How many standup riders are in the US?

[butti]

Personally I can think of at least 10 guys i ride with that dont post on here. If everyone else has similar numbers, there are well over 6,800 in the USA:Banane01:

i know 10-12 guys who dont come to the x at all.one bought a hood from jeff when i told him about it,the other is getting one of his poles:smile:

i guess old fashioned word of mouth still works too!

 

[sflsurfrider]

oh, the drama!

 

[RoyalFlush@PCB]

Time will tell.

http://www.pwctoday.com/showthread.php?t=54546&highlight=Watercraft+Factory

I AM NOT bringing this up to throw mud in anyone's face, but I would like to point to a thread from approxiamately a year and a half ago from pwctoday that has some familiar names singing different tunes than they are now. I respected their opinions and when I met Steve for the first time at the first build-off, I understood why everyone spoke so highly of him and his products. What happened?

It's sad, really. I haven't just changed my opinion of Steve because someone offered a cheaper alternative, finally started delivering products, and is now set to "put others out of business." Everyone seems to be jumping on the bandwagon because of price and personal vendettas.

I remember when I first found pwctoday and was learning about all these aftermarket companies and what they had to offer. I was overwhelmed by all the cool things available and made a decision to buy from WCF should I ever have the ability and opportunity to do so, based partly on these guys' input. Now I find myself defending my position to the same guys who influenced my decision. Ironic, isn't it? :soapbox:

 

[thrllskr]

You can be the BEST widget maker in the world, but that does not mean that you can successfully operate a widget-manufacturing business.

Suppose Company Z doesn't have a true grasp on overhead expenses and just pulls a number out of thin air (as long as it's cheaper than Company X's price) to determine what they sell their widgets for. A business MUST make a profit or it will fail. I am skeptical that Jeff can pay his bills, remain profitable, and sell his hoods for half of what the other guys sell theirs for---not saying that it can't work---just unlikely that it will for any duration.

Fair point. I guess time will tell.

 

[thrllskr]

I started to determine how many skis are registered in the US. I found some statistics from between 2004-2006 from reliable sources that stated the number of registered skis for the areas listed below. Using those areas as a representative sample, I then calculated avg. skis per person. (Sorry, the chart posted like crap)

Location / Total Population / Total Registered PWC / % PWC Owners
State of Utah / 2,233,169 / 14,251 / 0.64%
State of California / 33,871,648 / 159,335 / 0.47%
Miami-Dade County, FL / 1,217,896 / 8,479 / 0.70%
Broward County, FL / 1,623,018 / 7,607 / 0.47%

Average is .57%. x 300MM population of US = 1.7MM registered skis. I thought my data would be skewed since FL and CA are going to be higher than other areas, but because of their higher population (and likely lower income demographic), it seemed about right. It was later confirmed when I found a statistic from the USCG stating that 1.55MM PWC were in use in 2005. So, my guess was pretty close.

So, there are about 1,600,000 skis in the US. Let's assume only 5% of them are standups. That's 80,000 standups. Even if EVERY SU rider had two or three like we do, that would still be 30,000+ standup riders.

Even if we assume SU riders only makeup 2% of the PWC population, that is still 32,000 SU's in the US.

 

[butti]

personally i dont want to see anyone"put out of buisuness".i would like to see everyone thrive.steve has built a reputation on his quality products,competitive pricing and the fact that he is a nice guy and very available for tech/advice/support.i remember when the wcf hood was the most affordable hood available.

time marches on and all will have to adapt to keep up with the market.i dont think it will be too long and 96 up sj's will be the new square nose,everyone will be dumping them for platforms that will easily accept the 66e.80lb hulls will become the norm.its progression and wdk is ready for it.sure he will give you a great deal on a hull and maybe only make a few bucks on it.but that just gets you on the hook.then you gotta have the matching pole,ride plate,pump shoe,hood,bracket,billet bits ect.and the list really goes on if you decide to run the 66e later.then you will be back for an intake manni,exaust,gas tank ect.im sorry but that doesnt sound like a crappy buisuness plan to me.

 

[superjet0587]

people constantly talk about WCF and WDK but what about wamiltons hows he doing, and the new 24/7. WCF and WD seem to have all new ideas and better pricing while wamiltons prices are pretty high. Lower priices i beleive are what we need in order for the sport to grow, if you think about 25K for a jetski is a lot of money its hard be competitive in a sport so expensive. In MX you can basically buy a bike off the showroom floor and go out to the track and rip.

 

[sflsurfrider]

maybe this is becomming a "ghetto sport".

