Other advice on my first ski

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

I've personally had that one in Minneapolis bookmarked since it was listed 5 weeks ago.

With that particular ski I'm curious why there's sections missing out of the sides of the tray turf like there should be footholds?

 

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

I see the one in Billings is gone now, figured that wouldn't last long.

 

[RSKI]

So... tonight I went to Lincoln and came home with an SJ. The one I showed you guys that was listed for $3500. He came down to $3300, but no trailer included. The reason I had to take it home was because it seriously looks like it is brand new. There isn't a single mark on it that I have found yet. He was clearly very careful with how he took care of it. Never stayed a night outside, and he bought it new back in 2000. He was also extremely careful about not running the engine anywhere near the shore, and made sure to shut it off before getting in less than roughly 4 feet of water. His riding buddies happened to be at the lake where we went to try it out and they all mentioned that they always tried to get him to come ride it, but he never does more than 2 or 3 times a year. Who knows if any of this was set up to try to sell it, but from the looks of the ski I can believe it. The only mods are a ride plate and prop (hope that's the proper terminology). I'll get some pics up once I get situated if any of you guys are interested. Tonight was the first time I'd ever been on a standup ski, so it was a learning curve to say the least. I like the fact that it is not easy like sitting down and holding the throttle wide open. It will take some time but I'm really excited to take it to the lake this weekend. Hopefully I can talk someone in to helping me unload it and load it back in the pickup until I can score a trailer. Thanks for all of your help guys! Now the fun begins!

 

[Sparkplug]

Few tips for truck hauling to help keep your ski nice.

If you dont have a bed liner, GET ONE, or use something so its not metal on hull.

Dont slide it over the gap between the tailgate and bed if you have ANY doubts there may be a hangup.

Put a bungee on the pole to the rail, so the pole doesnt bounce all the time

Strap in in, preferably twice, and put something in front of the nose when you load it, or wedge it in so it cant move, I used a tire when i used to haul it in my trucks


Just trying to offer adivce, great choice on a yamaha, you wont be dissapointed. You will love it and will be thinking abpout riding 24/7 real soon here. Have fun man

 

[slamb33]

Congrats man sounds like a good deal on a mint ski! Post some pics when you can and let us know how the learning curve goes and if you have any questions.

 

[baxt3r]

Congrats! Now we can lok for his next thread where he starts modding the heck out of it.

 

[slamb33]

I can preempt the next question.... the answer is a pipe!

 

[RSKI]

Haha, I think I'll try getting comfortable on it before I do anything. I am very excited though. I waxed it tonight so it should look decent for the pics I'll take at the lake this weekend for you guys.

 

[RedTurboMr2]

Awesome man, congrats on your first standup. Good job going with the superjet, you're gonna love it.

 

[RSKI]

I need a trailer for this thing asap. RedTurbo I see that you are using a regular single trailer. Is that what most people do? Do you have to modify anything to hold that little guy? I'm determined to use my last week of vacation time and drive somewhere a long ways away from nebraska and do some scuba diving and superjet riding. The problem is that my vacation expires on June 30th and i don't have a trailer to pull this thing behind my TDI.

 

[RedTurboMr2]

My trailer works fine, just make sure that the bunks are adjustible. I do plan on bringing the winch closer to the ski by adding a bar across the trailer, I'm then gonna install some sort of box in front for my wetsuit, vest, gloves, shoes.... This trailer will also be food for when i want to add a second jetski. This was the only trailer that I could find that was galvanized around where I live.

Edit: as for holding it down, all I do is have the front hooked up to the winch and I bought a tow strap from someone on this site that I put in the back hole of the jetski and then put a ratchet strap thru it. I also put a bungee around my bars to keep it from bouncing. I've done many long trips to my sisters camp and it's fine on our rough roads.

 

[slamb33]

Aluminium trailers are the best, but pricey. I would say a winch is not critical for a SJ, they are light enough to muscle on by yourself. Most should have adjustable bunks so you can get your ski seated correctly. A gear box or fuel jug holder at the front is helpful but be weary of the max tounge weight of your hitch.

 

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

If you don't have any trailering experience you'll quickly learn that the shorter the trailer is, the more difficult it is to back up, that's an advantage to a longer trailer. It can sometimes help at first to put something sticking up at the back of the trailer for a reference point when backing, for example a small whip flag, it helps you to see what the trailer is doing sooner.

 

[slamb33]

no matter how much experience you have it is pretty much impossible to back up if you can't see the trailer so this is solid advice. I should probably heed it myself actually, I can currently only see my gear box when the ski is off, which is not easy to back up in the least.

 

[RSKI]

I found a trailer at a local shop. it's kind of a piece of crap, but I talked him down from $400 to $200 so I'm not real worried. It should work for a while. The bunks are adjustable, but like I said it's not the best. My light kit for my VW didn't come yet and it's a special thing to work with the electronics on the germanmobile. I guess I'll be pushing my luck this weekend with the cops. Later guys, pics coming soon.

 

[RSKI]

pics coming as soon as I can find time to get them off of my camera. The only troubles I had over the long weekend was the rubber pads on top of the tray coming off. The adhesive just came loose and needs re-glued. My initial thought was a silicone so it would stay nice and flexible? Anyone else have to re-glue these? Other than that my trailer is just a POS so I struggled with that a bit. The bunks wont adjust narrow enough.

 

[RSKI]

 

[slamb33]

ski looks nice and mint. good find.

the caps on the top of the rails come off, yeah, just glue them back down (glue on hull and caps, let it get tacky, then press together). as long as they don't come off totally and float away they are still functional. I used to like the rubber rail caps before I turfed my ski because they are so grippy when you are climbing back on.