Just Purchased SuperJet WOES

[derek14]

I bought my first SuperJet Friday night. It ran great at the seller's home. Cuts and carves awesome and is truly what I wanted for $3800. Here is the ski that I purchased : http://www.pwctoday.com/showthread.php?t=173242

The following day, I took it out for a ride. It ran great, and put a smile on my face for a good while. It was about 45 minutes into the ride where it began to bog down and it finally quit while limping it into shore.

Thats where I opened the hood and before I could get it completely off, a cloud of blue smoke rose from the engine bay. Sure enough, it was an exhaust leak. BUT not just any exhaust leak- Two bolts from the RIVA exhaust bracket had fallen out of place, two more were loose, and the studs/nuts holding the exhaust manifold to the B-pipe either fell out, or loosened off completely..... one stud broke in half! The exhaust gasket is shot aswell...

I took it upon myself to take it into my shop. I purchased the stainless hardware, gasket material, and went at it. The ski was back up and in the water the following day. All the nuts, bolts and gaskets were back in place and tight/loctite to and at where they should be. I went out for about 45 minutes and once again, the same issues had occured! Loose bolts, seperation of exhaust mani + B-pipe.

What is one to do? I would like to keep the ski because it does fit what I want(without the issues obviously). I am capable of fixing this myself with some further knowledge, but is this a re-occurring issue that I am unaware of? This ski was built by RIVA in Pompano Beach in 1998. I was told this ski was not taken apart by the seller himself(or the original owner for that matter) :ugh: :ugh: :ugh: Should I contact RIVA? Contact the seller/take it to a professional shop and send the seller the bill? What is next?

My main concern is if it is a re-occurring issue due to SEVERE vibration or possibly the motor mis-aligned? Possibly why the seller wanted to unload it?

Any help would be appreciated. Im making an attempt at posting pics of the engine bay with my "microsoft paint" display :AR15firing:

 

[blaster4life]

get your tools out.....welcom to the game>.................

 

[Mouthfulloflake]

looks and sounds as if it were put together quick to sell.

you could PROBABLY fix it and make it right...

or it could be a never ending nightmare.

$3800 seems like too much to pay for a ski for me and have to go thru and make sure everything is right.

If it were me, id give it back, given the choice.

 

[yankeeboy]

its just some loose bolts, nothing you cant fix yourself if need be.

But that is kind of puzzling why it all fell apart? maybe someone was tinkering in there and didnt take their time?

Edit: off of what mouthfulloflake just said, id call the guy you bought it from, and get him to fix it/ trade back.

 

[The Penguin]

I'd be willing to bet that you just need new gaskets, clean all mating surfaces and re-install the pipe

torque all bolts and use blue loctite. Riva should be able to provide you with the torque spec.

to install that manifold, it might be easier to pull the motor and re-install. you will need a stubby wrench or modified wrench to get to the bottom middle 2 bolts. Pulling the starter makes installing those 2 much easier.

you should be able to install the entire pipe while out of the boat - then drop the entire thing into the hull.

 

[MADMAT]

Seller is a huge rod for sure!!

I would net sell something I had not at least went over a LITTLE bit.

What a huge turd.

 

[WaveDemon]

nothing the right torque specs and some locktight shouldn't fix. if it backs out again you might want to buy new hardware.

 

[feartheride]

nothing the right torque specs and some locktight shouldn't fix. if it backs out again you might want to buy new hardware.

or more likely if they have been backing out numerous times on the seller as my B pipe manifold has been doing , you may need to helicoil the threads.

 

[showmepro1200]

Not that it matters all that much to the original topic, but you know you don't have a b-pipe, right? Just thought I'd mention it.

 

[vitaly]

Not that it matters all that much to the original topic, but you know you don't have a b-pipe, right? Just thought I'd mention it.

It's a b-pipe camouflaged with red enamel. The shape was changed on purpose too, ever heard of "sleepers"?

 

[waxhead]

Its a riva red
they are known for there ability to cause people to suicide

Most people have issue with the riva falling apart

 

[derek14]

or more likely if they have been backing out numerous times on the seller as my B pipe manifold has been doing , you may need to helicoil the threads.

This was on the list of possibilities (with finer thread)

 

[derek14]

Not that it matters all that much to the original topic, but you know you don't have a b-pipe, right? Just thought I'd mention it.

:smashfreakB: <---- No viva the RIVA Red!

 

[derek14]

Its a riva red
they are known for there ability to cause people to suicide

Most people have issue with the riva falling apart

NOT what I was hoping for Wax.....

Anyone seen a solution on the boards for this RIVA Red? (possibly contact RIVA)

Am I better off with a different pipe? What would you suggest?

 

[waxhead]

The riva red makes good power for its age of pipe
but its not a reliable pipe
I would look at selling it if it was me and putting the money towards a b-pipe

 

[derek14]

The riva red makes good power for its age of pipe
but its not a reliable pipe
I would look at selling it if it was me and putting the money towards a b-pipe

Correct me if I'm wrong, but with an aftermarket B-pipe, I will be utilizing an OEM exhaust manifold/gasket? If thats the case, I am in need of one (and what else?) !

Which brand/pipe shall I be leaning toward for low end power? Forgive the newb-like question, this is my first time in YEARS modding a ski, though 2-strokes are in my blood from MotoX and ATV's :kiss:

You guys are great help :headbang:

 

[oxnard111]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but with an aftermarket B-pipe, I will be utilizing an OEM exhaust manifold/gasket? If thats the case, I am in need of one (and what else?) !

Which brand/pipe shall I be leaning toward for low end power? Forgive the newb-like question, this is my first time in YEARS modding a ski, though 2-strokes are in my blood from MotoX and ATV's :kiss:

You guys are great help :headbang:

The b pipe is one specific pipe on the market made by a company named "Factory". The b pipe exhaust system utilizes its own manifold. Not really aware of any aftermarket pipe out there that re uses the stock exhaust manifold.

A b pipe will be your best bet, most people's opinion is that the B pipe is the most reliable pipe on the market. Makes great low end power, and requires little to no maintenance.

I purchased a ski once with a riva red pipe. The previous owner had drilled holes through the head of every bolt and ran bailing wire through all the bolts in a cris-cross fashion to keep the bolts from backing out. Kinda ghetto looking, but it worked.

 

[suva]

Those pipes are pretty picky about being installed correctly. You need to tighten the chamber to headpipe bolts until they are just snug, then you will need to slightly loosen the bolts that mount the lord mount to the head, then tighten the lord mount to chamber bolts, then tighten the lord mount to head bolts and chamber to manifold bolts.
You may need to use shims to get everything aligned correctly, once these pipes are correctly mounted they are reliable.

 

[derek14]

Anyone interested in a RIVA Red pipe? I'm going to let this one go and purchase something more in my field.

I dont ride often enough to have my motor out and on a bench 4 days after I purchase a ski

I dont look forward to doing this again...

 

[The Penguin]

FWIW - I have had the same or very similar pipe on my 650 for about 3 years with no problems.