Are there 4-cycle stand up jet skiers?
James: Yes, the Kawasaki SX-R 4-stroke 1500cc, unfortunately. The Earth worshiping environmentalists have done their best to kill new production of 2-cycle standup jet skis. But see this for a perspective of the original fun factor of the 2-cycle 1990-1995 Kawasaki 550sx. Not us but about 30 miles South of us. Every trick you see here is quite difficult and requires phenomenal balance.
Now Kawasaki's only standup jetski is the SX-R which is a
"couch with a pole." It is powerful but heavy and large and not flickable or otherwise nimble. This year is also the last year for the 2-cycle Yamaha Superjet. 2-cycle engines have an incredible power to weight ratio. Making the vehicle light enough to be truly a "ski," responsive to your body and foot input. Now, only Krash makes a turn key 2-cycle ski.
www.krashindustries.com Otherwise we are reduced to building our own skis or resurrecting 1990's vintage skis. IMHO, direct injection 2-cycle engines will eventually save the standup jet ski -- not 4-stroke engines. See a size comparison below:
Kawasaki SX-R 1500 vs. Yamaha Superjet vs. Krash Comparison: specifications, prices, videos, pictures and more!
www.jetdrift.com
I met my wife whitewater kayaking, which I was pretty good at. She has kayaked the 243 miles of the Grand Canyon twice. We kayaked it together the last time. I also used to windsurf and was taking kiteboarding lessons (including at Tarifa). And I used to pride myself saying
"I do no sport with an engine!" But because of resurrecting her 1980's 1990's vintage jet skis, I now consider myself a decent 2-cycle mechanic.
My wife in the day. She not only snows skis better than me, she is
one with a jetski:
Other references:
www.x-h2o.com
www.pwctoday.com
A modern aftermarket hull, in which a large cc 2-cycle engine was installed, skied by a guy with mad, mad skills: