on the cheap.

i should clarify...i'd be interested in just one, too, but a pair would be better.


looked at Kawi SX series and Yam Superjets. Don't know much about them, other than you can get a nice older one for cheap, and they look like tons of fun.

How fast are most of those old 550-750cc stand-ups? (i know that's not really the point...just wondering)

[Edited on April 26, 2006 at 11:08 PM. Reason : asdf]

4/26/2006 11:04:27 PM

I know a guy that's selling a '94 Kawasaki JS550. I have pics of it. Looks to be in great condition, let me know if you want more info.

4/26/2006 11:17:38 PM

I want more info.

How versatile is a stand-up? Can they handle, say, the intracoastal waterway, or a bay, or even mild surf...or do you pretty much have to keep them in a lake?

will they totally wear you out in a half hour, or can you make an afternoon of it (if you aren't jumping and carving the whole time)? I mean, I'm not looking to make any 2 hour trips down the waterway to the next town, but I wouldn't mind riding a little ways and hitting up some beach restaurants and stuff.

4/26/2006 11:23:36 PM

A standup will wear you the hell out if you ride like you want to have fun. They can handle bays and surf, though I'd hesitate to take it into any waterway. My primary experience with them is on lakes, and I DEFINATELY wouldnt want to use one as an A to B vehicle. While your typical bench-style PWC may be good for getting somewhere fast and maintaining some ability to negotiate rough water, a standup is purely a plaything and you're going to be hating yourself ten minutes into a long ride.

Just like any sport, if you're not used to the movements it'll probably tire you at first until you gain experience and the right kind of endurance. I can't ride one and not push it to the max, porpusing and spinning and jumping and carving...so much fun. The main problem with using them to cruise isn't so much the comfort factor as it is their power/weight ratio. They're a lot lighter than your typical PWC, so they dont carry as much momentum into waves. This is great for jumping and tricking, but not for covering distance. You're pretty much at the mercy of rolling waves and wakes, which means a lot of slowing to maneuver and maintain course.

Obviously you'll get better at piloting it for the most efficient way to traverse waves to keep your speed up, but it'll never be as good of a vehicle for transport as it is for fun. Just keep in mind they're built for maneuverability, not speed. If you're just looking to cruise the beach line or whatever, that's fine, and a lot of fun



[Edited on April 26, 2006 at 11:38 PM. Reason : oh, IM me for pics/info]


[Edited on April 26, 2006 at 11:41 PM. Reason : nevermind, just talked to the guy and he just sold it for a grand]

4/26/2006 11:36:18 PM

I want a plaything, and the fact that you can get a nice one for $700-1000 or so is appealing.

I WOULD like to be able to use it as an A-B machine every now and then, though (and I understand that it isn't the best machine for the job...but then again, I've covered a lot of ground on a GSX-R, and daily driven a Wrangler and a barely-streetable Miata for years, so I know all about asking high-strung machines to do things a little out of their element every now and then)


it just looks to me like a stand up will do the things that a sit-down machine will do (albeit not quite as efficiently or comfortably), but no sit-down machine can deliver the experience of a stand-up.

4/26/2006 11:46:51 PM

the guy at college cars on hillsborough had a couple og yamaha 600 i think he was tryion to get rid of. since the place closed im not sure where he gone. imma try to find his card

4/26/2006 11:48:10 PM

Major prob with using it as a point A to point B vehicle would be no wake zones...especially the intercoastal....you would be idleing on your knees if there were any long no wake zones in your area...

Stand ups are a blast to ride but basically only good for like 15-30 mins at a time..I know when ive ridden them i was completely exhausted after 15 mins but it was the best 15 mins ever on a jet ski

Stand ups are 500x better than a typical pwc...any person can master a pwc in an hour whereas a standup will keep you interested for years

