First look at the Spark in Havasu

Minnetonka4me

Minnetonka4me

Premium Member
Premium Member
Its my 3rd year down in Havasu and like all of you, I was super excited to check out the Spark.

My first impression...it looks perfect. Just like all the pictures and video, Its the right size and all the angles are right. The colors are not quite as bright as I was expecting and the pink is much more a fuschia color.











Simplicity. Everything is as minimal as possible and HIGHLY accessible. You can literally take that motor out in about 20mins. The shell is pretty awesome in its own right. I was also surprised to see its built in the land of donkey shows! LOL

























Pump system looks super awesome, The teather is super odd and looks like you do not want to step on it. Also note the flush fitting is very easily accessible.











For the average guy, cabin owner with kids...this thing is their dream machine.
 
Now for the not so awesome. With the price point being what made this machine, it looks like it will not have the rigidity needed to pound the piss out of it like I personally do. I have also heard through the grapevine that the mod developers have concluded the same thing and that the hull twists far too much to handle major HP. Rumor has it more rigid bottom decks are already being built across seas.



I am also not super hot on the seal system between the decks. I cant think of a better way myself, but that was my first thought as I looked at it.







Here is the loaded model. I have to admit, as dumb as the sun shade is, its functionality and style is engineering and sales genius.


















Now before the guys that dont know me on here start jumping down my throat...I am a very specific type of rider and my niche of big wave jumping will never be looked at as something they need to engineer in. I am just basing my thoughts on how hard I ride my personal machines. Also being a tinker-er and not being able to leave well enough alone, It sounds like the "cheap" hull will be its ultimate limitation.


With all my personal gripes aside, they hit this one out of the (s)park. It will change the industry.

Ill update some more once I get to ride it in the morning.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for the pics.


I'm still on the fence with this one.


If they would have gotten them out to the dealers before the riding season was over (and the hype was up) I would have bought it. But now that I can't really touch it until next spring... we will have to see what the early release public thinks about it.

But with that said... I'm half tempted to sell both of my skis, to cover the price of a Spark. I'm thinking it's light enough, that I can hang it off the back of the islandia. Right now... my skis aren't getting used much, because the wife and kids want to take the boat to the water.
 
Wow, thanks for the great writeup and pictures !!
This is going to be a fun year !! I cannot wait till My Spark comes in.
 
Thanks Minnetonka. Try to get some video if you could. Like Dr Honda said I wish they had these out before the season her in CT was over. i have to wait till X-Mas to even see one with my own eyes
 
Ride report!!!!

It was a busy demo and the spot was deep in a no wake zone so there werent the opportunities to ride like when it comes to MN. We went out on the first run with me on a RXTX and my bro on a fuschia 3up HO.

Rode down the river and then swapped and I was instantly having fun. It is very similar to an 800 in many ways. But, it didnt really want to unhook from the water and didnt want to bunny hop much. I was screwing around on a little boat wake trying to slide it on the apex like I do on my XP and it caught the edge and tossed me off. I went newb on it and deathgripped the one handle bar still in my hand and pulled it over as I fell. It was totally upside down and I had to pull it over by the intake grate. Once uprighted it was flashing Maint at me and didnt really want to go. I kept getting into the throttle and it eventually got going again.


I got back and waiting another 45min to get my chance to ride the only 2up HO they had on the water. It was almost out of gas so it was lighter than normal. Once I got that puppy out to the river I instantly knew it was a completely different animal compared to the 3up. Nimble. Snappy. Playful. Solid. Flickable.

I just pounded on it the whole time I was out there; bunnyhopping it off little wakes and 180ing it easy. Intentionally hitting chop to feel the impact. The thing is what we all were begging for.

I completely lucked out and when we headed back in I caught a big tour boat plowing up the river. I knew it was my chance to test it for my kind of riding. First hit got me about 6' in the air and it felt like a stock XP with just enough midrange to pop out of the water nicely.
2nd hit wasnt quite as perfect, but I went for the gold anyways and knocked down a respectable superman. Cuz thats how I roll.

