yamaha or seadoo
 

Hey everyone I am looking to get a newer ski for the family this year. 06 or newer and supercharged is not a must and hours is not a big deal to me. I have always been a yamaha guy when it came to jet skis but here the newer seadoos are not bad like the older ones that where known as seadonts lol. What is your opinion on the two

Ive owned both , the yamis run great untill suddenly they don't! Have 3 seadoos now of varying ages from 97 to 06 , have had great luck with them .... so far.

Yamaha but a newer SC engine 2008 or above. A certain Yamaha SC had some problems I want to say 2003 or 2004 thru 2006 or 2007.

the newer Yamaha SC the better.

Sea Doo has a list of problems especially electrical and ECM

Dads had a couple 2006+ Yamahas that have been great

Yamaha for quality and reliability!!

Yamaha all day, EXCEPT the 1200 PowerValve engines (GP1200R / XL1200 from the early 2000s.) Nearly every single one of them, over time would lose the oil injection line to the 3rd carb. The OEM oil line was stretched too tight, and after the lines aged a bit and became brittle; they cracked off the nipple and every single one of them blows the 3rd cylinder.

Buy a new enough one to get fuel injection.

I don't know much about the yamahas but the sea-doo 4-tech engines are pretty reliable. I have one and so does my brother with no real issues. They SC seasons of that era are high maintenance.

I have a 2014 Yamaha FZS with the SVHO engine. Only mod is a speed limiter bypass. The thing runs 74 consistently on GPS and scares the everliving chit out of me. I love it. It has a much more raw feel to it than the Sea-Doo's. My friends Sea-Doo you have to push buttons every time you start it into full power mode. What a crock that is.

Well you've all had a lot better luck with the yamahahas, than me . 2 years and and engine rebuild has been my unlucky experience. :argue:

Hey Matt how did you do the speed limiter by pass. Regarding which one to buy, I also have the svho motor. Currently have 2 Yami with SVHO motor. That motor is only a few years old. The seadoos my friends bought, the same year, are real nice. They have more conveniences but I personally would do the Yamis everytime over the Seadoos. Yamaha has much more experience in everything. You could have problems with either one. Ya never know. Luv mine.

They solved that with updated oil lines or just deleted the pump and did premix.those 155 h.p. engines are stout for a triple.

Have one of each sitting on a trailer offsite with blown motors .both 05s when that happens to a seadoo, they get parted. When that hapens to a yami, they get a new motor.plus the yami requires no special tool purchase if your a do it yourselfer. Yami parts tend to be cheaper too. The big 4 seater yamis do well in rough water but the seadoos on average tend to offer more performance for the dollar initially

I had 2 yamahas both 90s and two Kawasakis also 90s. They all ran basically trouble free and friend's of ours had 2 seadoos 90s and they where being towed more then ridden.

I bought the Riva module from the Greenhulk store. It was a straight forward install and added 4 mph. Not all the SVHO models have the limiter, just the lighter faster hulls.

ONLY if you get to it in time. I agree though on both parts. I had a 1998 GP1200 and a family member had a 2003 GP1200R that blew the 3rd jug.
I helped a tHP500s rebuild his XLT1200 powervalve motor, but traded both of the above skiis for a jet boat before I rebuilt the 3rd jug, (known issue at trade).

The guy that I traded them to for whatever reason did not put the WaveEater clips on the PowerValves when he reassembled it. (Also, a mandatory upgrade.)
Guess who had to put a new crank, center jug, and piston in same GP1200R after it dropped a PV.

I was just pointing out to the OP the fact that it was a zero cost fix to rectify the oil line issues you pointed out, you can simply pull the oil pump and remove the intermediate shaft and switch to premix also the catalytic converter must be swapped out for a d-plate,very simple changes and low cost compared to a lot of other boat maintenance repairs,either way good luck to the op on his search.

I had a 2004 FX-140. Flawless. Next time you are at beach that rents skis, look at what all the rental places use. There is a reason they choose what they choose.

Yamaha hands down.

Look at what companies buy when they rent them. Never See Doo's. That says something.

Good point. ^^^^^^^^

I haven't owned a ski, but several jet boats from both. Yamaha hands down fit and finish with reliability. Sea Doo's are fast, but struggled in the other areas. I was really disappointed when they stopped putting Merc's in them.

what about Kawasaki? IMO most reliable and stable ski I have ridden. Plus they have 310hp!

had good luck with my Seadoo RXP and RXP-x, the Yamahas seem to have raised the bar lately and appear to be a drier ride in rougher water cant speak to the newest seadoos with the suspension as I have not ridden one yet.

Who rides a jetski to stay dry, my last two are flipper and flipper11, of course l wait till no one is around then go out and see how long I can hang on . Got to love the older rxps!:cool:

Rentals are always Yamahas though I thought for sure that new cheap Sea Doo Spark would change that. Spark is a deal except it is not fast and has a small fuel tank. I have always bought used Yamahas (though my last two were 2000 XLT1200/2001 XLT800). Bought and rode them for a season and sold them for exactly what I paid for them, think I lost a couple hundred on the trailer though (each came with a single and I sold them both and bought a new tandem).

