Superjets are OVER! Krash Predator Build

[Skimour]

There comes a point in every jetskiers life when you look in the mirror and ask yourself, aren't you tired of riding that old piece of poop? I sure was, so i pulled the trigger and bought myself a Krash predator. I'm doing this build to try and cover a lot of the things that went through my mind, issues i had and being broke and trying to build a respectable ski. Let me start off by saying I'm not rich AT ALL, i purged everything i owned, every old Kawasaki part on eBay, bought and sold old 550s, and sold my bobber to help pay for this.

THE DECISION: My old Ski was a 1990 SN that had some cool stuff on it and i know what your thinking, did i push my SN to the limit to where i needed and AM hull?? that answer is obvious, HELL NO, but i love to jetski and i want to progress as fast as possible. Also a SN is kind of a crappy donor, which i found out quickly when i had to buy way more parts than someone who was using a RN as a donor.

I ride in Oceanside CA with a lot of really good riders and i only do surf. Basically it came down to Rickter and Krash. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about rickter, but every rider i talked to that rode the predator loved it and couldn't get enough. Next thing i knew my bank account was at the point of eating PB&J almost every single meal and I was driving up to LAX to pick up some hulls with my good friend Austin.

 

[Skimour]

Basically this is what I got. Besides the miniature panic attack i shared with Austin on the drive to LAX about money and what if the hulls were completely smashed when we got there, I am 100% impressed with the ski. Love the colors, love the look, I love everything about it. After a few days of just staring at it and being proud of myself, it was time to get to work and start building.

 

[Skimour]

The first area for me was the pump. Like i said i had a SN, my pump was loud and my prop belonged in the vintage museum at world finals. I picked up a new hooker prop and rebuilt the pump. I did a little home boring of the nozzle and now the pump is quiet and is ready for some water. I also had a wear ring sitting in my garage that i got almost 2 years ago that i held onto because i knew one day i would need it. That day has finally come, and thank god i did, i didnt realize how much those bastards cost.

The only thing I had to do was the quick steer mod. If you leave your pump steering in the stock location it will hit the ride plate. I moved mine a little bit and used the ole dremmel and it clears easily now. You can see the old hole below, yeah just cut that off. And dont forget to plug your trim hole if your not running it.

 

[wanderer1]

Looks great, hope you enjoy it.

 

[JamesG]

I'm right there with ya my friend! Just bought a new Predator while in college and I still own a $2000 truck. Shows where my priorities are haha. Good luck on the build!

 

[Skimour]

Power Plant: My SN had the 62t/62t dual 38 motor. Stock head, stock bore, with a b pipe. I liked my motor because it never broke, but i hated my 62t cylinders. I had great mid range power but that bottom end snap jsut wasnt there. I decided to make the switch to 61x cylinders, but that also meant i had to get a new factory manifold. I found a set of cylinders from Brandon at Havasu Watercraft in Escondido, CA that had the same bore as my old cylinders so it was a plug and play situation, no machine shop. I also was able to sell my old factory manifold for a good chunk of change and found a brand new manifold for about 40 bucks more than i sold my old one for. Total cost of switching my ski to 61x top was $200. I also found a set of reeds for my ski. Def was not on the budget, but you know what they say, licorice it.

Other small things i did were get rid of those god forsaken screws that hold the ebox and carbs together. My carbs had not been done in a while and lets just say i had to pull a cutting wheel out. Also the screws on the ebox BLOW, so i replaced those with 10mm bolts and sealed it back up.

View attachment 256003

 

[Skimour]

I'm right there with ya my friend! Just bought a new Predator while in college and I still own a $2000 truck. Shows where my priorities are haha. Good luck on the build!

I feel your pain, i work 40 hours a week and go to school.

 

[Skimour]

Pole and Steering: I went with a full rrp pole and steering. Sounds easy right??? yeah that's what i thought.... So i got super excited, put the base of the pole on and went to bolt her in and it didn't fit... i just about lost my poop, i called Nick Barton and asked WTF the problem was and he told me the predator was designed for OEM pole bolts which are a hair skinnier than the aftermarket ones. Long story short, get out that grinding wheel again and grind those bolts down on each side if your ordered an AM pole bolt. Not a big deal and I am happy with my customer service from Nick and Zack as they basically put up with me calling every day double checking stuff.

