What was your FIRST ski?

[skysurfer2010]

First ski ever? My dad rented some seadoo when I was really young. After that around the same age my neighbor gave me a ride on his yami XPL (same guy who rode all the way up from the Keys in Docker's Khakis!). After that, a very large hiatus, and then by stroke of somewhat luck, my super redneck neighbor (guy was awesome!) moved and his buddy who lived with him and shared rent and whatnot had a jetski that the former police chief of the state owned. It was a 93 VXRPRO. The coolant elbow had a leaked gasket, and the flush kit was filled with crap (had to replace the brass nipple), and the trailer was rotted (box galvanized) but the hull was in great shape.

The pump is a bit eaten up because the backend was underwater at high tides (his beach wasnt big enough). The engine also had a problem with the crankseal that we couldnt figure out, and the engine eventually blew up after the first season. Needless to say, this thing taught me the 701 engine up and down trying to figure it out. We replaced the engine with an SBT and it runs great! My dad bought it for $400 what can ya say? 61X motor, all stock.

After I learned how to wrench I caught too much wind of the "get an SJ" posts at PWCToday. First forums I went to were the SBT ones, and they bought PWCT so I switched. Then I finally got fed up with all the crap there and switched here. After almost a year of searching with NO SJ's within 4 hours and at a reasonable price to talk into, I gave in and bought a 650 SJ, garage kept, bilge pump and primer (otherwise stock) on a modified boat trailer to handle two SJ's with an equipment box, frame excellent condition, fullsize spare, huge tires, etc. for a price above what I wanted to pay, but I couldnt take it.

I later found out the guy was pretty much full of crap and I have to unclog the coolant system (mud daubers clogged the pump coolant hole), and then the day after that, the stock fuel filter busted and let a bunch of crap into the internal fuel filter. This was sold to me as a working ski... lesson learned, TEST RIDE. That was a stupid purchase that I fell in love with and had to have.

I fixed the 650 (starter motor kicked after about a month, rebuilt it) up and rode it all summer, and broke 3 of the 4 motor mounts (waiting to be replaced :biggrin: ) jumping cruiser wakes. SO, I decided that small 650 was enough motor to haul my 200 lb ass around, and instead of buying a 701 to drop in ($$$) decided to take a hit and bought a 701 SJ with a few goodies. WELL, the 650 is now getting ready for sale (reliable as hell), the VXR PRO is reliable as hell, and the 701 is currently in pieces getting hood modded and tray resealed, reinforced back there.

On a side note, my other neighbor who owns a yami XPL doesnt know anything about jetskis and lost a lot of money to 'mechanics' so whenever he breaks it (solenoid, battery, stupid stuff), I fix it for him and he basically lets me ride it whenever I want, in addition to answering any 'couch' questions he may have.

SO thats my life story :biggthumpup:

no such thing as a yamaha XPL. there is a sea doo XPL though. :biggthumpup:

 

[thelovewalrusman]

First Jetski I ever rode was a 93 650 Tigershark But the first jetski I ever owned was a 89 X-2

 

[felix5oh]

It was 1982, i was 14 years old.

First one i rode was a 440. First one i bought was a 440 hull and pump with a 550 motor.

 

[wayne]

Was reading a thread in the Old School section and decided to start this thread.

So---what was the first ski you RODE and then what was the first ski you OWNED?

I first learned on an '84 or '85 Kawi 550 that a friend from California had. Although I am a Florida native, my first ride wasn't until 1989 while I was in the Air Force stationed in Altus, Oklahoma.

The first ski I owned was a 1989 JS550. The blue and pink stripes really complemented the white hull.

chic,

that was my fist year riding also. here is the scary part, it was at lake luger (quartz mountains) just north of Altus, ok. my mom, that had lung cancer, lived in altus for years. i grew up in quanah and vernon. damn it sure is a small world.

anyway, it was a kaw not sure of the size. then rode a few seadoos, then bought the family two honda's in 03, got my superjet about a year and a half later, and the honda gets lonely since i hardly ever ride it.

now, between me and kawtipper, we have seven stand ups of which five run.

 

[WaHoo_1]

cut my teeth in like 84-85 on my bud's 440 kawi and a beat up X2.

 

[douglee25]

Here's my little story.... I bought a Polaris SL750 from one of my buddies friends in the winter. The guy wanted way too much for his trailer so I stuck it in the back of my truck. Anway, I get home and a couple days later I'm just looking through the ski and I decide to start it up. I start it up and let it run for like 15 seconds. It didn't want to stay running... weird I thought? Anyway, after I shut it off, I noticed water dripping from the engine? WTF? As I took a closer look, I found a huge crack in the engine block. Here the guy didn't winterize it after he said he did. I went back to him and showed him the damage so we settled by him just giving me the brand new trailer with title. I rebuilt the whole engine that winter and installed it for my first ride in the spring. I rode that thing for 2 - 3 tuning sessions and I was already bored. Back to the classifieds I went and I found a 550sx in Delaware for $550 bucks. I rode down, checked it out, and bought it. I took it up to the river and proceeded to test it out. Mind you, I never had any instruction, I had never even seen anyway ride one of these skis, etc. I litterally learned it on my own. The first day I spent all my time in the water. I might have stood up for 5 seconds at most. I was going to sell the thing by the end of the day. I said to myself I'll give this one more shot and if I don't pick up the skill, it's sold. I came back a week later, and I took off from the ramp like I had been skiing forever. Weird huh? Granted I couldn't turn or do much. I rode that thing for a month or so and got sick of the low power. I found a 750sxi at a decent price and purchased that by the end of June. That thing was awesome! I threw on an R&D pipe and it was a pretty decent ski. The end of the season came and I was in search of my first superjet. I found a guy about 45mins from me who had one pretty modified. I picked that up and the rest is history. That was over 2 years ago. Crazy how time flies! :smile:

Doug

 

[Idok]

1st ski ridden:
kawi 440/550 back when I was 10 or so....


