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posted March 20, 2007 09:54 AM
 Edited By: Staff on 20 Mar 2007 21:24
A Jet Ski Virgin jumps on-board the new 250hp Supercharged Kawasaki Ultra 250X
 If I can drive a forklift, I can drive a Jet Ski
Well, that's what I kept telling myself! It's a beautiful, warm winter Sunday afternoon just outside Dana Point, California only minutes from Kawasaki Motors Corporation's head office and steps from the ocean. A couple of Bikeland members who happen to work at KMC - and shall remain anonymous - have invited us out for an afternoon of Jet Skiing. They pull up towing several new Jet Skis, and I have to ask... is this how you live your life everyday?
"We work at a toy company!" they respond.
And they do... making really cool fun toys for grownups. I spend some time shoehorning my out of shape post Christmas body into a not so flattering wetsuit and we load the Jet Skis into the ocean.
Click here to download this article in PDF format complete with photos
I've never really thought that much about Jet Skis. In fact, I never realized that the term Jet Ski (officially it's "JET SKI® watercraft", but that's a lot to type) was in fact a Kawasaki brand name... a brand name that's genericized itself to become synonymous with all small "Jet Ski" type personal watercraft. Today, the term "Jet Ski" is the water bound equivalent to "Velcro" (hook and loop fastener) or "Kleenex" (facial tissue) etc.
Click here to download Kawasaki's PDF detailing the history of the Jet Ski
I was about to throw my leg over a real "Jet Ski" brand Jet Ski... and not just any Jet Ski... Kawasaki's new 250hp 1500cc supercharged Ultra 250X.... but first I get a quick 5-minute lesson on how to drive one of these things, and start my day off cautiously on a standard 1500 cc non-supercharged unit.
Apparently I must be the only person on the planet who hasn't ridden a Jet Ski because everyone I've talked to seems to have at least one Jet Ski story. The controls on the Jet Ski are pretty much the same as a snowmobile; a kill switch lanyard tethers to your left wrist and you activate the throttle by pulling the lever on the right side towards handlebar. Steering is a little bizarre - to steer you have to be on the gas and just to mess you up a bit, even though the Jetski has motorcycle-type handlebars it doesn't countersteer, it steers like a car (unless you're in reverse, in which case the steering is reversed).
All of this messed with my impressionable Jet Ski newbie brain... as the others (all seasoned Jet Ski riders) took off I pinned it and tried to follow. The sheer power of this normally aspirated unit is amazing - it almost ripped my arms out of their sockets. Although this Ski isn't supercharged, it is driven by a 1500cc ZX-12R derived powerplant, and it goes, well... like an ocean going ZX-12R bored out to 1500cc's!
The rest of the group didn't care that much about the inner turmoil I was experiencing. They were too busy having fun on their Jet Skis. As I struggled to keep up I decided it would be a good idea to take a few minutes to get my sea legs so I split off to practice cornering. I was about to find out (the hard way) that Jet Skis don't corner like Sportbikes.
Throwing a Sportbike into a corner... gear down... off the gas. turn in... apex.. crack on the throttle... on the gas....
Throwing a Jet Ski into a corner... off the gas... turn in... fall over... PK and I headed straight for the drink. When one of these things starts to tip over, there's no stopping it. We floated up and down in our life jackets, surrounded by a pod of curious dolphins... then paddled back to our Ski and hauled ourselves back on board.
"Oh yeah... I guess we should have told you it does that if you back off the throttle in mid corner!"....
Now they tell me?
Hmm... alrighty... Jet Ski...corner... stay on gas or it will capsize.
Now that I'd gotten wet, I managed to relax and about half an hour into the ride I was feeling pretty comfortable. The water was smooth like glass and the non-supercharged Jet Ski had way way WAY more than enough power for an inexperienced rookie pilot like me. We pulled up to a small group of boats and came to a stop where we found another pod of several hundred dolphins. I'd never seen a dolphin outside of an aquarium, let alone hundreds... they surrounded our Jet Skis. The sea was crystal clear and full of the critters! I accelerated away and the dolphins kept up, toying with the hull of the Jet Ski and bobbing under its bow. I couldn't seem to shake them so I lay on the throttle. One by one the dolphins fell to the wayside, except for one who rode the crest of the wave in front of the Ski... 25mph, 35mph, 45mph! These dolphins can swim!
After another half an hour or so of Skiing we turned and headed back. It was at this point that everyone insisted that I try the Ultra 250X. I know when I'm in over my head, and I was already convinced that hopping on board the 250HP version of this beast would not be in the cards for me. Not today. I know my limits and for the first time in decades I felt that fear that I had when I was a kid and I threw my leg over my first big-bore Sportbike. Fear, and an enormous amount of respect... but heck... if I can drive a forklift, I can drive a Jet Ski, right?
Peer pressure's a great thing, ain't it?
The mid ocean transfer between the Skis went smoothly. After a bit of a balancing act, I sat myself down on the 250hp beast, pointed it in a straight line, took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. The rush is unbelievable. Rocketing towards an indicated 70mph in the water with no helmet or any protective gear in a matter of seconds, I chopped the throttle and coasted to a halt. After a few seconds of regaining focus and recalibrating my mind to deal with the brutal acceleration, I did it again, and again and again. Packing a wallop of power, the 250X is like driving a thumbtack with a sledgehammer.... It's the oceangoing equivalent of - well - of nothing box stock out of a crate I've ever driven before, on two wheels or on four. Can this be legal?
