Yahooligan

Me again.

Thought I would ask and try to get some generally-unbiased answers (One can dream. ).

I've had a number of vehicles of various types over the years. Cars, trucks, boats, ATVs, gas, diesel, 2-stroke, 4-stroke, you name it. Two big things I look at and compare to previous experience is reliability and ease of repairs and these have led me to rule out various makes and models as time goes on.

For example, I've had boats with Mercruiser and Volvo outdrives and will rule out buying a boat that has Mercruiser, at least the Alpha series, because of how much of a pain they are compared to the Volvos.

Similarly, my truck has a Cummins because it's so much easier to get to things compared to a Duramax.

Now I'm on to PWCs, I've tinkered with my sister's Kawasaki 750 SS as needed here and there for the past couple of years and have found parts of it to be poorly designed or hard to access.

Now that I have this Yamaha sitting right next to it it's like holy crap...someone actually thought about maintenance and repairs down the road. Everything is relatively easy to get to, lube points are out in the open, flushing is a breeze, etc. As a result, I'm finding myself already biased towards Yamaha but I don't want to get stuck on a single brand based on flawed logic or reasoning.

Now, it's pretty likely that we'll be looking at getting another PWC by this summer, something new(er) and bigger that can hold 3 people, that's a 4-stroke, and makes a good cruiser.

Of the PWCs from, say, 2006-2012, on average which brand would you say is BOTH reliable and relatively easy to work on? Or all they all pretty equal these days? I know it's going to be a bit more crowded with the larger, more complicated EFI 4-strokes.

I just want to make sure I give them all a fair shake and don't rule out a brand or model based on a bad assumption or misconception. I also realize this sort of thread could turn into a "religious battle" and that's not my intent.

If this thread is a bad idea then feel free to tell me to get stuffed.

Ernest T

IMO SeaDoo and Yamaha 4 stroke skis are the 2 most reliable brands. Kawasaki pretty much always takes last place, and its not 1 big problem, but many small things that tend to plague those skis. I have a friend that works at a Yamaha/Kawasaki dealership, and he sees both brands and has confirmed this on multiple occasions. Honda is out of the ski business since 2009, but you can still find some of their skis for sale as dealers try to clear their inventory. Honda made a great engine, but the rest of the system tended to have multiple failures (especially the turbo charged models), so I would not recommend one of their skis even though they are selling for 1/2 of the original price.

So that leaves SeaDoo and Yamaha 4 strokes to choose from. SeaDoo has more technology (braking system, suspension, more electronics like depth gauges, fuel management, and all sorts of other stuff). The SeaDoos also use the Austrian made Rotax engine, and a more complicated closed loop cooling system. All this combined makes SeaDoo the most expensive choice on the market, and IMO it also gives you more stuff to break. The unique system also makes the machine harder to maintain and definitely harder to repair for the average do-it-your-selfer............but someone with good mechanical skills may have no problems. Bottom line is that the SeaDoo is reliable (with the exception of super charger failures on some earlier models), but if it does break, the average guy should plan on having the dealer do the repairs. In many cases the dealer will also need to do the maintenance stuff as well.

Yamaha has 2 basic 4 stroke systems out there right now. You have the MR1 engine based skis (pre-2009 models and all VX models), and the post-2009 1800 cc engine models (FX, VXR/VXS, and FZR/FZS models). All the Yamaha 4 stroke models have proven to be highly reliable (exception would be clutch failure on some of the supercharged models). All Yamaha models use a less complex open loop cooling system. The VX model is used by 90% of ski rental business because it is basically bullet proof, and gets great gas mileage. Both engine systems are fairly easy to maintain, and the average do-it-your-selfer, should have no problem changing the oil, spark plugs, etc., and doing routine maintenance.

Disclaimer: I'm a Yamaha guy, but I would not hesitate to take a SeaDoo if someone gave me one.

Hope this helps.

__________________
2008 Yamaha FX HO Cruiser
2010 Hurricane Sundeck 2100

Yahooligan

Thanks for the info, that's exactly what I was looking for. I do like all the goodies that Sea-Doo has these days, but you're right...it's just more to break. My local dealer does both Yamaha and Sea-Doo, but being that it's the off-season they only have 4 or so in stock and they're stuffed in the back. I'd likely buy used anyway, I don't want to take the huge hit that most recreational vehicles take as soon as they're taken off the lot.

I haven't really considered myself to be a Yamaha, or anything else, guy but looking back I've had good luck with them as well as Honda and never had good luck with Kawasaki. Honda has always treated me well in the ATV world, but since they're no longer in the PWC business I don't want to take the risk of needing to find parts and service down the road. I also had no problems with Yamaha ATVs, though the early Raptor 660 was a black eye that I avoided.

Seems like my general opinion about the various models wasn't too far off, I won't rule out a Sea-Doo if the price is right but I'll be making Yamaha my first choice.