where is this sport going?

[WaveDemon]

does anyone see it (or hope to see it) grow to the popularity of freestyle moto cross? That would mean some full time riders, bigger sponsors like energy drinks etc.

What good would come of that other than saying I was there when it was nothing. (still not trying to sound like an a-hole).

 

[jetskier79]

What good would come of that other than saying I was there when it was nothing. .

I like to ride! I'd give my left nut to do it for a living. Hell, I'd give my left nut for it to be a part time job.

 

[WaveDemon]

I like to ride! I'd give my left nut to do it for a living. Hell, I'd give my left nut for it to be a part time job.

That's cool for a few. I don't see myself being paid to ride.

 

[unclehulka13]

I see people talking about OEM support, but how many people really buy a brand new sj just to beat on it? Not many. Most people that do, get em used and redo em. Theres always gonna be builders like wamiltons, wcf, blowsion that are making hulls/parts for our old skis.

 

[Cane700]

Best not worry about it. Just ride and do what you love to do . Jetskiing is the greatest sport in the world and people will see that eventually. Until then, enjoy what you got.

 

[WaveDemon]

I see people talking about OEM support, but how many people really buy a brand new sj just to beat on it? Not many. Most people that do, get em used and redo em. Theres always gonna be builders like wamiltons, wcf, blowsion that are making hulls/parts for our old skis.

I dissagree with this. I'm sure the shop owners are making some money now. If we lose new stand up sales the best case scenerio will be to keep the sport the same size. I'm sure the shop owners are expecting buisness to grow over time or else they might as well do something else with there valuable time and skills. You can't expect people to start buying aftermaket hulls just because you can't by a new superjet anymore.

So far I think that is the best reason to help make the sport grow. Just to keep it around for my own good.

I'd still like to know if there is some kind of collective goal and how we'll know when we get there. Or do we keep showing up to the freeride events and say "wow, it is bigger than last year". Maybe that is the growth goal.

 

[Superman]

Being new to the jetski scene compared to alot of you and being flatwater bound, still freestyle was my main reason for purchasing a ski, and a stand up straight from the word go, so far we have managed to convert a few of our friends and my wife has become a stand up lady only :cheer:

also where i am located stand ups are primarily racing only, freeride is quite a bit bigger at the surf with some exceptional riders pulling backflips and barrel rolls to entertain the crowds and hopefully inspire people to go out and buy a stand up.

but up here , NO ONE does freestyle , the racers go round the close circuit and bunny hops is the extent of it. my goal is the flatwater barrel roll, then to show it off as often as possible, i believe people need to see it to believe it from there lets just hope they also go out and buy the stand ups to compliment there 3 sitdowns they have dragging behind them. :banghead:

so far there is hope if rumours are to be believed, yamaha and kawa have new stand ups waiting to go into production if it is financially feasable. but they are very focused close circuit racer ski's , which would probably mean continuing to mod the older superjet etc.

modding can be very expensive, but i dont think it has to be prohibitively so, a set of footholds/ intake grate and impelllar is usually enough to keep most busy for a good while, if these same peopel invetsted the difference in price between a jet and RXP, they would have a one hellava trick ski

just my 2 cents from a noob:hail:

 

[Freestyleriverrat]

I think that it is all about exposure. When ever I go riding down on the river and do some tricks infront of the boat ramp it always draws the attention of a few people...........most of which approach me asking me what kind of ski is that? Or "I didn't know they still made stand ups".

I have also run into stand up riders down there who have been riding recreationally for years and have never seen or heard of a FS boat, much less the types of tricks you are capable of doing on the water. Runabout racing is where the $$ is, but that does not turn heads like freestyle. IMO exhibitions are the key to gaining public interest. If we all just participated more that would really help.........this sport needs more exposure on things like the Speed Channel and X-games. Nobody wants to watch runabout racing all the time.......yet that is what the industry is pushing b/c they sell better.

 

[Yamah0]

Ive been riding stand ups since 1989 and back then the standup scene wasnt that big here and it used to be mostly me and my buddy just rippin it on our PJS 550s.. then few years down the line it really died out completly.