The day was done, and I'd done it. No one got hurt, and no one lost an eye. Filled with supercharged-Jet Ski power, we floated back to the dock and loaded them up.
So there you have it... want to bend your mind and mess with your senses? Forget the ZX-14 or the Hayabusa, and an R1 won't float. Get out on the water and pull the trigger on one of these.
Oh... be forewarned they eat fuel like a 1972 Lincoln Continental, so bring your gas card!
Click here to download this article in PDF format complete with photos
Click here to download Kawasaki's PDF detailing the history of the Jet Ski
Source: Bikeland.org
   
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harryzx-12
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posted March 20, 2007 10:31 AM
Sounds like a lot of fun! I have an old 550 kawasaki stand up jet ski. Jet skis have come a long way!
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ninja14
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posted March 20, 2007 11:26 AM
So even if you flip it a shiny side is still up........sounds nuts......
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GUNNER
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posted March 20, 2007 11:39 AM
Edited By: GUNNER on 20 Mar 2007 12:44
I have never been on a Jet Ski either Fish so NOW I'm the last one to not have a Jet Ski Story 
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fish_antlers
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posted March 20, 2007 11:49 AM
someone bolt this to a bike!!! 
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tonytooth
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posted March 20, 2007 12:03 PM
That is one bass ass ski.
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stevewfl
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posted March 20, 2007 01:01 PM
Edited By: stevewfl on 20 Mar 2007 14:01
Awesome! 
I had the Kawi 150 Jet ski back when it was king of the water.
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tonytooth
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posted March 20, 2007 01:04 PM
The 150's were the shit in the day accept when they didn't want to start 
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GUNNER
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posted March 20, 2007 02:12 PM
quote:
someone bolt this to a bike!!!
I looked at one close at the Kawasaki shop a couple of weeks back for just a reason. There's NO WAY to package it for the bike the way they have it configured now. There's a ton of room under the hull of that boat and they have used damn near all of it for this package. They gave us nothing there that we can use on the bike..
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NinjaNick
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posted March 20, 2007 02:24 PM
I love jet-skis!
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ninja14
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posted March 20, 2007 03:30 PM
quote:
someone bolt this to a bike!!!
I considered a supercharger, but settled on the turbo for my first attempt. The sc would have been good, but the mounting and details made it a bigger project I thought........maybe next time :-)
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shep
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posted March 20, 2007 04:00 PM
Great article Fish, that first picture is awesome !!
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Lucky Lo
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posted March 20, 2007 04:41 PM
What a bunch a nuts! Seems like some people are having way too much fun.
I heard that Super-Duper 250 Ski is like the ZX14 of the water.... I wonder if you can take the flies out ?(lol) I'm sure if you guy's can find away to get more, more, more you will.
Great article Fish. Really cool pictures. Those dolphins are amazing!! I can't believe how flat that water was considering you were in the ocean...what a treat.
Thanks for sharing
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stevewfl
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posted March 21, 2007 06:47 PM
quote:
What a bunch a nuts! Seems like some people are having way too much fun.
I heard that Super-Duper 250 Ski is like the ZX14 of the water.... I wonder if you can take the flies out ?(lol) I'm sure if you guy's can find away to get more, more, more you will.
Great article Fish. Really cool pictures. Those dolphins are amazing!! I can't believe how flat that water was considering you were in the ocean...what a treat.
Thanks for sharing
+1
great stuff!
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fish_antlers
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posted March 21, 2007 08:11 PM
would look good in my driveway!
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TRNorBRN6001
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posted March 22, 2007 06:32 AM
I need one of those spooned into my bike also!
I also need a job working at that kind of toy factory!!!
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fish_antlers
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posted March 22, 2007 08:04 AM
quote:
I also need a job working at that kind of toy factory!!!
Don't we all? 
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blueford
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posted March 22, 2007 02:03 PM
How to kill yourself 101.
When it's glassy like that, very rare, maybe a handful of days a year, but that's the only time you can go fast on a PWC in the ocean and only when paralleling the beach so you don't hit an incoming 4 ft. swell head-on at 60MPH, which btw, are virtually impossible to see in glassy conditions.
And then there's the marine life, huge fucking creatures like Gray whales, sharks, dolphins, nuclear subs and shit inches below the surface ready to rip your balls off.
And Yes there's GREAT FUCKING WHITES out there! And you ladies, when it's that time of the month, don't even think about it, or a big CHOMP could happen out of nowhere.
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Stalwart
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posted March 22, 2007 02:15 PM
We have one of those WIMPY supercharged 185 hp SeaDoo PWCs and more power is always welcome. We do however live on an inland lake where the most dangerous life-form is some weekend warrior in his ski boat.
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stevewfl
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posted March 22, 2007 02:48 PM
nothing like a high-horsepower jet ski on a calm, glassy lake
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fish_antlers
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posted March 26, 2007 02:49 PM
quote:
We have one of those WIMPY supercharged 185 hp SeaDoo PWCs and more power is always welcome. We do however live on an inland lake where the most dangerous life-form is some weekend warrior in his ski boat.
crazy to think that 185hp is wimpy!
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