In my opinion once I rode both, the 3 up is not NEARLY as fun to ride compared to the 2 up. The 2 up and I...we got tight. In the defense of the 3 up....it did have a bunch of demo hours on it and it might have had some issues I wasnt sure. All I know is it felt night and day different between the two.

Gripes and issues that need fixing

The plastic around the throttle and button holder are 2 piece with a seam in the middle and my brother and I both took some skin off rubbing it. Gloves would fix the issue, but PWC gloves suck and im sure it would cut them up too.

The seat is too "boney". What I mean by that is the frame is not padded very well and when screwing around you constantly find yourself hitting your legs on the frame.

The footwells hold a crazy amount of water in them; if you fill one up in a no wake zone the machine will lean to one side. Takes alot of throttle to get that water to roll out the back.

The snap in parts next to the seat were hard to deinstall and reinstall correctly. Both of the ones I rode had them incorrectly installed and one actually popped off when my shorts caught on it. I noticed on one it had tabs broke off it and that was why it wouldnt sit correct. They also dont seal worth a crap so when I flipped it over Im sure a ton of water got inside. Prob not the best thing on a machine built to play on.

The step was stupid, too small, and as a leftie I had a heck of a time using it. The old school bar was much more effective.

Overall though...I freakin' want a 2up HO. Its close enough to make a X-4 guy switch. It was a blast.

1378660_678161882207847_442976189_n.jpg


1379830_678245375532831_1234212554_n.jpg
 
Awesome review. Looks like you got to spend a lot of great time with it. Didn't see you mention power much....can you compare for people the feel between the 900 Ace and the Rotax 800?

brian lewis087 said:
is that a foot pedal for getting on the machine ?
Click to expand...
It's a "knee step", not meant for the foot but rather kneeling on to get up.
 
JoeZ said:
Awesome review. Looks like you got to spend a lot of great time with it. Didn't see you mention power much....can you compare for people the feel between the 900 Ace and the Rotax 800?


It's a "knee step", not meant for the foot but rather kneeling on to get up.
Click to expand...


My problem is I dont ride stock. I ride non-fine tuned limiteds setup for midrange snap. I would give it a "dang close" as far as powerband compared to my 800s on a hot day. The 50mph really didnt feel slow at all like most would expect either.

I think the superchargers and stuff talked about is overkill. Give me 120hp, 60 mph with a rediculous midrange machine with minimal cost and you have a machine that rivals the XP that isnt 17 years old. Its acceptably close in stock form.
 
Did you ride the non HO model ? Was it underpowered ?

Was the 3 up more stable or did it feel heavy ?

Not sure if I will ever do a Superman myself ... LOL

What snap in parts next to the seat ???
 
Hi Nick,

Thanks for all the pictures and your opinions. It's great to hear about the Spark from someone I feel like I know.

I'm still trying to decide if this is the ski for me. The biggest surprise for me was in your first set of pictures about halfway down, the hull shape. Actually this is the first pic. I've seen of the hull underside. Not what I expected at all, I guess I was thinking X-4, it's actually more like a catamaran.

I'm kinda taking a wait and see attitude, and I certainly won't buy one without riding first. If SeaDoo runs out I'm sure they will make more.

Lou
 
Minnetonka4me said:
My problem is I dont ride stock. I ride non-fine tuned limiteds setup for midrange snap. I would give it a "dang close" as far as powerband compared to my 800s on a hot day. The 50mph really didnt feel slow at all like most would expect either.

I think the superchargers and stuff talked about is overkill. Give me 120hp, 60 mph with a rediculous midrange machine with minimal cost and you have a machine that rivals the XP that isnt 17 years old. Its acceptably close in stock form.
Click to expand...

