Shopping for my first PWC...

Hello, I'm new to this site (and to jet skiing), and I have to say that what I have seen so far is excellent.

Currently I'm looking to buy a pair of PWCs (one a 2 seater, the other 3) for use on a large lake in Minnesota (Minnetonka). One would be primarily for my personal use, and therefore I would like one that is fast, has good handling, and is reliable. The other ski would be for friends and family, but I would like it to keep up with the other ski. I have about $10,000 to spend, so obviously used units are my only way to go.

I recently found an ex-racing '99 Ultra with significant mods and 190 hrs. Is this something that you would recommend for me? The guy offered it to me for $3500. Other than that, I am looking at a '03 XP DI with low time, or a '04 GP1300R.

If someone could recommend a brand/model that has worked well for you, and that you think would work well for me, that would be great. Thanks in advance for your advice.

I would have to go wiith YAMAHA WAVERUNNERS. They are very relayable and good handling. The one with the mod will be not very relayable.

If you want good reliability, go with a four stroke. The problem is, that will eat up most of your budget.

So.. The XP DI is a great craft. Good on fuel consumption, and a fast little boat. But, I think you will have more fun on an ultra. Just remember though, if you buy the ultra, it's an ex-race boat, so it's been driven real hard (throw reliability out the window).
You want reliability, go with Yamaha... You want out of the box speed and fun, go with Seadoo.

An 99+XP/XPL and a 99+GTX (both by Seadoo) would be your ultimate package. In my opinion.

Thanks for your help guys. As I continue my search and research, I have two more questions that I would love an answer to: 1) What is the difference between axial and mixed flow? 2) I have read on various threads that for 2 strokes you should block off the oil injection and go to straight premix... why is this necessary and for the average recreational user is it worth the time, effort, and cost?

- Thanks again.

I beleive mixed flow and axial flow pertains to the jet pump and how it thrusts the water out through the stator veins. Some pumps need different designs to be cpable of pushing the craft through water etc. If thats what it is, than you shouldn't worry about it (not for lake use at least).

Oil block off. It's more of a peice of mind, rest easy suggestion. Your oil pump can fail at any time. There is really no warning, no hint that something is wrong until your engine seizes because of no oil. The positive side of an oil block off ; you know you have oil in it when you premix your gas, you stick with a simple premix ratio. Seadoo's would be 40:1 (3.2oz of oil / 1 gallon of gas). The downside is, you go through a lot more oil that way. The oil pump is a variable pump that changes the amount of oil depending on you throttle status. So it only consumes what it needs to keep the engine lubricated. Once you remove that, you need to premix to the maximun ratio, hece, more oil is needed.

I have premix on all my skis. I do it because I learned the hard way what a lack of oil seizure is like. Very expensive repair.

Some preple change there oil pumps every other season ($200+). A $15 block off kit will make you feel a lot better in my opinion. Either way is a lot cheaper than a new engine.

Another point is... Oil pumps will ALWAYS fail mid season, right when the weather gets perfect for some good water time.... It's the murphy's law that get's built into the ski. lol