Looking for the perfect upgrade?

[pgriskonis]

Hey guys, I'm almost 21 now and have been riding my ole reliable 650sx for about 7 years now. I've ridden flat water and surf style riding on it for years and feel like I outgrew the boat. I'm able to afford something nice finally with a better job and was thinking to skip out on the superjet and go straight to an aftermarket build. I know it's a very broad question but is it worth skipping out on the superjet and going aftermarket right away? I just don't see point in dumping money in mods for the superjet for the same price as as used aftermarket boat. I'm looking to learn backflips, barrel rolls, etc. I was looking into maybe getting a krash industries RTP as they seem like a bang for your buck, but i'm not sure as I've heard mixed reviews, or maybe it's worth buying a used rickter for example on here. Any thoughts??? Thanks.

 

[SXIPro]

Are you looking to do flatwater backflips or backflips in the surf or off a wake behind a boat? In my opinion, unless you are looking to FW flip. I'd go with a pre-08 SJ with a bunch of mods. You'll save a ton of money and have a far more versatile ski than an AM hull with a monster motor.

 

[Spyder]

Alot of it depends on your mechanical skill or time your willing to spend tinkering with your ski. If you just want something that is reliable, a superjet that hasn't been too heavily modded is a good way to go. Also if you buy a superjet almost all of the parts are transferable into an aftermarket hull. Or there are lots of deals on this site of people selling some pretty nice skis for far less of the price it would cost to build it.

 

[pgriskonis]

Backflips on a ski boat wake would be the smallest wave i'm looking to flip on. I want something that could do it without hesitation though. I know alot of it depends on your skill level and technique. I am not afraid on working on my ski either but i'm also not looking to be fixing it every ride if you get my drift. I do alot of mixed riding, some flat water, some big waves. I've been leaning on doing a rickter/701 build or that krash industries RTP. In my eyes, I just don't want to spend all that money on mods, just to spend more money on a hull later and be stuck with a SJ hull. I know most parts can transfer over though. I've never ridden a fully built superjet or even a stock one, so I'm not sure what they're capable of or how hard they rip.

 

[Spyder]

Backflips on a superjet hull with a 701 is not impossible but not easy either. I big bore engine in a stock hull would be pretty easy to pull off though. Rickter hull are really nice and easy to ride hull too. You would still need a little better technique to do backflips with a 701 engine. I think overall people are happy with the Krash RTP skis too. I think the biggest drawback it the engine and carbs and I think the pump too are not standard Yamaha based and getting replacement parts can be somewhat difficult and expensive. There are US based dealers for them but you can't just go on this site or eBay looking for a cheap replacement part in a pinch.

The other angle is if you haven't done alot of work on skis yet you can learn alot from building your own ski. You have all winter to build a ski, whether transferring from a superjet or build an AM ski from scratch. You may have a few more hiccups in the spring but it's worth it in the long run because you will know what is going on in your ski down to every nut and bolt.

 

[SteveC]

There's a very personable fellow with a 2012(14?) SJ, template ported, with head, pipe, AM F/A, footholds, a lot of other little upgrades... for sale just south of Chicago. If I recall right, he's moving to AZ and thus is selling the ski in IL before moving... unsure of the dates or anything. Anyway, the point is you could get that, like tomorrow, and be riding yet this year, and then go after the AM hull, etc. as you have time. Ultimately, no one ends up with only one... it's like tattoos, I'm told. So get an SJ now with all the goodies, and get an AM ski, too, after riding a few of them. Spending ~$15k+ on something AM shouldn't be something you just buy and hope you like it, IMHO. There's enough people out there with stuff that are willing to let a non-idiot test drive, that taking a little time to figure out what you really want is just smart. My $0.02.

PS: There's also an incredibly clean Tigercraft M1 for sale in MI... both of these skis are things I'm currently tempted to buy, so you'd be sort of saving me from temptation if you bought either one.

https://www.x-h2o.com/index.php?threads/2012-supjerjet-with-aluminum-trailer.195250/
https://www.x-h2o.com/index.php?threads/2019-tigercraft-m1.196016/

 

[Wetbuffalo]

If I were you I’d pick up that Tigercraft M1 that’s for sale. Everyone who rides mine says it’s the perfect all around ski. Flat and surf. It’s not a long ski but let’s face it you are young like me and can handle a short hull. The nose has an awesome amount of rocker that just allows it to pop