Freeride hull mods.

WFO Speedracer

A lifetime ban is like a lifetime warranty !
Location
Alabama
As stated before, unless you're very good at fiberglass work, I would minimize hull modifications to your x2. I've seen 1 x2 flip in the surf and it was shortened I believe 5 inches. He also swapped in a yamaha engine and 144mm pump. Barrell rolls on the other hand are going to be much easier.. I have an x2 and it is a fun ski to ride even in surf but for flips and such your much better off starting with a more capable hull designed for that type of riding. Mt x2 became much more fun just chopping the last 1.5 inches off and installing a good umi steering system.. foot straps also will help considerably.
I consider myself very good at fiberglassing and even I don't want to do another front fill, what does that tell you ?
 
Location
dfw
Move the steering aft. Make a box that allows the steering stem to be moved aft at least 6 inches. Get rid of the stock mechanism and use a cable. This will greatly reduce spray in your face and make the landings softer The X2 is too long for a flip but will roll easily. Filling the front is just for looks.
 
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I'm going to keep the original hull, maybe cut the rear a little and put the tubbies on the sides, and practice. I'm thinking about a Super Jet with a fixed arm. I'm going to practice with the X2 as it is. I'm going to do a backflip like that. I'll send you a video/photo. I'm going to install just a trim and practice. Over time, I'll put the tubbies on and cut the rear. I think the X2's handling is really good, but after riding a Krash and feeling it in the waves, I wanted to see if I could do something similar with the X2. I know I'm comparing completely different things, but I can't afford to buy a Krash, not even in my wildest dreams. I'm going to work and practice. Thank you all very much for the ideas and tips. I exceeded my expectations, but let's move on, make it happen in the original.
 
Location
dfw
A fixed steer Superjet will be much better than an X2 for this type of riding since the engine and rider position is farther aft. You will need to chop 8-12 inches off the rear (depending on your size) and move the pump forward to make an X2 easy to flip. A full length hull with the rider position moved aft makes it much easier to turn and the ride is much drier.
 

WFO Speedracer

A lifetime ban is like a lifetime warranty !
Location
Alabama
Chop the rear add tubbies and leave it alone , there is only so much you can do with the X2 hull without major mods and lots of time and money.
 
Location
dfw
The X2 fundamental problems are it’s length is too long and center of gravity is too far forward. The engine compartment is very compact already. If you are handy, cut a foot off the rear and install a bigger pump.
 

WFO Speedracer

A lifetime ban is like a lifetime warranty !
Location
Alabama
Justin built this one some time back, it's negative 10 or 10 inches shorter than stock , however you would like to put it. I don't know how much was spent on it , I do know there was a poop -ton of time put into that build.

 
Location
dfw
The first one usually hogs a lot of time. It gets a lot easier after that. At one point there may have been an X2 flipping craze if someone standardized the mod. Hulls are getting more difficult to find now.
 
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WFO Speedracer

A lifetime ban is like a lifetime warranty !
Location
Alabama
X2s and SN Superjets have followed the same trajectory , so many have been modified over the years that finding an unmodified , unmolested one is now difficult, we are all to blame for this , in my defense the hulls that I have severely modified were not in good shape to begin with and there was no possible way to go but up .

The next X2 I get my hands one will not be modded , there need to be some good high quality stockers left out there in the world for the next generation to screw up.
 
Mine was a mint unmolested 93 x2 when I got it. The only hull modifications I've done were chopping 1.5 inches off the rear, and cutting a little bit of the inner liner of the hood to fit a blaster limited chamber. Everything else is a bolt on. I also put some fresh turf on it. Otherwise it's staying stock appearing.
 
I consider myself very good at fiberglassing and even I don't want to do another front fill, what does that tell you ?
Not to mention, the kawi hulls being smc aren't really good candidates for fiberglass work anyways. I do think it would be cool to modify a hull and use ut as a plug to make a mold so the actual hull will be lighter. As the guy did that made the carbon x2 with the superfreak circus bottom deck.
 

WFO Speedracer

A lifetime ban is like a lifetime warranty !
Location
Alabama
A have seen a lot of carbon fiber X2 builds come and go but nobody seems really interested in making a carbon X2 to sell to the public.

SMC works just fine as long as you avoid fiberglass mat and use epoxy resin but it is heavy and has a very high density.

SMC has long strand glass fibers made into it , those fibers are what you need to get to for proper bonding , it also has mold release made into it and heat brings the mold release to the top , the mold release is what you want to avoid so keep that in mind when you are grinding away on IT , minimize heat buildup as much as possible.

All that being said where I see everyone screw up on SMC is on the surface prep , they don't get aggressive enough with it , running 80 grit over it isn't going to cut it if you want a decent bond, I usually cut serrations in it with a grinder and a flap wheel , actually dig into the material, not just the top layer where the mold release is , this gives the epoxy some tooth , spare the grinder , spoil the repair job.
 
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I have an x2 and two spare hulls and here in Brazil we only find stock hulls. I'm thinking about doing the same thing that Crab did. As in Brazil and everything is much more difficult, I'm going to do it with foam and fiber. I think it will be very good for what I want to do, from what I read in that topic.
 
I don't have a lot of money, Brazil isn't in a good political and economic condition for some time now, and for me, as a mechanic, it hasn't been easy at all, but I keep trying to invest in it out of love, I'm 23 years old, I have a lot to do. I still work and achieve, so I want to have fun and learn a lot in this life. Tomorrow I'm going to the waves with my x2, I'll leave some photos here. You were talking about the original x2, my father has a completely original 0km one, the most beautiful thing, even the original stickers, a beautiful x2;
 
I'm very happy with the way it is, I think the only thing that would change would be to cut the rear a little and put the trim in the hand, my trim is fixed a few degrees up
 

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