SJ vs. Freestyle

[E-Unit]

I'm looking to get into standup's. Have a local group that rides. Ride dirt bike, street bike, and Snowmobile (West/mountain doesn't snow in MN anymore). Speed is less of a thrill than technical riding so I think I'm more prone to an AM hull. Is there a disadvantage to starting on one of these? Would one be better off looking for an outfitted SJ ready to donate parts for an AM later?

Also, any advice finding ski's in the Midwest?

 

[SanoWK]

Join "tcjetpilots" or "badgerland jet pilots" on facebook for ski sales in the midwest. Good people

 

[dose]

I know I am setting myself up to get bashed here but I think a 550 is a good place to start
If you learn to ride a 550 then you can ride anything
they are 2-3 times cheaper than yamaha and parts are cheaper
yes they are less reliable but its a good foundation to learn how to wrench on your skis ( because you will be wrenching on a yami too eventually)
If you re having fun and get the jetski bug like most of us then start adding to your collection
I started with a 550 now I have
550
550 with 750 engine
701 SN
super chicken
hurricane (build in progress)

everyone rides the 550/750 and SC mostly
SN when the kawis are not running or someone is learing to ride

 

[Quinc]

Most people are no where near able to max out a superjets freestyle capabilities. Much easier on an a/m hull though.

 

[Vumad]

I'm looking to get into standup's. Have a local group that rides. Ride dirt bike, street bike, and Snowmobile (West/mountain doesn't snow in MN anymore). Speed is less of a thrill than technical riding so I think I'm more prone to an AM hull. Is there a disadvantage to starting on one of these? Would one be better off looking for an outfitted SJ ready to donate parts for an AM later?

Also, any advice finding ski's in the Midwest?

The answer to you question is your budget. If you have $1000 save for something better. If you have $2500 find a nice square. If you have $4000 find a nice rn. If you have $6000-10000 then buy a used am hull. If you have $20000 then buy new. If money is no objected whatsoever, buy one for me please.

The deciding factor as related to you budget is one thing and one thing only...

CONDITION

again...

CONDITION

A mint ultra reliable stock square nose you can always take out any moment anyone invites you without ever worrying about a tow is a better starter ski than a ragged out questionable running top of the line aftermarket hull with every possible top of the line but worn out broken part available.

There's nothing more important in a starter ski than reliability. Period.

You'll know exactly what to get for a second ski if your first ski works well enough to be ridden a lot.

You goal in a ski is to be as wrenchless as possible for the 1st year. Don't mod it. Just ride it.

My first ski was a 650sx. It was a perfect ski except it kept breaking so I never rode it. My second ski was a x2 and it was a perfect ski except I kept taking it apart to mod it so I never rode it My 3rd ski was a Superjet and it was perfect because I could ride it anytime anyone invited me. Anyone of the previous skis would have been perfect if I had just been able to ride it. Gomez made a name for himself on a 550, but he didn't do it by standing next to it on the beach.

 

[yamanube]

Where in MN are you?

 

[E-Unit]

I'm in the north west corner of MN.

Reliability is a priority and I have a lot of experience wrenching on small engines, need it to own motorcycles and snowmobiles. Since I'm just getting into this, there is definitely a budget! From what I've gathered from local guys is smaller displacement ski's can he harder to learn because they don't come to plane as easily (I'm about 180lbs 6'2"). True?

Thanks for the heads up on the TCJP, I've heard of Sortie and would like to attend this year. Joined the group!

 

[chevota84]

I'm in the north west corner of MN.

Reliability is a priority and I have a lot of experience wrenching on small engines, need it to own motorcycles and snowmobiles. Since I'm just getting into this, there is definitely a budget! From what I've gathered from local guys is smaller displacement ski's can he harder to learn because they don't come to plane as easily (I'm about 180lbs 6'2"). True?

Thanks for the heads up on the TCJP, I've heard of Sortie and would like to attend this year. Joined the group!

My advice would be to buy a clean RN and mod it as you go, anything you do to the motor or drive train can be swapped into an aftermarket hull later. If you just want to see if you like riding one, find a 650 SN, they're cheap and you can't lose much money if you decide to sell it later. They're a great backup/buddy ski to have around too. You could ride a js, I'm 6'1" and 280 and I can get up on a stock 300 but they get boring fast.

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[Pablo]

If ur going in with both feet then I'd save the money on a 550 or SJ and get a solid aftermarket hull with a smaller displacement engine, OEM ignition and pipe. If ur just dabbling to decide if u like the sport then I'd get a clean SJ and check out the scene. Learning to ride a ski isn't hard...learning to ride well or do freestyle well is where the challenge lies. The AM hull will allow u to skip the process of money pitting ur SJ with lots of bolt ons and chopping/fabbing a SJ into a pseudo AM hull. Nothing wrong with going easy and getting a 550 or something else...just IMO.

 

[eastcoastjumper]

Ride a few skis if you can before you make up your mind on something. You might really like it and want something better than a pile of junk


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[Vumad]

My advice would be to buy a clean RN and mod it as you go, anything you do to the motor or drive train can be swapped into an aftermarket hull later. If you just want to see if you like riding one, find a 650 SN, they're cheap and you can't lose much money if you decide to sell it later. They're a great backup/buddy ski to have around too. You could ride a js, I'm 6'1" and 280 and I can get up on a stock 300 but they get boring fast.

