300/440/550 550 "freestyle" build -7 hull -6 pole "foot holds"

[paul91887]

so heres the plan. 1987 550 im waiting on the motor which is a pjs 7000 couldnt find a 9000 at the time of looking and gonna cut ATLEAST 7 inches off the hull. and ATLEAST 5 off the pole but will probly be 6. possibly custom hood. my only time ive ever worked with fiberglass is for building A speaker box so should be fun and interesting i got a lot to learn but i figured i would just jump right in. im waiting on the motor should be here this week im gonna tune it with what i got for now then hack it up in the next couple weeks. what i got on the ski from what i know is a 1/2 factory pipe? idk on prop or pump idk on intake ocean pro ride plate and ocean pro steer nozzle quick plate and what not anyways my only worry at the moment is shortening the pole because its an aluminum pole and have no expeirence with welding them but i found a product called hts-2000 http://www.aluminumrepair.com/ for it and they say it's like brazing and im in hvac by trade so shouldnt be too difficult. anyways interested to see if anyone's got anything positive to say. again im new at this will need help as far as parts are concerned but cant wait to get started!

 

[paul91887]

 

[paul91887]

lastly my end product im looking to look something like this ski http://www.x-h2o.com/threads/49627-...0-in-the-wamiltons-area&highlight=550 daytona

 

[paul91887]

also i plan to be fiberglassing in the side tubbies or sponsoon? idk can some give the accurate of which ones which? where you can see were im missing the tubbie in the rear is probly all gonna be cut off.

 

[paul91887]

sorry i keep remebering more things i plan on doing but im also gonna ping pong the deck with drain holes / widen tray even 1.5-2 inches on each side and lower the center of gravity below the pump a little

 

[j0hnny]

be detailed on how u cut the hull please id love to do the same thing but am afraid to cut withough seeing someone else do it

 

[paul91887]

hah i will deffintly try, i just got the motor in today and a little bummed 2 of the wite connectors on the ebox are broken but biggest thing is 2 heads of the bolts are snapped that go through the case on the starter side. unfornatly the seller never told be of the head bolts so wondering if i should just say "f" it and run it or invest time in getting then extraced tapped and re-done. let me know your thoughts pictures to follow

 

[paul91887]

 

[paul91887]

 

[swapmeet]

So, maybe somebody else will chime in...

I remember reading about the type of glass used on these skis stock being no bueno.
I would defintely reccomend the sponsons, my first ski was a 440 and I couldn't imagine riding a shortened version without them.


Whats the specs on that motor?

 

[paul91887]

yea i've read something about that as well something about the huls are pretty weak. the sponsons will deffintly happen. as far as specs on the motor i know nothing more that i was told its a pjs viper 7000 with only one hour on it. i believe the displacement on the motor is 550cc but honestly have no idea ha

 

[swapmeet]

Well, there's a guy on one of the lakes I ride on with a 750sxi motor stuffed in a 440 hull. It gets pretty good.

I don't know what your goals are performance wise, but depending on how much your ski weighs after reinforcement etc. I don't know if a 550 is gonna do what you want.
I could be wrong, it might be just right. I know nothing about that motor either.
One thing I would reccomend is installing a larger pump, from a freestyle perspective it makes a big difference.

GL tho, sounds like a very ambitious build, you'll definitely learn a lot. Be sure to ask lots of questions, especially about materials. I.E. Don't use the Bondo brand fiberglass from Walmart.

 

[cookn]

Old kawasakis were meant for racing. You will never have superjet like thrust with a 550 pump. You just have to ride differently to get good air. My 550 is about as modded as piston port can get short of running total loss, and i have to spot my wave and drive hard at it but can get a good launch because that is where your power is. That pjs motor will scream, you just have to hit everything faster. Look up the Mark Gomez freestyle 550 and he was barrel rolling it in the surf, running a pjs modded reed motor. Also where did you find the pjs motor

 

[paul91887]

was seraching and found plenty of things on mark gomez but could find nothing on this 550 you speak of. what my final expectations are from this is nothing im just hoping for the best. but i really havnt seen much on performance from a 550 that is chopped up alot . and i understand chopping it up can greatly help or go south if i do it wrong. but i kind of said 'f' it im gonna do my best. as far as not having the amount of thrust from one pump as one might get out of a sj is there any mod i can do to the pump? or pump area that will help? does a sj pump fit in any way? again i got very little knowledge of what im doing but its a jump in get your hands dirty kind of expierence.

 

[paul91887]

well i got the motor in!! oh man. so pumped. i gotta figure out the throttle cable the distance between where the throttle cable goes on the carb to the throttle cable bracket is about half the length of the original one i had so the cables all bunched up so i gotta figure out a way to fix that. also gotta clean up and replace all the fuel lines. kind of bummed out though i broke my old exhaust mani so i bought a new one and the old one had one extra fitting on it because this is dual cooled but not out of 3 pissers only 2 are hooked up.

 

[paul91887]

i will take some pictures a little later

 

[paul91887]

see this throttle cable is way to long thats pulled as low as it will go is there a special throttle cable for a pjs motor? or maybe because this is a reed motor?is this gap ok on the coupler? we could not get this motor to sit back any more

 

[paul91887]

oh and i know the cable is all frayed im replacing it im just wondering if i gotta buy a certain cable to not have to custom make a bracket. thanks!

 

[Polish jet pilot]

I like your concept. I have a special place for 550 in my heart as well. Play with the hull as much as you want, but dont spoil the motor with silly mods, either replace or build it - it will be worth a bit of money , if the project does not work out too well, you can sell the motor or get a new 100 usd 550 hull.

I am not sure whether new hood is necessary, oem is not bad after a little tweaking and reinforcing. I fear that Sj pump fill not fit easyily and extensive mods will be necessary, you can always do that later after trying the oem pump setup first. Test and test again and something surprising might come out of this. Good luck man!

 

[cookn]

I trimmed my cable housing back, and put the end back on. I am running the old style throttle cable that only has one end and was meant for the old round bodies. I cut the clamping piece off the round body and it will bolt right onto an SBN, im not sure if it will work on your carbs but you may have to get creative. Your coupler gap is way too big. you should have a spacer behind the coupler on your motor to bump it out. Also i know on the old 440s the rubber damper can only go in one way because of a lip in the center of the coupler and will not allow the motor to slide all the way back if its in backwards.