2121 SJ is here! Orig: Is 2020 Really the Last Year of the Superjet? A call to Action.

What we're all really waiting for is the electric standup.

Nikola bought the Freeform EV. They are said to be showing off the sitdown soon.

Until then, keep the SJ the same. Sparks are lameo

45 minutes of run time and 3-4 hours of charge time.
I like to ride a little longer than that and don't want to waste my day at the lake charging a battery. Plus you still have to buy gas for your generator to charge your battery for hours. The technology just isn't there yet.
 

bird

walking on water
Site Supporter
45 minutes of run time and 3-4 hours of charge time.
I like to ride a little longer than that and don't want to waste my day at the lake charging a battery. Plus you still have to buy gas for your generator to charge your battery for hours. The technology just isn't there yet.
the technology is there, the support it not. All you have to do is swap batteries. Charge two overnight.
 
Location
Michigan
Nicely written article, Chix. I've been riding stand up skis for well over 30 years.. I have been in the tray of pretty much every production hull ever made and many aftermarket skis as well.. The only Kawasaki skis I really would consider owning again would be an SXR-800 or an old JS for nostalgia. The SJ in my opinion is just a far superior ski to any mass produced unit ever built. I have to give the FX-1 second place and then the SXR-800.

I see a lot of growing interest from younger riders regarding stand up skis. In fact, on my lake I am constantly asked about my skis.. I have had a fleet of SJ's, both RN and SN, JS skis and now onto aftermarket hulls. And, I am currently looking to add a couple SJ's back to the mix. RN or SN, I like them both for what they are. And, they seem to be the perfect machine to get someone into the sport. Over the past few years, a dozen or more skis have been purchased by my lake neighbor's. A few SJ's both RN and SN, SXR-800's and a Krash Foot Rocket. My Air Blair Dart's get a lot of love, but they are custom made in limited quantity.

We had an SXR-1500 on loan from our local dealer last year and we all gave it a go.. We were able to put the SXR-1500 through several rides over a two day period. The consensus in our group was that the SXR-1500 is fast, stable and most notably, boring to ride.

With over 300 homes on our lake and a constantly growing number of stand up ski purchases, not one is an SXR-1500.. A few brand new SJ's but mainly used SN and RN skis seem to be popping up on beaches.

My point is this: If Yamaha produces a nimble, athletic and similar size hull as an SJ with a three cylinder, four stroke engine, I believe it would sell much better than the big Kawi.

I know I would have to add one to my fleet if they ever build one.
 
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chixwithtrix

Addicted
Location
Houston
@FXNate EXACTLY my sentiments. Share with everyone!

I feel like if anyone could make a big manufacturer production four stroke handle well, it would be Yamaha. My husband's ProForce and a buddy's GP1 with the 1500 engine are incredibly fun to ride, and very unlike the big Kawi 1500. It can be done.

I just want to see more people exposed to this amazing sport, and $9k - $11k manufacturer produced skis are far cheaper than $25K+ AM skis. That alone is a lower barrier to entry for new riders.
 
Yeah that is before the even more restrictive Government involvement and innovation. A four stoke in 2008, I agree, hell to the naw!

The take away for me at least is that you cant fill a 4 stroke motor up with water then get it running on the beach in minutes like you can 2 stroke skis. Like Scott says, you put a 4 stroke in it it's no longer a jet ski
 

Half flip95

Formerly pondracer95
For jet ski racing to be big time Yamaha and Kawasaki would need to take over the the racing organizations and kick all these aftermarket hull builders to the curb. They are selling home built limited edition prototype skis for big bucks to beat the Oem skis that have to play by a totally different set of laws. The price tag is insane, and should have never been allowed in anything close to what they are doing now. Sxs racing has it figured out. They have huge numbers. Oem vehicles, manufacturers competing with each other, different vehicle options, level playing field, low barriers for entry. I didn’t like the 1500 all that much but I thought it would be good for racing to kind of set the new standard and get rid of all the custom built nonsense. Then you could say hey look at this ski you can afford to buy it, learn on it, grow with it, race it all the way up the ranks. one year into it they caved to pressure from like 3 hull manufacturers who employ a whopping 20 people total that the new rules hurt their business. I like the custom boats, I think they are pretty cool, but I think they hurt the oems reputation, and competitiveness. In mx for 9 grand I can buy something that looks exactly like what just won the supercross title. I believe that bike is capable of winning. Meanwhile all the jet ski racers are dumping the 1500 as fast as they can for something that looks and feels totally different. Part of it is kawis fault because the ski is what it is, but their competition needs to come from another manufacturer that plays by the same laws. This would make for a much healthier marketplace similar to what is happening with sxs
 