Nice write up! If they would make a 120hp 60 mph machine or even a 56-56 mph machine I would sell my rxt barge and have a spark parked next to my x4. With the lake riding we do around here I would be left in the dust on a 50 mph spark. I still want to rode one though before I jump to conclusions. With the price point the HO is really not that much more than I have for my 07 rxt used. Fun nimble ski with a warranty or a barge that goes fast an is subject to cost me $$$ at any moment. No brainer there.
 
LouDoo said:
Hi Nick,

The biggest surprise for me was in your first set of pictures about halfway down, the hull shape. Actually this is the first pic. I've seen of the hull underside. Not what I expected at all, I guess I was thinking X-4, it's actually more like a catamaran.

Lou
Click to expand...

That cat is not the bottom of the hull. That's the bottom of the top half or seat section. That's the first pics I've seen of it by itself. Nice write up tonka.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
One thing that just needs to be said is its still a 4 stroke and is much worse to deal with when you are talking about water in the motor. I would say it's biggest weakness is a natural one being that it is a water craft. I just delt with a 03 supercharged that sunk and it takes 4x as long than a two stroke.

Also we did not win the spark at Havasu, but a person I facestalk did. A very pretty lady by the name of Sarah petro did. Considering there was a guy who put in about 100 entries I was glad it was a fine young female that I know via the interweb.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 4
 
Last edited by a moderator:
As far as the 3seat model goes...the back piece just bolts on with about 10 fasteners. The other part of the 3 seater is the seat is actually about 10" longer. The grab bar assembly is also different between the two.

They had not one non HO model out there...so I cant give you any feedback there.

The snap in parts I was referring to are a couple small panels to access the motor w/o taking the top off.
 
Great review Minnetonka.. I was at Pirates Cove and got to test ride the 90ho 2up and was impressed after the ride. As I first got on it felt cheaply made.. the plastic between the the handle bars , ect .. but as soon as I got past the No wake zone I gave it throttle and was impressed with its quick acceleration. Then I started playing around a bit.. This thing is quick and nimble ! Turns and spins with ease.. and jump your own wake on the way out. This thing almost dumped me twice.. but I held on . As for top speed , its not all that bad.. It lacks a little compared to my 951 RXDI.. but you almost cant tell. As for the seat.. well I didnt sit down much during the demo.. lol .
I heard some rumors Riva racing was looking into a ECM that bumps the HP to 110. Im sure the hull could handle an extra 20HP. That would sell me :) At that point it probably would be just as fast as my RXDI.

Atfer riding the Spark I am now torn weather I should rebuild my RXDI + Another new fuel pump $ 3200+ , or buy a new 90HP 2 up Spark. Im guessing after a few months after the spark starts hitting dealers were going to start seeing upgrades for it.
Even a custom Hydoturf Seat cover would look killer on the Spark.

So far Im leaning towards the Spark.
 
Thanks for the review Minnetonka, being from canada I have bought all my used skis from minni or wisconson, one thing that does concern me is the depth of the foot wells and extra water being in there as u stated, do u think this well be a big issue for riders that are not that experienced as some of my friends always want to take a ride it seems. Also i did not notice a reverse gate in any of your pics for the braking , do u have one? As for the flushing since i do not have a newer ski with the built in cooler, and live in a cold climate , does the muffler have to be winterized with rv antifreeze like my old skis just curious?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
2019 Spark Trip 2UP: Random RPM Drop
Replies
2
Views
94
JmgeheeAL
J
Z
Weak spark in 1998 Seadoo GTX LTD
Replies
14
Views
621
Ziii
Z
D
2000 seadoo GTX won't start
Replies
13
Views
381
Spoody6677
S
A
PWC Noobie - Water or Gas coming out of spark plug holes
Replies
19
Views
189
Doug Overkill
Doug Overkill
onesaintsfan
Hello, Back in the PWC World
3 4 5
Replies
102
Views
1,564
onesaintsfan
onesaintsfan
Back
Top