Surfriding Looking to the future

[sxipro02]

I know you guys feel like the price horse has been beaten to death, but I think there is a little merit to the point. When you can spend a few thousand more and get a ski with cruise control, cup holders, boarding steps, leather, AM/FM radio and air conditioning, why would you buy something that is harder to ride and actually requires some effort and motor skills? By no means am I saying that the people who produce parts and put them time into them shouldn't get what they are worth, more affordable options would help the sport grow. Maybe someone has the balls to try to finance skis for a reasonable price. I know everyone here says pay cash for your toys, but we are in the credit age and people will finance just about anything so they can have it now. A lot of people have absolutely no patience.

As far as the financing goes, try to have a $8000-9000 base ski and charge a fair rate, maybe 6% over 3 years. Or lower the unit price and up the finance rate to 10%. You'd have to do it in house to make it work, but you get a down payment and some monthly income. Handling a non-payment or a repo would pose a challenge because of the size of skis and the ability to hide them or part them out quickly, but motorcycles pose similar problems.

Not a bad idea and I agree that financing everything is where our society has went (hence the fall of our economy) unfortunately in this sport there is a ton of risk for the lender. How do you repo a ski that blew up or sank ect. People could just stop paying and let their credit take the kit and 7 years later their good. sorry lender.....

 

[baxt3r]

Not a bad idea and I agree that financing everything is where our society has went (hence the fall of our economy) unfortunately in this sport there is a ton of risk for the lender. How do you repo a ski that blew up or sank ect. People could just stop paying and let their credit take the kit and 7 years later their good. sorry lender.....

There is the challenge. That's why I said maybe someone has the balls to do it. There are plenty of lenders out there that do higher-risk loans, like Santander. I'd imagine there would have to be a killer market for this kind of thing to happen, far more than what we see now. I would like to see if it would even be possible to make something like that work. And, even though someone could stop paying and wait 7 years for the item to disappear from their credit, I would imagine at some point in the 7 years there would be a need for credit and it would get paid off or at least settled.

 

[JRock637]

This sport could take off. The freestyle side has exploded world wide lately. And in my area alone 10-13 newbs got skis and started this year. It needs more marketing and tv time. Look at Motocross, SX, Xgames, Nitro circus. The motocross world is massive and nobody i grew up my whole life crys about prices. Parents are broke buying their kids $8,000 new bikes to go race on without a 2nd thought. Showing up to practice tracks in $300,000 rigs! The problem from what i see is people gotta stop expecting really cheap hulls and motors. This is a " motorsport " and thats the name of the game. Buy a starter ski and just ride the piss out of it till your hooked and skilled enough to need AM hulls an stroker motors. Like Zack said in his interview " get a ski an just go ride ride ride ride ". Can't blame the industry's growth on the companies that supply our equipment. It never happens in Motocross.....I guess for guys like myself who raced mx their whole life you can understand buying a starter bike/ski and learning before you want a factory 450 or a 1200cc Rickter.

And right now is the best time to buy a clean starter ski like a modded used Rn. Thrash it for a few years and just upgrade to a AM hull. There's alot of great AM hulls used out now for novice riders to get for the 4k range while the experienced guys buy new hulls from TC, Zack, Tony, Steve, you name it. All this sport needs is a full circle and i feel it's actually starting to get that way.

 

[CameronPerdue]

thing with motocross is you can get a early 2000's 125 two stroke for around 1500$, fast bike that can hit jumps for very little and young kids can get into it easily. or buy a brand new 250f or 450 for 6 grand and have youself a out of the box race ready machine. There are 6 OEM brands competing every year to make the bikes better. also aftermarket mods are cheap. Pipes from 400-600$.. seems like the oem's along with advertising is pushing moto forward.
unlike this sport where you can't go to a dealer and buy a backflip ready machine for the most part. but if you want one you have to build it and it costs what 2 or 3 bikes would cost. be nice if yamaha came out with new features every year on the superjet and kept the price down. demand goes up, then other brands get in on it. i could see ktm making one if the sport gets big enough. its just not a big enough sport.

