Please help experience needed - PWC Forum: The best hang-out for Personal WaterCraft enthusiasts

iimpactt · 08-11-2011, 02:06 PM

hey guys i have been heavily into boats and am fairly good with outboard motors, but now want to get into the pwc game. i have found two skis for sale
The one is a 96 1100zxi with a trailer for 1200
96 zxi1100
he says it starts up but it might need a tuneup. this scares me becasue i do not know what to look for with these things and do not want to get sucked into spending alot of money being that i am a college student on a limited buget. says compression was between 93 and 95 psi.

Second is a 94 750zxi with trailer for 1250 neg. says it runs mint but hasnt seen the water this year but said it is the cleanest 94 out there.

I am very confused right now but if someone could give me some information on what to look out for when buying a ski or recomend a particular ski please lmk asap Thank you!

ps i am also a bigger guy around 250lbs so i am worrying about the preformance that a 750 would bring

Outlaw · 08-11-2011, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iimpactt

hey guys i have been heavily into boats and am fairly good with outboard motors, but now want to get into the pwc game. i have found two skis for sale
The one is a 96 1100zxi with a trailer for 1200
96 zxi1100
he says it starts up but it might need a tuneup. this scares me becasue i do not know what to look for with these things and do not want to get sucked into spending alot of money being that i am a college student on a limited buget.

Second is a 94 750zxi with trailer for 1250 neg. says it runs mint but hasnt seen the water this year but said it is the cleanest 94 out there.

I am very confused right now but if someone could give me some information on what to look out for when buying a ski or recomend a particular ski please lmk asap Thank you

ps i am also a bigger guy around 250lbs so i am worrying about the preformance that a 750 would bring

Ok, first of all the older the ski the older the technology and the weight carrying capacity was less.

Next I personally can't stand old Kawasaki two strokes. Maybe a Kawasaki guy could chime in. But overall visual inspection is a big part both inside and out. Running it on a trailer is a joke. There is no load on it and it isn't floating. The only way besides a visual inspection is a sea trial. Never ever buy a used ski with out a sea trial. This gives you a chance to run in real condtions, it will also reveal wheter your weight will be ok on it.

YamaDoo · 08-11-2011, 03:03 PM

You'll be fine if you ride alone. Go for the 1100 as they as pretty fast and has more features while the 750 is underpowered and basic.

iimpactt · 08-11-2011, 03:42 PM

alright thanks alot guys im a little more familar with 2 strokes and also they are much cheaper haha so the 1100 is looking like the better buy?
even if it does need a tuneup how much does that run about?
also i do not know alot about these engines and the 93-95 psi range seemed a little low but i may be wrong

YamaDoo · 08-11-2011, 06:05 PM

Yes that's low it should have 115-120 PSI Anything under 100 and it's top end time. Keep looking unless you can get it for a steal and just get a rebuild done.