[Rooster]

Wanted to get some pros and cons on buying a PWC. Going to pull the trigger on the first one this week.

It is between a 2007 Honda F12-new or a Yamaha Vx1100 Deluxe- new.

Same price OTD with trailer just not sure which would be better. Will be riding in the Gulf and probably have some tubing/ wake boarding as well. Any info is appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[JayDawg]

Yamaha hands down! Honda has been building PWC's less than 10 years whereas Yamaha has been doing it since the early 80's. The only 2 brands I will ever buy are Yamaha and Kawasaki.

 

[bobby bahama]

Get the Honda, you won't be sorry. It has reverse, better handling, better quality, it's more reliable, and will have better re-sale value when it comes time to sell it.

 

[JayDawg]

Gotta disagree with you on the Honda. Yes they are good but the numbers are with Kawasaki and Yamaha. Re sale value is something dealerships try and sell you to buy their product. You take 2 jet ski's brand new that cost the same price, you put the same hours on them and keep them in the same condition and in let's say 3-5 years or even longer, you will be able to sell them for the same price. With reverse, I believe both Kawasaki and Yamaha have that as well but in my 20 plus years of riding a jet ski, I have never once needed reverse. All it is, is an option you won't ever use or need to use. Handling, quality and reliability, again, look at the statistics. The Yamaha's probably have the best handling, the quality between the 3 will be very close and reliability hands down is with Kawasaki and Yamaha. Yes Honda's are reliable and admit they are my 3rd choice for PWC's but when I look at 20 plus years of more R&D when it comes to PWC's, I want to stick with the 2 brands that have more than 2 decades of R&D over the one brand who has been building them less than 10 years.

 

[bobby bahama]

"the numbers" have nothing to do with reliability. If that were the case Sea-poo would probably be near the top. If you look at the auto industry, resale is very real. A used Honda is gonna sell for a lot more than a used Kia, even if it is in relatively the same condition.
Reverse makes it a lot easier if you're trying to dock your machine, or if you're trying to pick up a fallen waterskier. Honda has their's on the correct side, so that you can have 1 hand on the throttle & one hand on reverse.
Again, if we're talking 4 stroke engines, none of the manufacturers have been building them for more than 10 years. They all started with a clean slate. As for the hull, I'd think Honda would have done plenty of R&D before they put their name on it. They studied the competitors craft before they came out with their own design. They do not build poor quality products. Their small engine technology is the best on the planet. You won't find a more reliable brand.
Going by your signature, it doesn't appear that you own a 3 seater or a 4 stroke, so I don't expect you to fully understand.
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Now let's get out there & ride!

 

[yama1]

Go with the Yamaha. I just purchased a VX Deluxe and love it. It's a 3 seater, has reverse and is very stable. I just took it out the other day and pulled a tuber and had two on the PWC and had no problems.

 

[JayDawg]

Bobby, the numbers I am referring too are the numbers of units in the shop per units sold not the number of units sold. Kawasaki and then Yamaha have the best numbers in that category and your right, Sea Doo is the worst on the list. Honda is good and I will not dispute that but I believe the are 3rd on the list behind Kawasaki and Yamaha for the number of units in the shop per units sold.

 

[bobby bahama]

Okay Jay, where can I see these numbers you speak of.

 

[JayDawg]

Go and talk to the PWC mechanics that work on all of the models. Consumer reports, the professionals that race these things for a living etc.

 

[bobby bahama]

Not long ago I was talking to the owner of the local Honda dealership. He said in terms of repairs, he has had thousands of Sea-doos, Yamahas & Kawasakis, but has only had a handful of Hondas & most of those were just for oil changes, nothing broken that needed to be fixed. If you look at customer quality satisfaction surveys (which I did before I bought mine), Honda is on top, followed closely by Yamaha, then Kawasaki, then Sea-doo.
They're aren't that many racers with Hondas (mainly because of a lack of aftermarket go-fast performance parts.) Most people don't even know that Honda sells watercraft. They are only for sale in selected areas, so finding people that have worked on them wouldn't be very easy. They didn't even sell them here in Canada 'til last year. I drove 7 hours down into the States just to get mine. (There's a Yamaha dealer about a mile from my house, a Sea-doo dealer about 5 miles away & a Kawasaki dealer about 3 hours away.) They have done a very poor job of marketing these things over the years, but I still knew the best one to buy.
I needed a ski that would be extremely reliable because I ride about 40 to 50 miles from the launch ramp, by myself, & didn't want stuff that wasn't going to work all the time. That's why I bought a Honda. RIDE RED!

 

[JayDawg]

Trust me Bobby, I'm not trying to knock Honda. In fact, maybe in a few more years if they put out a jet ski that can perform like a Kawi or Yamaha, then maybe I would consider one. And I agree with you that Honda is known for reliability and their Jet Ski's are probably reliable but I think what the one dealer that sells them, was more or less saying what he said to get a sale of a product that he sells. If I can find the statistics on line again I will but there was a survey done on how many units per something like 100,000 sold had to go in for major repair work that was not caused by operator error but the ski breaking on it's own. The best was Kawasaki with something like 7 out of 100 needing to be taken in for repair work within 5 years. The next was Yamaha with I believe 9 out of 100. Honda was also pretty good of something like 13 or 14 per 100 but it was 3rd on the list. All of the other brands were horrible. Something like 30-35 out of 100 needing to be taken in for repair work within 5 years and Sea Doo was actually the worst and it was something like 42 units out of 100 had to be brought in for repair work. I believe where this was done was a PWC magazine but they also had the web site where you could go to check the statistics out for yourself. Unfortunately, it has been a while since I read the article so I would have a hard time finding the link for you but if I can, I will.

 

[bobby bahama]

maybe in a few more years if they put out a jet ski that can perform like a Kawi or Yamaha, then maybe I would consider one.

Have you heard of the F-15X?

I think what the one dealer that sells them, was more or less saying what he said to get a sale of a product that he sells.

No, I had already bought my machine, and not even from him. I wasn't there to buy anything.

I've never heard of that survey anywhere, but I'll be looking for it.

I know you own few older Kawis, and I'm glad that they run as well as they do for you, but I don't think the majority of Kawi owners have been as lucky as you. (I know my friends haven't.)
Look, I know this is a "jet-ski" forum and yours is the voice of Kawasaki, but I'm just trying to add another voice from the Honda side of things. If it's got to be "Kawi of nothing" all the time, then maybe I'll stick with the more popular forums.

 

[JayDawg]

I'm not saying that at all. You are entitled to your opinion. If you like Honda, then that is good. Heck if someone on here likes Tigershark or Sea Doo, that is their choice. I don't really care. All I am doing is sharing what I have seen and experienced in my years of being in this business and like I said, I trust Honda as far as reliability goes but I prefer Kawasaki and Yamaha over them. It's my opinion and nothing more.

 

[fedorov5549]

F-12 horsepower 125, VX horsepower 110, Honda storage 28.6 gallons, yamaha storage 19 gallons, honda is 28 lbs lighter, vx is wider and longer. I own a Honda and a Yamaha and both are good choices but the facts say Honda. Do some research of your own and pull the trigger. If you can, get a turbo f-12x.

 

[bobby bahama]

I don't think the majority of Kawi owners have been as lucky as you.

I just wanted to retract this part of my statement. I'm sure the majority of them (more than 50%) are good machines.

F-12 horsepower 125

Actually it's even more-137 hp.

 

[ljctool]

Buy the yamaha fx cruiser ho . My honda has been in the shop for 6 months and have had the honda reps involved and still no fix.It dropped a valve at the dealer .I have both and rather have the yamaha.