I am new and have a question

[Justinv3k11]

I have just recently bought my first stand up ski. It is an 89 650. I took it out and ride it all day on Monday. It was so much fun! It took just a little bit of fuel dumped into the carb to get it running and then it ran great all day. What could that be? I also took the hood off today and noticed a large amount of water under the hood, is that normal? I have a photo attached, please let me know. And remember I am new! Thank you.

 

[Justinv3k11]

Could be that the Driveshaft Holder held by 4 Bolts against the Bulkhead is cracked and allowing Water to seep thru into the Engine Bay. Common failure item in the 650s.

Install an Electric Bilge Pump System to bail out Water faster than the Vacuum Bilge can. Plus the Vacuum Bilge only works when the Impeller is spinning.

Got it thank you, I will orders those up and see how it goes, the water is decently deep but not too bad, didn’t reach the carb and got close to some cables. Hopefully the motor is okay

 

[DylanS]

I have just recently bought my first stand up ski. It is an 89 650. I took it out and ride it all day on Monday. It was so much fun! It took just a little bit of fuel dumped into the carb to get it running and then it ran great all day. What could that be? I also took the hood off today and noticed a large amount of water under the hood, is that normal? I have a photo attached, please let me know. And remember I am new! Thank you.

Congrats on the new ski, welcome aboard !
Stock flame arrestors are pretty good at keeping water out.
You can install a primer kit if you want to avoid having to dump fuel in by hand on your first start.
Most skis will require some sort of help with getting that initial fuel where it needs to go after sitting for a while.

 

[john zigler]

A primer, and bilge pump are not a bad idea BUT they are just a band aid for problems that you have, and really need to address.

Hard starting issues are typically a fuel related problem. You probably need a carb, and fuel pump rebuild. Continuing to run your ski like this could cause engine damage.

Water can come in from many reasons. If you are new, and falling off a lot, typing the ski over that may be your only problem. If you have a leak, you really should try to find it, and fix it. Strap the ski down on the trailer, and back it into the water. Leave the hood off, and look for water coming in. Do the same with the ski running, and see if you can tell where water is coming from, then fix the issue. Again, failure to fix this could result in your problem only getting worse, and maybe even you sinking your ski.

 

[johnmarchetta34]

Its pretty normal to have to prime your carbs either with a primer kit or by hand if the ski has been sitting. Primer kits work great and so do ketchup bottles from a restaurant lol

 

[DylanS]

Which is better, Choke or Primer?

Knew that was coming lol
I haven’t seen him on here since then so I assume he blocked me shortly after !!
After all a primer is a bandaid for bad tuners

 

[bored&stroked]

Remote mount fuel pump on a kawi 650 means the small 28mm carb right? I'd just upgrade the carb now instead of rebuilding it. A single SBN38 would do fine. 44's work too.

 

[kevbo]

He's got a 33 year old ski that needs an overhaul and all anyone here can say is "stick a big carb on it". Yeeeeee Haaaaaa1

 

[Sparkplug]

I wouldn't listen to guys that have more time on a website feeding bs, than they do on a ski.

A well known jet ski guru, a guy who makes his living fixing these things, already gave you good advice.

Go ahead and listen to the guys that ride with both feet back on their ski for tricks, and lean their ass off the back at wot. You'll learn a ton

 

[DylanS]

I wouldn't listen to guys that have more time on a website feeding bs, than they do on a ski.

A well known jet ski guru, a guy who makes his living fixing these things, already gave you good advice.

Go ahead and listen to the guys that ride with both feet back on their ski for tricks, and lean their ass off the back at wot. You'll learn a ton

classic sparkplug comment!

 

[bored&stroked]

He's got a 33 year old ski that needs an overhaul and all anyone here can say is "stick a big carb on it". Yeeeeee Haaaaaa1

I'm glad my comment is apparently the only one that matters to you on this thread hahahaha
Lets see, put money into rebuilding a crappy carb, or use same money to put a cheap, used, common and easily supported with tech advice SBN on. Gee, what a concept. Its almost like kawi did a similar thing from the factory or something. Weird.

 

[kevbo]

The 650 needs a lot of mods before it becomes worth riding. Yes, a larger carb is one of them however, that is not his problem. The problem now is that a consumer mindset does not work so well when skis are no longer being produced in mass quantity. Now you have to overhaul it before its even a junker.

 

[fastgtfairlane]

I'd also agree with a full overhaul if you want to learn how to work on your ski and plan to hang on to it for a bit. Do a good compression test and a leakdown to check for air leaks. Crank seals can be suspect if the engine has been sitting for a long time. The compression numbers should be within 5-6 psi of each other. As long as it's 120psi or better in each hole mechanically should be OK. Yes its a little low but not too bad for stock compression and the gauge used could contribute to the lower reading. Main thing is that they are somewhat even. A leakdown test will require removing the carb and exhaust at the manifold, plug them up and use a small air pump to connect to the pulse fitting on your cases by the carb and pump it up to 8 psi. Let it sit for at least 10 min. If it holds, you should be fine to run it. I use expandable freeze plugs to plug the intake and exhaust manifold. After confirming the compression and leakdown are good, then you can consider a bigger carb and a stainless impeller and even a pipe. That will really wake up the 650. If your engine (not motor, they're electric) isn't mechanically sound, then modifying it will most likely blow it up.

 

[kevbo]

I recently disassembled a 91 650sx that still had good crank seals, then i did a 94 750sx that had seals that were hard and cracked. I think the time has come where old skis need better owners than they got in the past. I think older guys will need to take an interest in this hobby first since kids will destroy everything regardless of its value.

 

[DylanS]

I recently disassembled a 91 650sx that still had good crank seals, then i did a 94 750sx that had seals that were hard and cracked. I think the time has come where old skis need better owners than they got in the past. I think older guys will need to take an interest in this hobby first since kids will destroy everything regardless of its value.

There’s a major lack of old guys that are into it that are willing to teach younger guys the right way to do things unfortunately. I think you need to do some destroying to learn personally

 

[kevbo]

Im about 30 years beyond my "destruction" phase. Kids get mad when you tell them to clean their room, or fix their jetskis.

 

[Justinv3k11]

Im about 30 years beyond my "destruction" phase. Kids get mad when you tell them to clean their room, or fix their jetskis.

thank you! Yes I will be doing an overhaul, I am planning on pulling it apart learning about it, doing research and fixing it. I’m not no kid just here to destroy it. I want to bring it back to life.