-Guy coming from motocross and knows little about ski's and just bought a superjet this year
--also dont get me wrong, im not bashing the sport, just saying it needs a lot more growth before big things could happen

 

[makejetskiinggreatagain]

I think am hull prices are fine for what you get. what i would like to see is someone who can come up with an affordable entry level ski. If the can make the spark and sell it for what they do, why in the hell cant they produce an entry level lower powered stand up for the same price or less. and put some footholds on the thing from the factory!!! im tired of hearing that yamaha only sells 300 or so so its not justifiable to bring out a new product. pull your head out of your a$$. yamaha only sells 300 or so because the price is outrageous for what you get!!! only 300 people a year are dumb enough to buy one at that price (myself regrettably included). I saw a short episode on the PWC show on youtube about Krash industries. They're going to surpass the 300 hull per year number this year or next IMO, and they are selling premo stuff and premo prices. if they can sell high end products in those quantities, someone should be able to put out an entry level ski at low prices and sell tons. yamaha is trying to sell a civic at bmw prices and you all think that their low quantity of sales has nothing to do with their outlandish price. It amazes me that the superjunk still lives. anyone want to buy mine lol

 

[CRJ]

I had a chat with DK on finance, and he said the same thing, repo's would be impossible. its too easy to disappear with a 6K hull. Id finance a hurricane if they offered it, im just not in a position where i can afford them in cash. He mentioned the conversation has been had, and they are trying to find a solution as they are well aware it would triple their business.

Just gotta be patient and put cash aside and hope nothing comes up that needs it.

 

[Quinc]

I was 25 and had 3 kids. They (industry) are already doing what they can, the rest is up to you to choose what you do with your money. You either think there is some huge %40 markup or expect the manufacturers to do all the R&D, pay for all the tooling and have a 5% markup so that you can have fun. And why should the industry focus on a demographic that doesn't have any money? You get more for your money today, you just aint been around long enough to know it.

Sea-doo just did with the Spark...

 

[sxipro02]

There is always the option of opening up a personal loan for funding a project. Places like mastercard will issue loans up to like 25k with no collateral. You just have to be determined to shell out for the 12-15% interest rates that come with it..... and have the credit for approval.

 

[makejetskiinggreatagain]

Personally i think financing a ski is foolish, a mistake i personally made, and I'm glad AM hull makers don't offer it. It keeps me out of trouble lol. However, what I'm curious about is how can yamaha finance while others cant???? in colorado there are no titles for skis, so repossession is near impossible and collateral wasn't needed when I got my loan. I put zero money down and ended up with a 2.99% loan. They told me it was a low interest rate personal loan, but on my loan statements it says i have an auto loan....little confusing, but if they are figuring out a way to do it, why cant any other company?

 

[CRJ]

you can finance almost anything, most companies just dont have the interest in dealing with it. gotta remember that these are small companies, even the ski clinic and the bob hull is a private shop, not a multi billion dollar corporation with bank deals.

The first person to offer a decent financed AM hull will make a killing, thats for sure.

 

[Quinc]

Personally i think financing a ski is foolish, a mistake i personally made, and I'm glad AM hull makers don't offer it. It keeps me out of trouble lol. However, what I'm curious about is how can yamaha finance while others cant???? in colorado there are no titles for skis, so repossession is near impossible and collateral wasn't needed when I got my loan. I put zero money down and ended up with a 2.99% loan. They told me it was a low interest rate personal loan, but on my loan statements it says i have an auto loan....little confusing, but if they are figuring out a way to do it, why cant any other company?

They must have some kind of insurance like PMI.

 

[baxt3r]

I think the volume Yamaha and Sea Doo have more than make up for the relatively low amount of losses due to non-payment. For financing, I'd say you would need somewhere in the neighborhood of 35-50% down to even make the potential headaches worth it. As volume grows downpayments could decrease. But you've got to have the balls to take on the risks.

 

[CRJ]

90% of buyers could manage that. id have a brawler on order if i could do a few hundred a month and under 2K down.

 

[NVJAY775]

I'd like to see some more modular designs. Very stoked on engine options lately though! It's only getting better. And hulls are still evolving.

I know it's a pipe dream, but getting fuel injection for us would be amazing. So many more ride spots…

And a wave pool, or maker of some kind for us land locked bastards.

As far as pricing on stuff, age demographic etc… If you want it bad enough, you'll make it happen.

 

[BruceSki]

90% of buyers could manage that. id have a brawler on order if i could do a few hundred a month and under 2K down.

Why dot you just put away a few hundred a month and buy the ski you want when you have some thousands put away?

 

[Big Kahuna]

I would like to see TPE do well over the next 5 years and become very established! I would like to see an AM racing hull do well.
I wish Mark Cuban would invest in out sport (cause he's influential as when it comes to money) just some random thoughts

The Trinity Vector Hulls are doing very well. A buddy of mine ordered one a while back, start to finish in 8 days, he had it in his hands in about 2 weeks.........