4/26/2006 11:54:23 PM

well, i dont know about "master" a PWC in hours...ever tried racing a 1450cc 1-seater in rough water? that'll put some hair on your nuts. or at least rip them off you if you fuck up.. buddy of mine built a custom racer based off an old waverunner, even reworked the hull a little bit, and dropped a HUGE engine in it (don't know much more about it than it's displacement). thing probably topped 140hp, and gunning it from dead stop would take all the arm strength you had to keep from flying off it. i topped it out, no idea how fast i was going and i don't really want to know, and i didnt have the balls to try any hard turning at that speed. we set up a little course using orange floats anchored with rocks...i've never had more fun on a regular-style pwc than leaning to the outside of a hairpin on that thing and opening it up out of the turn. i flew off it a couple times of course, can't say at least once wasnt on purpose

but i agree, there is much more fun to be had on a standup

[Edited on April 27, 2006 at 12:11 AM. Reason : story]

4/26/2006 11:59:43 PM

^i understand that, and yes i have ridden some pretty extreme sit downs.....but 99.99% of the pwcs people ride are pretty darn easy to ride...

4/27/2006 12:09:11 AM

we've had 3 different standups. started with a single cylinder kawasaki, cracked the block on it, then we had a early 90's superjet, brother broke it. right now we have an 03 superjet. they are all a blast and i can ride mine all day if i feel like it. they are def. more fun to ride with someone around. i had the old superjet on the ic a couple times and on the coast a little bit. i ripped the handle pole off that one. i would say stock, you are not gonna go more than 40 or so. the newer ones are a little faster but there is a good aftermarket for almost all of them. if you get one let me know, ours is on lake norman right now. oh yea i can ride it all day but im pretty athletic and ive def. rode all the way across the lake and back several times, just have to be careful about fuel.

ps. if you have any kind of athletic ability you will be able to ride one. however it doesn't feel like a bike...there is no "center" (mostly) or whatever you would call the bikes naturally tendency to ride straight up. sit downs are for pussies, get one. the only thing that does suck is girls cant ride, but get a bigger boat for that.

[Edited on April 27, 2006 at 1:00 AM. Reason : .]

4/27/2006 12:58:10 AM

ok

where should i be looking, besides ebay, boattrader.com, and powersportsnetwork.com?


anyone on here who knows of any for sale for a good deal, please speak up.

4/27/2006 1:20:29 AM

give cs performance of lake norman a call. they normally have some used ones for sale and have pretty good customer service.

4/27/2006 1:22:41 AM

cs performance...is that the place on 150 near exit 36? if so, that's where my dad takes his maxum for maintenance, they've been pretty good people. i grew up on lake norman and lived from the north end across from bill's marina all the way south toward the dam in denver.. i'd know it blind

4/27/2006 1:31:40 AM

i do live in Pensacola, FL. picking one up in NC isn't out of the question, but I really meant places to search online.

4/27/2006 1:36:32 AM

Quote :

"I know a guy that's selling a '94 Kawasaki JS550. I have pics of it. Looks to be in great condition, let me know if you want more info."

I'm interested...Hook me up with price, pics (if available), and location.


My take on them...
They are fun to ride, but even a 8 mile ride through choppy water is a chore if you are trying to go somewhere. I would compare it to wakeboarding or waterskiing in that you go out and have fun for a while, but you don't do it all day.

Stock handlepoles suck and you can expect to break them pretty quickly if you are jumping the big wakes in the ICW or in the surf. Expect to buy an aftermarket handlepole if it doesn't come with one.

You can crack the hulls. You can break the fiberglass around the motor mounts. But, you'll probably get a lot of use out of it without worrying about that stuff too much.

The 550sx and 750sx were always the Kawasaki's to own. When the 650sx came out people didn't like it for some reason and the racing scene stuck with the 550's. It could have been that there was such a huge amount of aftermarket support for the 550's, but the 650's never caught on. When the 750's came out people went nuts and they became the standard. I've ridden the 650s and 750s and the power difference is very noticeable between the two.

[Edited on April 27, 2006 at 8:28 AM. Reason : s]

4/27/2006 8:24:50 AM

^

Quote :

"nevermind, just talked to the guy and he just sold it for a grand"

4/27/2006 9:56:52 AM

just bid $1800 for a pair of skis...1992 750sx and a 1987 650sx, with trailer. New paint, aftermarket plates. It didn't meet the reserve price, but maybe he'll sell them anyway.

4/27/2006 12:50:57 PM

dammit, duke.

4/27/2006 4:01:01 PM