E350

Site Supporter
Location
Sacramento Delta
I have a 2018 Edge............. I keep thinking I would be more happy back on a SJ..................

OK, I know you are not going to bag on the Edge, because it is a different ski from the SJ. But this statement is important to all the small peanuts in the stand up jet ski forum gallery like me (and to our domestic relations with our spouses). If and when you get a chance, we would appreciate it if you would elaborate, possibly in a dedicated RICKTER talk thread, like "Comparing the Edge to the SJ." My guess is that chix will have something to contribute as well as others here. Your opinions are respected and appreciated.

Now, hear me out on this you heathens. The SJ is being killed because people have turned from God.

Stupid religious statement right?

Well, Environmentalism is a religion. It consists of worshiping the created instead of the Creator. It has been happening forever. (See Moses' disgust when he came down from the mountain and found a golden calf had been created and worshipped by his people when he was away.)

Our Creator created this planet for us to DOMINATE and to subdue. The air and water worshipers have turned this scripture upside down. Now "Gaia" is supposed to dominate OUR spirits. F' OFF!

Commie California burns cities and forests because it is "natural," rather than letting MEN with chainsaws thin the forests and turn trees into lumber for productive purposes and into firewood for heating our homes. As a result, the air is unnaturally clean in California. That is until they burn down a town or a forest. How about save the towns and forests and not burn to death the humans and animals that live there and burn a little firewood in fireplaces, smoking up the air a little instead?

I choose Christianity as my religion over Environmentalism.

What's yours?

Genesis 1:28:

"And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'”

Beware the evil Eco Enviro Earth worshipping religious zealots.

They ruin our spirits to "Save the planet."

Like humans are gods who could ever hurt this massive planet anyway. Get over yourselves!
 
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Lol you guys are wackos I swear.

Jetski racing has already been popular as hell and died out. You can fix it all by buying new superjets and racing each other. That's the way to make it popular.

We got one guy saying the epa is God and he hates us and another saying stop the aftermarket. No Comment! Lol
 

E350

Site Supporter
Location
Sacramento Delta
Is 2020 Really the Last Year of the Superjet? A call to Action.

For the "Call to Action" part do this:

Vote for Trump

and for

Republican Congress and Senate (even for the spineless corrupt RINO Republicans)

We have been trying to Kill CARB (i.e., the California Air Resources Board) in California for decades.

Trump just defanged the CARBeast by withdrawing California's Federal EPA exemption to enforce stricter "air quality" requirements than those imposed by the Federal EPA. BRAVO!

Trump did that.

Not Barrack Obama.

Not George Bush.

CARB's stricter AQ requirements add $1 per gallon to the cost of gasoline in California.

CARB's stricter AQ requirements add thousands of dollars to the cost of a new car in California.

The Superjet is not being cancelled because it is a stand up ski.

It is being cancelled because it is a 2-cycle ski.

Does anybody in the U.S. or in Australia really believe that 2-cycle engines are polluting the ocean? Look at the size of the ocean on a globe. Consider that ocean microbes exist to eat oil including the much bigger natural subsurface releases of oil.

And think, why would the Ozzies ban 2-cycle jet ski engines? Only wacko Eco Enviro Earth worshipping religious zealots would do that. They are not saving the oceans. They are restricting our spiritual and physical Freedom to enjoy it.

To further share my particular religion consider this:

After Woman and Water, God's greatest gift to Mankind was Freedom.

Which includes paying the price for making bad choices. E.g., "No more Garden of Eden for you!"

Any secular religion which reduces Freedom such as Socialism, Communism or Environmentalism is Evil.

If you want to save 2-cycle jet skis, choose your particular religion wisely.

Update:

s-l225.webp
 
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