[casemagnum]

I am looking to buy either a brand new or very slightly used jet ski. I am looking at either a Yamaha FX Cruiser SHO or a Kawasaki Ultra 250 or 260. I want as much input from other users as possible. I want to hear what I don't want to hear about problems!! Which one is better over the long run? Maybe I don't need either one but I have the cash and will buy one or the other. The reason I ruled out Sea Doo is because of the supercharger washers. I have heard about updated for the 250 but none for the 260. What are the updates and are there updates for the 260's? Are there any problems with the Yamaha? Which ski will outrun the other yet still have a better ride. It will be rode in a fresh water lake about 40-50 hours a year. Plan on keeping the ski for at least 5 years and want minimal expense due to break downs. I want to buy extended warranty as well. As for which way I am influenced towards is hard to say. Kawasaki has most HP which is a good thing if you know what I mean. It also has the largest fuel tank and the most storage by far almost double of the Yamaha. Kawasaki I can buy a 2008 250 Brand New for $8000. The closest I have found for a Yamaha is around $10,500 for a 2009. The benefit of the Yamaha is maybe a better dealer or network of local dealers here. Bigger engine on the Yamaha. What does everyone think about the larger seat on the FX Cruiser SHO?? Have heard to get rid of the Cruiser seat. I know I have put a lot on here but if I am going to lay out $8000 to $10000 in cash and not finance then I expect to get what I want. If anyone has any other questions ask away or also fire away at my good and/or bad points. I really am trying to go into this open minded as all I have owned before for motorcycles is Kawasaki. Very faithfull to the local dealer yet feel like he is still trying to screw me. In fact the 250 for $8000 is not at his store but 50 miles away. Thanks for the help in advance!!

 

[Ernest T]

From what I'm reading, your primary goal is speed. If you have not spent much time on a jet ski, you may want to rent one first and see what 50 mph feels like first. You may decide that all that horsepower will be wasted by your riding style, unless you are planning to race, etc.. Where I ride 60 mph is hard to maintain for long, since I'm on a large rough lake and the water conditions just won't allow it. For me the fun stuff is in the turns and jumping wake, and not in high speed runs.

However, if your goal is speed right out the door, either ski will get you in the 70 mph range, but a better choice for speed and a more sporty ride would be a Yamaha FZR or FZS. With more $$$ you can get the Yamaha SHO into the 80 mph range. It may be possible with the 260 also, but I don't know as much about modifying that machine. I'd say that overall the Yamaha has a slightly better reliability record, but that may not be an issue with an extended warranty. If you are planning on making modifications for increased speed that would void any warranty anyhow, so an extended warranty would be useless in that case. If you are not planning on making a lot of modifications, the 08 Kawasaki sounds like a good deal to me.

Nither of these skis is easy on gas, and I'm pretty sure the Kawasaki requires premium, but the Yamaha will run just fine on regular, so you might want to keep that in mind.

I like the cruiser seat on my FX. It keeps you from sliding back on the ski in rough conditions and actually gives you more back support. I've ridden skis without the cruiser seat, and they are OK too. Most dealers will happily trade the seat for you if you don't like it, so I wouldn't sweat that option, and you could probably find lots of people that would trade you a regular seat plus some cash for the cruiser seat.

IMO the best all around ski on the market right now is the 09 or 10 Yamaha FX HO (with or without the Cruiser seat). You get a ski that will hit the mid 60s in speed, you don't have the supercharger to worry about, it gets great gas mileage, has the cruise control feature, and will give you a great ride in any water condition.

 

[casemagnum]

Thanks for your reply! It is somewhat about speed. I have a friend who got me hooked on jetskis last year. He has 2 Seadoos. One is an RXP and the other is the RXT. A couple of times after we rode with them the first time they had the supercharger ceramic washers go bad and we did very little jumping, tubing, or tight turns... just mainly flat out wide open throttle or just idling along shore looking at shorefront homes. But I DO NOT want to get beat by him is correct. I know the Kaw is a good deal just want to be sure of reliability as I do not want to work on them after riding them every time. I am fairly good at mechanics since I have my own shop but work on tractors for tractor pulling not jetskis. I do not plan on doing any additional upgrades. I like to keep things stock as much as possible with still getting speed.

I liked the water temp feature on the RXT and RXP so that is why I am leaning towards the Yamaha FX Cruiser SHO. It is the only Yamaha with that feature and a couple of others. I am 6'4" tall and weigh 250# so yes it takes a big ski for me to feel comfortable on and get my big rear going. What are there for recalls or issues that happen on the FX Cruiser SHO or the Kaw 250/260's?? Have heard about a fuel line only on the Yamaha where the Kaw I have heard about loose lines, clamps, hoses, maybe a light supercharger bearing?? I am probably going to buy the girlfriend a 02 FX 140 with about 80 hours and trailer and cover for $4500 so we will have 2 machines to ride. She don't care about the speed as much as me. Planning on doing something this week so would appreciate all info. You have given me a lot of ideas so far and that is what I am looking for. Please any and all comments are welcome!!!! Hopefully someone can shoot a hole in my theory to pursuade me one way or the other!!!!

 

[Ernest T]

I don't know of any recall issues for either machine. I've not heard of any major problems with the 260, just random reports of minor issues. I have seen a couple of reports with the pump on the SHO tending to overstuff at high speed with the potential to throw a rider off, but I think that is more of a problem on the FZR/FZS models. However, if you are going to be wide open on the SHO for extended periods of time, you might want to consider putting different (scoop) type of intake grate on it, but that is pretty easy and cheap.