2002ish...friends had an 1100 venture they let me have free reign on

2003:
97GP12..rode for 200+ hours and never changed even changed the plugs

2004:
1992 701 square---formely owned by Kevin Collins

 

[RoyalFlush@PCB]

chic,

that was my fist year riding also. here is the scary part, it was at lake luger (quartz mountains) just north of Altus, ok. my mom, that had lung cancer, lived in altus for years. i grew up in quanah and vernon. damn it sure is a small world.

anyway, it was a kaw not sure of the size. then rode a few seadoos, then bought the family two honda's in 03, got my superjet about a year and a half later, and the honda gets lonely since i hardly ever ride it.

now, between me and kawtipper, we have seven stand ups of which five run.

Wow! I am constantly reminded about how small this rock we live on really is!

I learned to ride there as well. When I get home (I'm in Orange Beach, Alabama for the weekend) I'll try to scan a few pics. There was really nothing much to do there so going to the lake was a past-time that alot of us stationed there took part in. I practically lived at the lake during the weekends in summer.

A little irony thrown in the mix---one of the locals that I rode with was the son of a local plumbing contractor and he eventually opened his own plumbing business just as I did. Before I got my own license, his dad used to hire me to help on the larger plumbing or irrigation projects that he had going on. I always spent my hard earned cash on more parts or more gas for the ski.

 

[RMBC Freeride]

My first ski: 1974 JS400

Still have it... it needs to be fully restored... someday

 

[meatball]

no such thing as a yamaha XPL. there is a sea doo XPL though. :biggthumpup:

Substitute all instances of "Yamaha XPL" with "Yamaha XLT"

OOPS!

 

[kingnothing3]

my first ski was a '93 kawi 550sx. still have it completly stock(other than paint) and it is still very reliable. Its what I let all my friends and girlfriend ride. they love it.

 

[daylite67]

This was my first ski.
It's a 1989 550 in a 1985 hull.
It's also my first jetski paint job.

 

[GPnVB]

First skis I ever rode were a seadoo something and a Kawi 550. This was around 90-91. Both were rentals on the same day.

Bought my first ski in 99, a 99 GP800, still have it. Bone stock too.

 

[bad93blaster]

my first ski was a 1988 300sx i brought it home in the hatch of my trans am

 

[94SJrider]

My first ski was a 1990 Superjet 650. Was ridding that thing up until late last year were i got my 1994 sj. Been rideing stand ups since i was 10.

 

[djkorn1]

First ski was a Kawasaki 550 stand-up.

West Coast pipe
West Coast Head
Flywheel
Skat Trak Impellor
Intake grate and rideplate
Aftermarket bars
AVPI throttle lever
Hydroturf
750 GPH Rulemate Bilge
TDR Waterbox

This thing sounded like a chainsaw!!! You could hear it from over a mile away. It didn't have the tube that put the exhaust under the water. LOUD AS HELL. It hit pretty hard on the bottom!
:cool2:

 

[ATS_Aaron]

chic,

that was my fist year riding also. here is the scary part, it was at lake luger (quartz mountains) just north of Altus, ok. my mom, that had lung cancer, lived in altus for years. i grew up in quanah and vernon. damn it sure is a small world.

Wow. I'm from Vernon, TX. My dad used to take our sailboat to Lake Altus aka Lake Lugart. My first ride was a Wet Bike in Lake Pauline outside of Quanah. My dad drove it, I was just a passenger..maybe 1983 or 84?

My first stand-up ride was a 1990 Superjet, that is now my wife's ski.

Aaron

 

[ATS_Aaron]

This was my first ski.
It's a 1989 550 in a 1985 hull.
It's also my first jetski paint job.

That ski is f-n SWEET.

That lake looks like urine though.

Aaron

 

[mekanic305]

89 Kaw js650sx first owned and rode...I actually bought it before I had ever ridden one. Luckily I kept at it for more than a day and loved it ever since.

 

[professor961]

First ski to ride was in 1984 and was a 440. Rushford Lake near Belfast, NY. You could rent them by the half hour or hour. Not a month later there was a 550 in the family - a 1984. We sold old red not long ago. She got a candy apple paint job around 1991, and had one engine rebuild. We now have eight PWC's in the family - 2004 FX140, 1995 750 SXi, 1993 750 Xi, 1992 650 VXR, 1993 650 X2, 1990 TS, 1987 750 X2 and a 1984 550 / 650 conversion ski. Of course, four of the seven are mine........ Prof
Oh, and the FX140 just plane flies.......