I rode a newer SC Yamaha a few months ago......whew stupid fast and very thirsty! I do like the way the Yamahas ride and land, Seadoos feel like they are popping wheelies to me but they do handle sharper.

I am talking about a 16 mile run across Galveston/Trinity Bay as part of a 65 mile round trip that we make. In 1 footers a face full of water every couple of seconds gets old and it's hard to see, goggles and glasses don't work well . The Yamahas seem to handle it better throwing most of the spray to the sides

Gotcha, been there and done that, no fun! Wife's newer one rides fairly dry and a friend has one of the suspension models

We have (2) 07 SEADOO GTX Limited Supercharged GPS models and they have never had any problems. We've put a whole 6 hrs on them in 5 years, clocks are at 49hrs. We have owned many of the older SeaDoo 2 Strokers and had good luck too. Our neighbors bought 2 new Yamahas last year and they seem nice fit and finish. The style of the Yamaha just doesn't really do it for me, doesn't mean they aren't good skis though. There's a young guy that rides by our house with a new Kawasaki and the thing looks like its flying. I dont think you can really go wrong with any of the new(er) stuff. Love it when a jet ski gang pulls next to the boat and wants to race, the look on their faces concentrating to get the last mph and holding on for dear life at the same time is priceless as you go on by in your boat with radio thumping and everyone aboard waving! I paced a newer Kawasaki at 71 and then let him watch the transom disappear. They get used to beating up on regular boaters and need to be checked back to reality once in awhile.

The problem child Yamaha Jetski to stay away from is the FX Cruiser High Output and the FX High output these are SC engines. The years that i know 4 sure are 2004 and 2005 but might be 2003 thru 2006. I know first hand because many of my boat customers has jetskis that I have to service as well. This model and year 2004 and 2005 is what i have seen with engine failures that are more than just one here and there. The reman longblocks are very expensive for the replacement as well.

I know the same models 2007 and up is alot more reliable or maybe 2006.5 year model and up.

Yamaha's quality is alot better than Sea Doo's especially for the jetboat end. Like I said Sea Doo has a electrical issues and ECM failures. I have been all thru the sea doo jetboats when they were in business and they are average at best if even that. I understand we are talking about jetskis here. Same engines and basically all the same wiring / connections for both apps..

Friend of mine owns a business that sells both. I asked him which was better and he said Yamaha hands down. The mechanics agreed with him.

have had sea doo's my entire life and i cant say enough good about them. they all have their little problems but i would find a 08 or newer 215/ 255 hp model. if you're going to pull the trigger on a new machine then i don't think it matters what you buy because they are all nice. with todays technology you really cant go wrong.

I have an 05 and an 08 Sea Doo both 255hp models and haven't had any trouble out of either one of them.

With the supercharged models how many hours are you going before the second rebuild if any of ya have gotten that far. I know the first rebuild I'd recommended at 100 hours.

A thousand here and a thousand there is what the boat is for I don't really want that in a ski too lol

So as I always had yamaha skis I thought for what I will be using it for the seadoo will fit us better so that is what I got. I picked up a 06 155 wake so my son will have it in the garage Christmas morning.
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Not a bad Christmas gift for a ten year old

Hi guys, first off, thank you speicher lane for sharing my website!

Second, there has been some misinformation in this thread that I hope I can clear up and also add some useful info for you all.

1) Yamaha supercharged models started in 2008.
2) Seadoo superchargers have been practically bulletproof since 2009, and the recommended rebuild is every 100 hours.
3) The Yamaha SVHO 2014-2015 has been experiencing a number of timing chain failures. The 2016 model is updated. I would not recommend at 2014-2015 without extended warranty.
4) The Seadoo supercharged skis from 2004-2006 had exhaust valves that are prone to failure (moisture causing rust, then breakage) and weak flywheel bolts that can fail.

If you are going the used route, I recommend a Seadoo 2007 and newer, with supercharger that has been rebuilt within the last 100 hours, or a Yamaha 2008-2013. The Yamaha motor has a noticeable amount of torque advantage compared to the smaller Seadoo engine. My personal choices for each brand are the Seadoo RXP-X 260 and the Yamaha FX SHO. If you are going brand new 2016 I would get the Seadoo RXP-X 300 or the Yamaha FX SVHO. They are the most versatile craft from each brand in my professional and personal opinion.

Keep in mind that all of this information is geared towards the performance enthusiast. If you want to ride leisurely and don't need a craft that goes 70 MPH then there are cheaper and more reliable choices that fit those needs, such as the Yamaha FX, VX, and Seadoo GTI/GTX.

When you say 100 hour rebuild, are you talking about the supercharger only or the whole motor?

The supercharger clutch assembly. It's $350 in parts. Usually 100 hrs is 2-4 years of riding.