:dunno:

 

[butti]

people constantly talk about WCF and WDK but what about wamiltons hows he doing, and the new 24/7. WCF and WD seem to have all new ideas and better pricing while wamiltons prices are pretty high. Lower priices i beleive are what we need in order for the sport to grow, if you think about 25K for a jetski is a lot of money its hard be competitive in a sport so expensive. In MX you can basically buy a bike off the showroom floor and go out to the track and rip.

that is one of many factors that have helped mx to grow into almost a mainstream sport

 

[butti]

maybe this is becomming a "ghetto sport".

:dunno:

all the trailer parks will be littered with sj's:clown:

 

[waterfreak]

people constantly talk about WCF and WDK but what about wamiltons hows he doing, and the new 24/7. WCF and WD seem to have all new ideas and better pricing while wamiltons prices are pretty high. Lower priices i beleive are what we need in order for the sport to grow, if you think about 25K for a jetski is a lot of money its hard be competitive in a sport so expensive. In MX you can basically buy a bike off the showroom floor and go out to the track and rip.

there's a reason why no other companies comes here...and many of you have showed why!...Personally, I am fed up with defending my products and actions continiously. So I'm going to focus on what's important for me right now...my family and my bussiness and leave this site permanently!! It seems to me that many here are divided...and that's a real shame.

Just like me, Paul is fed up with all of this crap too!! It really gives our sport a bad name. I'm sure if we were to meet at the water , nobody would be concerned about who said what but instead , talk about riding and having a blast and enjoying the day. :beerchug:
Will se ya on the water!:Banane01:
steve

 

[Fathom]

you know something I just noticed, this thread was suppose to be about how many standup riders were here in the US, and I do not see one person commenting on that........

Post #18, it just got swallowed in all the bull********.

 

[meatball]

Well, keep in mind that while you FL guys know people that ride standups that dont go here, I am the only person I know of in my state that even owns a standup, I have NEVER seen one on the water, and I'm out every day in the summer, be it fishing, boating or jet skiing. I wonder why they're so hot in Michigan?

BTW, I feel like I just walked into an episode of "The Real World".

 

[butti]

there's a reason why no other companies comes here...and many of you have showed why!...Personally, I am fed up with defending my products and actions continiously. So I'm going to focus on what's important for me right now...my family and my bussiness and leave this site permanently!! It seems to me that many here are divided...and that's a real shame.

Just like me, Paul is fed up with all of this crap too!! It really gives our sport a bad name. I'm sure if we were to meet at the water , nobody would be concerned about who said what but instead , talk about riding and having a blast and enjoying the day. :beerchug:
Will se ya on the water!:Banane01:
steve

dont compare yourself to paul.show me one thread where paul has come in and bashed another engine builder.there are few with his level of professionalism.your products dont need defending,your stuff is nice and you have many happy customers to prove it.you are the one who turns every thread into a comparison.maintaining a lower profile on this site would be the best thing for you to do in my opinion

 

[Fathom]

Mako Mike is up your way, near Paxt River.

 

[meatball]

I forgot you were in VA, Do you know of anyone else in MD thats relatively close to the bay bridge like severn or south or magothy or chester river?

BTW: patuxtent is near a five-six hour drive booking it a 50 mph by boat in light chop at about 3 hours by car at least, just a little far.

 

[RoyalFlush@PCB]

maintaining a lower profile on this site would be the best thing for you to do in my opinion

While I didn't necessarily agree with some of what you posted, I do agree with this statement.

Steve's got at least one build for a Pro Rider to complete :sneaky: and this BS, while somewhat entertaining and amusing at times, is distracting. :smile:

 

[sflsurfrider]

dont compare yourself to paul.show me one thread where paul has come in and bashed another engine builder.there are few with his level of professionalism.your products dont need defending,your stuff is nice and you have many happy customers to prove it.you are the one who turns every thread into a comparison.maintaining a lower profile on this site would be the best thing for you to do in my opinion

i didnt see a comparison other than they are both sick of all the crap.

i agree about the lower profile on the site probably being better for his business.

 

[jetskiking]

Me and my whole crew rode for years with out knowing about any forums. The majority of other standup riders I meet dont know about the forums. So if you just go by the amount of members then there has to be alot of standup riders. How many standups do the manufacturers make per year then multiply that by the years they have been around then factor for the ones destroyed. I would think it would be alot. I also think the sport is growing again so there should be room for anybody to make it. I personally want to own one of everything:biggthumpup:

 

[superjet0587]

competition between companies is necesary, i think the best thing do for everyone is to just explain your product as best you can and what benefits your product has over another.