If you were going to be in the ocean the 260 might have a slight advantage in ride in really rough water, but on a lake I doubt you would notice a difference between the two.

Yea, I really like the water temp feature on my Yamaha, and I find that I use the trip feature more and more. Either ski will get you up and moving even at your size.

It is my impression or maybe my bias (since I own a Yamaha) that there are more complaints with the Kawasaki skis than with Yamahas. It may be that there are just more Yamaha skis out there so that they get more positive press. I've ridden a 250, but not the 260, and it was a nice ride, but I liked the FX better. I've not tried an SHO.

Good Luck!

 

[casemagnum]

Well I just bought the new 2009 Yamaha FX Cruiser SHO in crimson red. Just trying to decide now whether to keep the Cruiser seat or trade it for a FX SHO seat?? I am over 6'4" tall and the smaller models I liked the standard seat better than the cruiser. No one at the time had the FX Cruiser SHO set up yet. I took the extra 2 years warranty as repairs are expensive and I didn't want the cash back since warranty was worth more than the cash back, and I could use my life jackets etc. from my boat so I didn't need the accessories. The Kawasaki Ultra 250X was also $900.00 higher in price from last fall for same machine and was a 2008. Hope I made the correct decision as this is my first PWC. I get to pick it up next week. They will be getting it out of the crate over this weekend and doing updates before I get it. If anyone has any pointers on things to look for or do's or don't(s) then please fire away!! I am open to all comments or criticism:dunno:

I also got a free cover in on the deal. Think I did a great deal and also think they were tired of hearing me call them every other day and not budging on price. Hopefully can ride it next weekend after labor day weekend.

 

[Outlaw]

Hi my name is Bob I live In Delaware and ride on the Chesapeake bay and it's tributaries. Therefore i ride in all conditions from glass to two foot seas. I have to say that am bias towards the Sea Doo skis. never ever had a supercharger problem even with the Riva stage 3 on my 2006 RXT. They are by far the most owned ski in this area. I'm not sure if it because they ride so well or the very high performance they deliver. I can tell ya now don't plan on keeping up with your friend who owns the Sea Doo. I have other brand riders especially Kawasakis, after they ride my skis how much more they lie them then theirs. Talk about safety who else has brakes that can stop you in under half the distance, after you just ran away from them. The only brand ski that can hang with me is another Sea Doo. The skis I run in order of horsepower are a 2006 RXT RIVA Stage 3 kit-300 HP top speed 78-80 MPH, 2009 RXT is-255 HP top speed 69-70 MPH GPS speedo, and a 2008 GTX 215 Limited 215 HP top speed 68 to 69 MPH. Now these are all three seat skis which are way more versatile such as tubing with a spotter. The three seaters are much more comfortable and ride better in choppy conditions., I would ride yamahas if there were no seadoos, but never a Kawasaki They need to stick to two wheeled crotch rockets. So good luck with your yamie. But don't go looking for supercharged Sea Doos. By the way I am a big dude as well 6'1" and 225 lbs

 

[Ernest T]

Congrats on the SHO! Hang on when you hit the throttle...........it will get you moving pretty fast.

I'm 6'1" and the cruiser seat fits me perfectly. At 6'4" you may find that it limits leg room. My brother is taller than me and he sits on top of the back rest of his cruiser seat when he needs to stretch his legs.

 

[RXT-X 260 king]

Seadoo is where its at. Insanely smooth ride, ridiculous acceleration, BREAKS!

good look with your yamaha though.

 

[casemagnum]

Seadoo is where its at. Insanely smooth ride, ridiculous acceleration, BREAKS!

good look with your yamaha though.

Not trying to poke too much fun at you but Seadoo was $4000-$5000 more for suspension and brakes than what I paid. And I hope your hull or any part of your watercraft don't have "BREAKS!" but instead brakes:laugh:.

If it does have "BREAKS!" than I suggest you stay close to shore and have on your PFC while the rest of us on our Yamahas are out riding further out and going past you. We will call the officials so you do get help though. Seriously though I never considered a Seadoo because of their supercharger and poor to say the least thrust washers in them. My friend who has a RXP and RXT (bought both brand new) had both machines ruin them with only 50-60 EASY hours on them and in turn ruined the engines in both. I am not willing to pay more for a jet ski and then have major problems not get covered by warranty and end up paying WAY TOO MUCH!!!!

Good luck with your Seadoo.

 

[RXT-X 260 king]

Not trying to poke too much fun at you but Seadoo was $4000-$5000 more for suspension and brakes than what I paid. And I hope your hull or any part of your watercraft don't have "BREAKS!" but instead brakes:laugh:.

If it does have "BREAKS!" than I suggest you stay close to shore and have on your PFC while the rest of us on our Yamahas are out riding further out and going past you. We will call the officials so you do get help though. Seriously though I never considered a Seadoo because of their supercharger and poor to say the least thrust washers in them. My friend who has a RXP and RXT (bought both brand new) had both machines ruin them with only 50-60 EASY hours on them and in turn ruined the engines in both. I am not willing to pay more for a jet ski and then have major problems not get covered by warranty and end up paying WAY TOO MUCH!!!!

Good luck with your Seadoo.

lol i didnt catch that typo, i'll leave it for the comic relief though :laugh:

I have the rxt-x 260 which has the i control brakes but does no have the suspension, i felt that it would be more trouble than its worth. But anyway, I've owned 3 Sea-doo's before this and none of them ever broke or needed repairing. Im going to guess this is because I take very good care of my machines. I'm going to stick with what has worked for me for the past 12 years. In the end its all about fun, and after riding my RXT it was worth every penny. I love this thing. See you on the water.