Other kawi 550 or 650?

[explorin]

so im going to buy a ski, and was all set on a 650 since well, its got a bigger motor. but after doing a little reading, it may not be the best choice. Heres a little backround info, im a bigger guy at 6'5" and 240lbs, going fast is fun, but i don't like revving the piss out of a motor for long, so im more of a fallow the shoreline, and doing powerslides in shallow water kind of guy. i use to have a 80 something 550 with a pipe,intake grate,rideplate and hi comp head and it was a lot of fun. but that was a few years ago. so now, i wanted to get the 650 since i figured i wont have to touch the motor since its 100cc bigger, so it should be fun too right? but i heard its to heavy. So what should i get? i only want to spend about 1000 bucks. and ill take reliability over performance. Also, i typically ride at a elevation of 5,000 feet. Im kind of thinking the 550 since its lighter, and i rode one last summer that was bone stock and i had a lot of fun on it, but that was at sea level, not 5,000 feet above it and that makes a difference....so what do you all think?

 

[davy87nj]

I personally dont like the way a 650sx rides. I had one last summer and it didnt even compare to my 650 superjet(which is not a powerful ski either). The 650sx was slow and handled poorly. I do in fact like riding a good running 550. Rode one in pismo and had a good time. I weighed 195 then. I did keep it revved out most the time, but it as still fun. I also rode my brothers 750sx and hated that as well. I couldnt ride it, and I thought maybe im out of shape or lost it over the winter. But I hopped on my friends 550 and was ripping around no problems. I like squirrly skis I guess. My next ski will hopefully be a fx-1 for that reason.


If your set on a 550 or 650sx. i would go with a 550sx with the reed motor and rear exhaust, not a JS with the piston port engine. Just make sure it really has a reed motor when you buy it. Most everyone will tell you to get a Superjet tho, lol.

I met alot of people who go out and buy a 550 and just want to hit the water but end up wrenching the whole time. My thoughts on this is that they are older skis and its rare to find someone who took good care of it. Last two I worked on in attempts to make them reliable I ended up going through and resealing the engines, rebuilding and tuning the carbs to the best of my ablilty. They both turned out pretty good and I found lots of little problems on the way that could of been issues. Not saying thats gonna happen to a ski you buy, but keep it in mind. It happened to me.

 

[jetpilot08]

Im not saying buy a superjet....



But seriously. ...buy a superjet.

Samsung Note II

 

[JetJunky]

Any older ski could have issues, I have a had both and prefer the 650. Mods made a difference and a good prop on either will help it pull you up and out, Good luck.

 

[jpheeze]

Between the two I would go with the 550... As stated in the above post, reed motor with the rear exhaust is the best year to get, they run much better and are easier to start.

i was lucky enough to get a 550 reed that was reliable from the start... Just save and get a superjet lol... The 701 motors are bullet proof.

 

[Tyrant1919]

550 > 650 anyday.

 

[Kohldanielzimmer]

http://www.pwctoday.com/showthread.php?t=397531&highlight=

 

[davy87nj]

Sometimes you should just not sell things, I miss this 550sx I had. Its in Canada now, and I should of kept it. I was on a gotta have a superjet craze and nothing else compares. Which may be correct, but this ski was fun to ride.

 

[Scraggly]

I did the same
Thing Davy. I'm back on a 550. Most don't think it's a good thing but I love this ski.

 

[davy87nj]

Nice 550 Rags. I like that stock graphics.
I rode this JS in Pismo, it's my friends and for some reason it runs like a champ. Under propped but nonetheless it took a good beating. Ill probably try to buy it from him.

 

[Scraggly]

Not just graphics. This thing is bone stock as from factory with around 5 hours on it. I felt like I hit the lottery when I found this. Even has a white gas tank.

 

[Vumad]

I rode a 550 that was a turd of a ski and it was fun. Had no bottom end so I would never buy one but man was it squirrely. The thing didn't want to be in the water. Effortless to jump. Not my forte, but I wouldn't buy the 650sx. For a few bucks more, you can get a 650sx, which effortlessly upgrades to just about anything you want to put in it. There's a 650SJ in my area for $1200. The 650 skis don't sell for much.

Really, the question should be... 550 reed motor vs 650SJ. I don't know enough about the 550 reed motor to make a suggestion.

 

[98gti]

550 anyday, a 650 handles like a bathtub with a jet pump, IMO.

 

[makejetskiinggreatagain]

you can find a pretty decent SN superjet for 1000 if you're patient. then again, I liked my 650 kawi and they are abundant on CL in your price range. You can still do crazy powerslides and whatnot. I'm actually contemplating buying another for when people come to the lake and want to learn. I don't want their grubby hands in my SJ lol

 

[Skirunner24]

I love the 550. Bought my first reed motor 550sx a few years ago with a pretty decent amount of mods for dirt cheap (FP pipe, milled head, impeller, a/m carb, bars/quick turn plate, grips, finger throttle, intake/ride plate, a/m waterbox, nose brace). PO had rebuilt the motor (completely new top end) 3 hrs ago and decided it was to much power for his daughter to ride. With the exception of a stator going bad, I haven't had any problems with it. Oh yeah... he also threw in ALL of the extra parts from the other 550 he had - (spare running PP motor, electrics, driveline etc) I've actually had more problems to date with my 701...sacrilegious, I know. I'll probably never sell the 550. It's fun, light, quick, easy to work on... and a cool piece of history to own. If and when I come across another one for the right price and condition, I won't hesitate to pick it up. Make great friend's/kids skis when you want to upgrade!

 

[davy87nj]

For sure a stock 650sj had more power out of the hole than an 550sx. That blue one I had was pretty modded, but it was all top end. Thats my experience.


On a 550 I think once you get the feel of where the power is and learn how to keep it there and keep it hooked, your gonna be straight. But only so much can help you when you go down and trying to get back up quick to run from that breaking wave, haha.

 

[Pnutt]

I have owned both and I would buy a 550 over a 650 but if you are spending 1000 you can get a 750 sx! They are faster in low, mid , and high range . Besides they are newer and will need less work. As far as elevation you should be able to tune the carb or carbs and be running the same as sea level .