I choose the 75mm riser bars strictly off the way they look, who cares about feel when you look awesome? i know i sure don't. I also have my home made bilge switches off a Kawasaki (i know its disrespectful to use anything kawasaki on such a nice jetski) and my PJS throttle that follows me to every ski i own.

Last note is that the Blowsion light weight pole spring is like a freakin rocket ship on this pole. I honestly think my pole could double as a catapult. I tightened my pole bolt alot and moved the spring of the tension plate thingy and its better now, but Jesus Christ that thing is strong. i really hope it dosnt rust out....

 

[Skimour]

The hood hooks and prongs were fairly simple. The hood on the krash has a very small area of where you can drill through for the hooks so its pretty straight forward. I mounted mine as LOW as possible because i got the lower hood prongs on accident and i didn't feel like ordering the other ones. With the ratchet strap i installed it works out perfect and gives me a nice tight seal. for the ratchet strap i just used an old 550 motor mount washer that is huge for a backing plate and a stainless steel ratchet from Lowes that cost 10 bucks.

 

[Skimour]

Installing it all: Dropping in the motor was super easy. Everything lined up just the way it should, the ebox mounts a little to the left to avoid the head pipe and because the predator has a big front foot hold.



Once i got to the waterbox, gas tank and battery tray thats when the head aches began. The SN as a donor sucks in this aspect. The waterbox i had has the wrong outlets. Unfortunately i don't have any more money so unless someone wants to trade me i was stuck using this one. It was a giant cluster licorice but i got it to work. and im going to get an AM battery tray and a RN waterbox in the winter when i don't ride as much. from here its just all the small stuff like wiring bilges, limit ropes, and other misc surf parts.

 

[Skimour]

So i got to do a little work on the ski today. I took care of my "dash" and installed the pissers, limit rope hook, bilge and primer. I'm not going to lie my least favorite part of this was drilling the 17 holes into this brand new ski. I figured i would try out the pissers and bilge on top. Yes i am going to turf my ratchet, i just haven't sat down for an evening of arts and crafts to do it


If anyone else is on a budget, i am a big fan of these hooks. They are at lowes and cost under 2 bucks. Grab the stainless ring, completely bottom out the bolts that come with it, walk over one aisle and get two more nuts, and then use those to fasten down on the inside of your ski. Like i said under 2 bucks.

And if your installing it for a tow hook in the front, you just want to go right in between the two waterbox brackets on the front of your ski right below the splash guard

 

[tk423]

How is the build going?

 

[Quinc]

Does this mean we are going to see some more videos from you?!

 

[mxr181]

This is awesome! Love the "budget build" on a predator! I am in the same boat and will be doing the same thing soon and cant wait...congrats on the bad ass new ski!

 

[uwswimmer]

Nice job, this is a fun thread to read. I'm stoked for the time I can swap into a nice hull.

 

[j0hnny]

Doing the same thing right now man. Awesome build.

 

[Skimour]

Quick update. SO I had the ski together and i just couldnt live with myself if i left that waterbox in there. I called christian young and he had the loudest waterbox known to man in his garage so i put that in there so everything else would line up

FIRST RIDE: what do you even say when your speechless? riding this ski was the best thing i have ever done. If i would have known how incredible it was i would have skipped the superjet phase and gone straight to this. It is just unbelievable. Turns on a DIME and every trick that you had to put alot of effort into on the superjet is now effortless. Only thing that sucked is I may or may not have not torqued down my bars enough so they were a little loose like a i was doing the bench press the entire time. But as of now the ski is basically done, i have some small adjustments to make and a knee surgery to get and ill be ready to get upside down!

 

[Skimour]

How is the build going?

Basically done as of now. i might do some more mods around christmas time but for how much fun im having with it, ill probably leave it alone

 

[Skimour]

Does this mean we are going to see some more videos from you?!

haha, honestly i haven't found anyone with good enough "new" footage to do another video on. as soon as christian young gets his new ski we are doing one. Honestly i would like to do alot of behind the scene freeride videos because whether your a pro or just starting out most people have a fun story to hear of how they got into it and what freeride really is to them.

 

[Skimour]

This is awesome! Love the "budget build" on a predator! I am in the same boat and will be doing the same thing soon and cant wait...congrats on the bad ass new ski!

Get your predator NOW!!!!! I feel like a wasted my first year on the surf on my superjet after riding this thing. I should have listened to the bright brothers sooner. im in love