Kawasaki X2 Yamaha 701 + 144 pump conversion

[kevbo]

So I have to ask this , is it really worth it for a 4mm bigger pump with a lot more parts to fail, the Yamaha has a lot of parts to line up, go out ect, the Kawi setup is damn near bulletproof as long as you have a good through hull bearing. This is a serious question I really would like to know.

If you have better power and make the whole inlet larger you will get better low speed thrust and overall hookup. Moving the steering aft some helps smaller riders plus makes the ride drier. Changing to a Yamaha 144 is a lot of work for what most riders will gain. Making a Superjet fixed steer ( I think ) is more fun to ride.

 

[Ryan Stewart]

I think he worded the question politely. Its a fair question. im 35 years old i dont get my feelings hurt =]

I actually enjoy working on jetskis. I get 80% of my enjoyment from building. 10% riding. 10% being outdoors with beer.
I also enjoy challenges. From what I can tell, not many people in the world have done this type of restore/conversion, and it allowed me to learn alot.
Lastly, im sorry to say, but i heavily disagree with you on kawaski vs yamaha. Ive had nothing but pure hatred towards the kawasakis ive owned.
The couple of 701 superjets ive owned are INCREDIBLY reliable, and start right up after a long winter instantly.
Where as my kawasakis are worthless in that regaurd.
Im only speaking from experience, as well as the opinion of pretty much all the local builders in Idaho.
And then, i do everything from the ground up, specifically so poop doesnt fail. Its usually wack a mole with fixing things if you dont do everything all at once.
Lets just say im extremely... OCD... more so than most OCD people..
Since i know the build so well, ill be able to identify faults quicker.
All of my superjets will have the same engine, carbs, exhaust, etc... So i know exactly how to tune each of them, as well as have parts readily available to troubleshoot each the exact same.

I will no longer have a shed full of random kawasaki parts and yamaha parts.

So I have to ask this , is it really worth it for a 4mm bigger pump with a lot more parts to fail, the Yamaha has a lot of parts to line up, go out ect, the Kawi setup is damn near bulletproof as long as you have a good through hull bearing. This is a serious question I really would like to know.

 

[Ryan Stewart]

Afterthoughts (1 year later).
-Dont use a pump stuffer with a top loader.
-get a bit higher handlebars.
-one foothold in the front does WONDERS. lets me turn more aggressive with having my foot leveraged forward on something. also lets me do wave jumps. Cant think of one negative aspect of it. Every X2 owner should do this.
-make some type of slide in mechanic for your EBOX. its pretty hard to unbolt it and remove it where i put it. I do however love that position near the carbs. So ill invent some type of system that allows me to slide one side in, and a bolt on the other.
-Rutlidge racing makes a sweet bedplate/mount that hooks up to existing OEM x2 motor mounts. Definetly the way to go instead of Rhaas products conversion brackets.
-i played around with a 10/16 prop and a 12/18 prop and both worked well. I think overall the 12/18 felt smoother on the x2.
-look up doing the seat latch mod, where it uses a sit down latch replacement. I keep pulling off my X2 seat.
-DEFINETLY use the stock X2 gastank. this build would have been way easier for battery and straps and maintenance.

And lastly... alot of people have been asking me my thoughts on if they should do this project and how i like it overall.
Answer: I love this ski. it handles amazing, feels aggressive like a superjet but much easier to ride. I dont understand why people do the front fill because this thing handles GREAT without it. Id even go to the extent that the front fill adds too much weight and has a high chance of causing the ski to handle poorly if you do it incorrectly. dont do it.
Ill definetly do this again if i decide to buy another X2. i may even look into doing a larger pump. I heard people have done a 150 pump?

 

[WFO Speedracer]

Afterthoughts (1 year later).
-Dont use a pump stuffer with a top loader.
-get a bit higher handlebars.
-one foothold in the front does WONDERS. lets me turn more aggressive with having my foot leveraged forward on something. also lets me do wave jumps. Cant think of one negative aspect of it. Every X2 owner should do this.
-make some type of slide in mechanic for your EBOX. its pretty hard to unbolt it and remove it where i put it. I do however love that position near the carbs. So ill invent some type of system that allows me to slide one side in, and a bolt on the other.
-Rutlidge racing makes a sweet bedplate/mount that hooks up to existing OEM x2 motor mounts. Definetly the way to go instead of Rhaas products conversion brackets.
-i played around with a 10/16 prop and a 12/18 prop and both worked well. I think overall the 12/18 felt smoother on the x2.
-look up doing the seat latch mod, where it uses a sit down latch replacement. I keep pulling off my X2 seat.
-DEFINETLY use the stock X2 gastank. this build would have been way easier for battery and straps and maintenance.

And lastly... alot of people have been asking me my thoughts on if they should do this project and how i like it overall.
Answer: I love this ski. it handles amazing, feels aggressive like a superjet but much easier to ride. I dont understand why people do the front fill because this thing handles GREAT without it. Id even go to the extent that the front fill adds too much weight and has a high chance of causing the ski to handle poorly if you do it incorrectly. dont do it.
Ill definetly do this again if i decide to buy another X2. i may even look into doing a larger pump. I heard people have done a 150 pump?

The front fill was a bandwagon event here that a lot of people including me jumped on, I wouldn't do one again .

 

[kevbo]

The one mod that made the most improvement on my X2 was moving the steering back. It turns better and the ride is much drier. Making inclined footwells made it much more comfortable to ride. Move the steering aft 9" for small guys and 6" for bigger ones.

 

[WFO Speedracer]

If you have better power and make the whole inlet larger you will get better low speed thrust and overall hookup. Moving the steering aft some helps smaller riders plus makes the ride drier. Changing to a Yamaha 144 is a lot of work for what most riders will gain. Making a Superjet fixed steer ( I think ) is more fun to ride.

Here is the conundrum I see with this the X2 has a really weirdly shaped pump tunnel, regardless of what size pump you put in there you are still stuck with a badly designed pump tunnel , I have heard of guys grafting in an SXR pump tunnel and in my case I grafted in one from a Seadoo , it is still a 140mm pump but much better design as far as flow and ease of maintaince.

 

[kevbo]

You always want to sand the inlet radius larger on all the old Kawasakis. Another trick for X2s is to modify the ride plate to make it flatter. Most of them have a little too much down trim built in. X2s will hookup like a standup once you reduce the negative trim and get the center of gravity a little more aft.

 

[Ryan Stewart]

The one mod that made the most improvement on my X2 was moving the steering back. It turns better and the ride is much drier. Making inclined footwells made it much more comfortable to ride. Move the steering aft 9" for small guys and 6" for bigger ones.

Was that hard to do? is there a tutorial out there for that?

 

[kevbo]

Was that hard to do? is there a tutorial out there for that?

Yea, it was hard the way I did it but works great. I saw video of an x2 race in the early 90s where a little guy was using a rearward inclined steering head. If I did it again I would make a composite box that would sit on the ski and mount a custom head to that then use a long standup cable. The one I made is semi permanent and non adjustable.