7 ski boat at cruising speed

[EJK]

Do they have brakes?

[racerhead]

Do they have brakes?

Nope some models have a neutral but 90% of them once the are running they are constantly going forwards. Instead of brakes they can turn on a dime if your brave enough to throw it into a turn at whatever speed your doing

[Swoop]

Do they have brakes?

Yes. Yes they do...

[Usarka]

Do they have brakes?

No, and they will only turn if power is ON. Many a noob has hurt someone on these by going towards someone, cutting the throttle and trying to turn.

KABOOOOOEY!

Go kite surfing! Kiteboards hold the world un-powered water speed record of 52knots (ish).