But since the past couple years you wont believe how crazy it got here... its like a standup freestyle frenzy... everybody is on standups. Every yamaha dealership is sold out before they even get the skis to the showroom.. its like a fight to get a hold of one. Oh ya theres like a gazillion Superjets, twp Polaris that dont work and three SXR hehehe
You get down to the beach and all you see is black standups blu standups blowsions paintjobs custom paint jobs and all and everyone is doing freestyle or at least trying to.. its cool ... especially the weekends sheesh.. and its not like a small lake or somthing like that.. its an ocean.

Anyways.:smile:
Zane...

 

[yamaslut]

I would love to have the opportunity to Freeride for a living.... I don't think it would ruin the sport if more riders made better money, or any at all for that matter... I'm not the least bit concerned w/ every guy on the block doing backflips at my local break, cause most people don't ever want to put themselves in that position... What we do is not normal...

How many guys on the east coast even do flips consistantly??? I bet you can count it on your fingers... there is plenty of room for growth in this sport..

We are no where near NASCAR.
God, to have that problem would be sweet :biggrin:

 

[wildman326]

"most people don't ever want to put themselves in that position"

Amen to that. I know several people that do "want" to put themselves in that postion, and talk about it all the time, but when the rubber meets the road - there just ain't no grip. I've been there myself - I'm gonna do this or that or at least try . . . only to leave without one single attempt. The water was too rough, there were no waves, water shoots up my nose when I land inverted, I got hurt last time, my ski doesn't have enough power, I was too hungover, my ski is too powerful, etc.

As far as the future of this sport . . . I'd like to see 2 to 1 stand-ups to sitdowns, or even 1 to 2, but I don't think it will ever be "hot" again. People are lazy and it's just too hard to ride a stand-up.

Oh well - I'm 34 now (will be on the 26th), if I live to be 110 and I can ride for the next 74 years that will be fine with me. Just gotta keep stocking parts.

 

[WaHoo_1]

Being new to the jetski scene compared to alot of you and being flatwater bound, still freestyle was my main reason for purchasing a ski, and a stand up straight from the word go, so far we have managed to convert a few of our friends and my wife has become a stand up lady only :cheer:

also where i am located stand ups are primarily racing only, freeride is quite a bit bigger at the surf with some exceptional riders pulling backflips and barrel rolls to entertain the crowds and hopefully inspire people to go out and buy a stand up.

but up here , NO ONE does freestyle , the racers go round the close circuit and bunny hops is the extent of it. my goal is the flatwater barrel roll, then to show it off as often as possible, i believe people need to see it to believe it from there lets just hope they also go out and buy the stand ups to compliment there 3 sitdowns they have dragging behind them. :banghead:

so far there is hope if rumours are to be believed, yamaha and kawa have new stand ups waiting to go into production if it is financially feasable. but they are very focused close circuit racer ski's , which would probably mean continuing to mod the older superjet etc.

modding can be very expensive, but i dont think it has to be prohibitively so, a set of footholds/ intake grate and impelllar is usually enough to keep most busy for a good while, if these same peopel invetsted the difference in price between a jet and RXP, they would have a one hellava trick ski

just my 2 cents from a noob:hail:

right on... when I first got back into ski's a year ago, I'd heard a lot of what guys where doing these days. Then my first trip to Sebastion and just being out there in the surf and right before you seeing guys throwing B/R's, backys and other funk. My own personal goals suddenly became all that much more clear.
:woot: :cheer: :Banane01:

 

[Mile9c1]

I see people talking about OEM support, but how many people really buy a brand new sj just to beat on it?

Last year I'd guess about 300, lol.

Think about it, if Yamaha/Kawasaki stop selling skis, there will be no new skis on the market, except for a handful of custom hulls (which probably won't even replace the number of Superjet hulls that get trashed every year). Nobody's saying the Blowsions/Wamilton's/etc. won't be around in the future to support us, but specifically in terms of groth, the OEM's play a huge part.