Octane Project Octane aka Winter Soldier

[VXSXH20]

My 2002 Polaris Octane re-do, I bought the ski a 3 years ago and for the last year and a half she has been cut up and under the knife. I started tearing the ski down October of last year and its been a long story ever since..I bought it and rode it a few times but after riding a few other octanes it did not feel as if she was at 100% by any means. After discovering wet foam and sloshing in the tray, It was time to dig in.. This was the way i picked it up and rode it for a summer.

 

[Joker]

Wow this is like a girl showing you her tits and then walking away.

 

[VXSXH20]

The ski had tubbie 2s already installed and a shortened turn plate as far as upgrades but the typical octane issues were hiding underneath. When I was riding it the motor was shaking and vibrating excessively, This was the first of many issues I had to address. After removing the engine, It was obvious the bed plates separated from the hull and someone had already made an attempt to fix it somewhat. Also the the engine was rebuilt which was a plus but there was no paint on the lower block and was peeling off everywhere. This was the point of no return. I quickly tore down the engine to verify and start inspecting everything.

 

[VXSXH20]

Haha thanks joker, my PC is screwed up and taking forever to upload the pics

 

[Joker]

Haha its good. Keep em flowing.

 

[VXSXH20]

I Cleaned up and checked over the Engine and started to freshen it up. I sent the heads and flywheel to #Zero to have machined and replaced the seals on the engine, Crank and Bearings were in great shape, Zero Matched my Cylinder Covers to match My Flywheel, He never Disappoints with his fast turn around and quality work

 

[VXSXH20]

 

[VXSXH20]

Onto The hull Issues. The Motor Mount Plates were re-installed after roughing up the areas, 5200'd them down then edges of plates built up with some chopped glass for a smooth transition angle for the 17oz biax glass to lay down. Trimmed and re fitted the mounts. The Mounts are rock solid now.

 

[VXSXH20]

Pulled the Rear drain plug that was in it. The whole plug un threaded and the water dripped out for days..This is where I had to make the dreaded judgement call of whether to cut up the tray or not.. I knew octanes leak like crazy but I was hoping the drain would've bought me some more ride time..Not The case here , So i scraped up the turf and made a cut into the tray instantly my cut off wheel was slinging water and soaking wet. I knew it was over. I weighed my foam in the trash bag and it was about 22 lbs of water and foam

 

[VXSXH20]

It was pretty obvious once i opened up the rear that this issue could've been somewhat prevented. Polaris/Wamilton didnt even use capped pump insert nuts back then and there was very thin epoxy glue ( the green stuff) around the thru hull tube for the dshaft as well as the cooling lines and back of the exhaust tube and bond lines.

 

[RMBC Freeride]

These weren't built by wamiltons. The hull building was done by seebold racing for polaris. Just an FYI.

Keep up the good work!

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

 

[VXSXH20]

Good to know, i thought wammer built the prototypes and Polaris took over. Thanks for the update!

 

[Joker]

Thats some poopty craftsmanship

 

[TontoM3]

I wonder if it's the same family that owns seebold sports here in Osage beach. They are a Polaris dealer. Or one giant cowinkidink!

Hope that thing turns out to rip bikini bottoms off! Haha

 

[VXSXH20]

Hope that thing turns out to rip bikini bottoms off! Haha

One can only hope?..This Ski has come a long way. It is My ski and i enjoy it because it will Rip like no other ski I've ridden, But these are Big and Heavy.. I came from kawis and got bored pretty quick after riding an Octane. But to be quite honest I'm trying to get my wife back into skis. The Octane is one of the most forgiving standups with the most power and still have the ability to hold on to..with the tubbies it rides so smooth. Turns are a little wide but hey thats how Octanes Roll! If you ever have a chance to ride one, Do it . They are some of the best lake skis to rip on and chase boats with. Parts are becoming Scarce and Theres not a lot of love out there for them compared to SJs and SXRs. But For a few who enjoy them, Hang on to Them

 

[speedysprocket]

Still have my hull and have intentions of putting it back together some day. Glad to see yours is getting the love now! Hope to see it at Wave Daze!

 

[VXSXH20]

Glad to see yours is getting the love now! Hope to see it at Wave Daze!

Thanks, Hopefully I'll be there with it. It has been a long project as my wife and I had another Baby. It sat over 6 months with the tray open and lack of progress. But Thats all changed.
- We were there both trips this past year! Ski-less of course but still enjoyed it and meeting alot of people. My buddy David ( Diagnull ) has helped motivate me to get it back together.

 

[VXSXH20]

Moving on, I decided to cut the side trays and re-inforce the sides of the hull with some heavy 19oz biax I had to stiffen it up and also sealed up the bond lines and sealed the pump inserts, refitted and sealed the exhuast tube and all the other problem areas. While inside I added a scupper tube with an additional one way valve to prevent water from coming back in. This hull Always had water coming into the bilge The pump would run often. I think it was partially due to the hood seal and the problematic hood hooks and receivers on the 2002 hulls.

 

[RMBC Freeride]

Good to know, i thought wammer built the prototypes and Polaris took over. Thanks for the update!

Pretty much true, Wammer did the original design. Polaris changed a lot of it (for the worse, handling-wise), then Polaris had Seebolds build the hulls for production.

I wonder if it's the same family that owns seebold sports here in Osage beach. They are a Polaris dealer. Or one giant cowinkidink!

Yep, same one. I'm sure they could have done a better job, but I'm sure they were being pushed by Polaris to hit a certain production schedule (the first year they were way behind on delivery times), and also a certain price point. Honestly it was "good enough" construction for a single-purpose "race ski"... at the time. Just my opinion.

 

[speedysprocket]

Don't cut those sides out and not put foot holds in!