 

[yamanube]

Why dot you just put away a few hundred a month and buy the ski you want when you have some thousands put away?

Instant gratification.




I would like to see a reasonably priced, well performing exhaust that retains stock fuel capacity and is in stock, ready to ship.

 

[tightithrash]

I think comparing an old 1500 dollar dirt bike and being able to race and comparing a brand new 250f is apples to oranges. Your not going to be competitive. (Obviously depends on where you live and what level your race scene is)

Also if you look at a brand new 250f, your not even competitive at a super cross level.

You can be competitive on a 1500 dollar SN and get into RACING but again, your never going to win a pro class with it.

The he problem comparing bikes to skis is you can only compare racing and racing with them. Freestyle is where it changes. There is no freestyle dirt bike. Luckily you just shave a seat and cut fender and bam your freestyle.

In a flat water aspect. Your never going to be competitive on a SN. You need horsepower. You don't need a 200 Hp to do freestyle on a dirt bike.

You our can buy that same 1500 dollar SN and get it done in the surf. Hell, you could beat a guy on a 30k boat in the surf if you rip.

But is guy on an am hull, big power and is a good rider is going to be very very hard to beat on a square.

Just my thoughts. It's apples to oranges comparing dirt bikes to freestyle jet skis.


added thought- you can go spend 7k on a new dirt bike and be competitive in a specific class or spend 7k on a superjet and be competitive in a specific class. Comparing racing to racing. Which is what both products were designed for.

additional additional thought- you want to buy Blake Baggets factory Pro Circuit bike? That's going to be more than 25k. You wanna buy Dustin motz's kommander race ski? Going to be over 25k.

final final thought- 6500 for a hull got you down? How much would it cost to get a pro circuit bike with no motor with full pro circuit set up suspension, excel rims and hubs? Tires? Seat plastics and graphics? Basically compare a rolling frame to a hull with hood turf holds pump shoe yadda yadda yadda. I'm sure it's actually close in numbers.

 

[TheBuzzard]

for anybody that wants to finance, put a deposit on a hull, make regular payments, but you dont get until its paid in full. thats what i do for guys i know that buy skis, cars or anything from me. but you all want the seller to take the risk on getting burned. and the cookie jar hull fund will get robbed long before its full, guaranteed.

 

[Thejet]

I think comparing an old 1500 dollar dirt bike and being able to race and comparing a brand new 250f is apples to oranges. Your not going to be competitive. (Obviously depends on where you live and what level your race scene is)

Also if you look at a brand new 250f, your not even competitive at a super cross level.

You can be competitive on a 1500 dollar SN and get into RACING but again, your never going to win a pro class with it.

The he problem comparing bikes to skis is you can only compare racing and racing with them. Freestyle is where it changes. There is no freestyle dirt bike. Luckily you just shave a seat and cut fender and bam your freestyle.

In a flat water aspect. Your never going to be competitive on a SN. You need horsepower. You don't need a 200 Hp to do freestyle on a dirt bike.

You our can buy that same 1500 dollar SN and get it done in the surf. Hell, you could beat a guy on a 30k boat in the surf if you rip.

But is guy on an am hull, big power and is a good rider is going to be very very hard to beat on a square.

Just my thoughts. It's apples to oranges comparing dirt bikes to freestyle jet skis.


added thought- you can go spend 7k on a new dirt bike and be competitive in a specific class or spend 7k on a superjet and be competitive in a specific class. Comparing racing to racing. Which is what both products were designed for.

additional additional thought- you want to buy Blake Baggets factory Pro Circuit bike? That's going to be more than 25k. You wanna buy Dustin motz's kommander race ski? Going to be over 25k.

final final thought- 6500 for a hull got you down? How much would it cost to get a pro circuit bike with no motor with full pro circuit set up suspension, excel rims and hubs? Tires? Seat plastics and graphics? Basically compare a rolling frame to a hull with hood turf holds pump shoe yadda yadda yadda. I'm sure it's actually close in numbers.

so true, if I would have put the money I put Into my last full mod race bike into a ski I would have had a DVX with a XS1200 setup to fly. Instead I rode it for a year only to turn around and sell it (without the parts that the geico wouldn't let me sell on it) for $4500. Motocross race bike hold no value at all compared to skis.