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On the other side, big motors never teach you how to finess the ski. You end up having to go huge before you outride your equipment. Outriding your skill gets dangerous.

I think a stock rn would be a snooze at your weight unless you ride it in very clean surf. However, I think if you are willin to go "all in" on a new sport, I think you could be very happy with a nice hull with a stock 701 with bolt ons. Simple, reliable, not all of the costs of a big motor. If that's too much, a good rn with the same power plant is going to plenty fun. There is a ton of enjoyable riding between a limited and flat water backflips.

 

[yamanube]

Ride a few skis if you can before you make up your mind on something. You might really like it and want something better than a pile of junk

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This, there are a handful of guys in your area, I'd try and trade them beer for test rides.

 

[chevota84]

On the other side, big motors never teach you how to finess the ski. You end up having to go huge before you outride your equipment. Outriding your skill gets dangerous.

I think a stock rn would be a snooze at your weight unless you ride it in very clean surf. However, I think if you are willin to go "all in" on a new sport, I think you could be very happy with a nice hull with a stock 701 with bolt ons. Simple, reliable, not all of the costs of a big motor. If that's too much, a good rn with the same power plant is going to plenty fun. There is a ton of enjoyable riding between a limited and flat water backflips.

I agree, but if you buy a stock (ish) square or round, ride it for a summer and decide it's not for you it'll be easy to get rid of and you won't take a big hit on price. That might not matter to some people but I tend to think in those terms.

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[E-Unit]

So would it be a horrible idea to say get a used AM hull and stock/cheap (and hopefully reliable) used 650sx or SJ-SN/RN put them together and ride?

 

[Vumad]

So would it be a horrible idea to say get a used AM hull and stock/cheap (and hopefully reliable) used 650sx or SJ-SN/RN put them together and ride?

I feel like you didn't read post 5. Starting the sport with a project is a terrible idea. Let me give you an example...

You mentioned buying a used AM hull and a 650sx, and putting them together. Well, they don't bolt together. Almost every AM hull is Sj based and even the Kawi ones are not 650sx based. Would you buy a 2016 YZ450F frame because you like the suspension geometry but try to put a 1989 CR125 motor and rear wheel on it to save some money? You are making the equivalent analogy here with a AM hull and 650sx. Even if you buy a RN and a AM hull, it doesn't just bolt together. You are likely to have some sort of unexpected issue like tank fitment, exhaust routing, etc. A lot of AM hulls are designed to be built with very specific parts due to things like rockers that affect waterboxes.

These are the things you do not know. You could not know them until you spend some time in the sport talking to people.

Please take my advice. Buy something ready to ride in a condition good enough that you do not anticipate working on it for a year. I don't care what it is. Ride every opportunity anyone invites you out. Try anything anyone will let you try. Do not modify your ski until the end of year one. Mod it with quick bolt ons next winter and pay a pro to tune it. Then, 2 winters from now, take all that knowledge and buy your dream ski.

Take it from someone who learned the hard way. People telling me what I had to have. My creativity getting the best of me. Years of missed riding a disassembled ski. Now that I have an awesome superjet and the money to buy a AM hull, I have a back injury that keeps me from riding. I wish I had that time back in the beginning I wasted because a stock 650sx and limited 650x2 weren't good enough.

 

[eastcoastjumper]

Short story,

Buy a round nose ski that's not clapped out. Ride it.

In the future if you decide to upgrade, A bunch of the major parts will fit an AM hull. You're gonna end up needing a lot of new parts that are worn out or not good enough anymore.

Keep riding


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[kevbo]

OEM hull/engine freestyle is completely different than what we are doing with short hulls and big engines. Backflips get more attention than hood tricks. People do whatever it takes to be popular.

 

[Mdavies_02]

Listen to Vumad lol. He said it better than I ever could.

 

[Parkersxr]

2nd the vumad post , another note is your should really get the 650sx motor out of your head completely.
1- kawa based motors aren't ideal , reason being is the vast majority of am hulls fly around the Yamaha baseline .
Mid shaft
Exhaust hose sizes 2"-1/2 vs 2 " etc
Ebox (way more fundamental as far as mounting compared to a Sxr kawai style .
Waterbox - kawai ur gonna ditch n run a aftermarket Yama one any way
So at the the end of the day it's just better to buy a superjet learn the motor bay so to speak . Ride it enjoy it flip the hull later buy a a/m hull and use a ton of parts . Your talking big coin to start a aftermarket build with literally no parts . Take it from me i have a an hull with a kawai plant . And it would have been a tremendously better idea to just sell my Sxr motor and grab say a 62t or 61 x prob a lot cheaper too as u can find them all over in donors . (61x) Atleast 62t is a tad harder as I believe they only come in blasters and raiders "I believe " not 100 percent sure

Another thing as well is try and Google search like rn vs an hull /xh20 or stock vs am or something this topic has come up quite a few times and there's lots of input all across the board

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