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3 to choose from...which one? HELP

2K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  Ernest T 
Personally, I'd throw out the Kawasaki just because of reliability issues. For me that would leave the Yamaha and the Honda, which IMO both will give you a similar ride. They are both a little bouncy in the rough stuff, and you will get wet in the chop on either machine. I think the Yamaha handles the turns better, and the Honda will be faster on the straight stretches for sure. If you are going to be in the ocean, or on a large, rough lake you may rarely notice the speed difference. I was riding today, and it was so rough that it was all I could do to hang on at 40 mph on my FX HO.

The Honda will get you closer to your goal for speed, but the turbo does require some extra maintenance, since it tends to rust easily (especially with salt water use). The F-12X is selling for a good price right now as dealerships are clearing unsold inventory. Honda has stopped production of PWCs for now and there is some concern as to whether this may be a permanent shutdown or not. I still think parts will be available in the future no matter what, but it may be harder to find dealerships for service work. The Honda will prefer premium fuel also.

The Yamaha VX has been around since 2005, and is considered the most reliable ski on the market (over 70% of ski rental places use it for its stability, ease to ride, and reliability). Yamaha redesigned the VX just this year, so the 2010 model has some upgrades that supposedly make it a more comfortable ride, and according to what I've read more stable in rough water. The new model has the same engine, but they have tweaked the computer management system to get 10% better fuel economy on the ski that already had the best fuel economy, and it like the other Yamaha's run fine on regular fuel (less $$$ at the pump).

As you can see I'm biased toward the Yamaha...........so take that into consideration. If you are going to be in salt water, I'd definitely recommend the Yamaha. If your primary concern is speed then the Honda is the obvious choice, but unless you plan to do a lot of racing, you will find that you spend very little time at WOT.

I'd look at the VX Cruiser model rather than the Deluxe, which will give you the re-boarding step and the cruiser seats, which are more comfortable IMO.

I think you will be comfortable on either machine. Best advice I can give you is to test ride both and then decide. :ShowLetter18:
 
WOT = Wide Open Throttle.

The Kawasaki is a very nice riding ski (maybe even the best rough water ski on the market), but if you look at reliability they tend to finish last. Now you have to put this into perspective. For a new ski it may not be a big issue, since you will have a warranty that would cover problems early on...........more of an issue with a used ski. Also we are not talking a huge difference.......Lexus versus Volvo. (I own a Volvo by the way:Christo_pull_hair:............great ride, very safe, but I'm spending 4X more time and money for maintenance and repairs as my wife with her Lexus and she has more miles on hers than I do on mine).

The other reason I "pooped" the Kawasaki was that my dealer is primarily a Kawasaki dealership that also sells Yamaha, and every time I go in there are 4 Kawasakis being repaired for every Yamaha (I also like to give the owner a hard time..........he rides a Kawasaki motorcycle). I also have a pretty acute Yamaha bias, so keep this in mind. :cheeky4:,

You keep coming back to the speed thing, so I don't want to lead you in the wrong direction. The VX will do 53 mph tops, but that feels like 100 mph on the water compared to land. The Kawasaki will do around 61, and the Honda turbo about the same. Unless you are racing somebody, I really don't think you would ever notice the difference on the water between 53 and 61 mph. It looks like you are looking for an entry level ski and you have picked the right ones to compare. Get one of these three, keep it for a year or two, and then you can trade it in on a Ultra 260, a RXT, or a FZS if you really want to go fast.:eek:
 
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