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Difference between 96 and 97 xp?

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Legacy37

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So I have a 96 xp that the engine, pump, electronics, etc are good, the previous owner painted it and did a terrible job. A local shop has a 97 xp trade in that does not run....hull and paint are great. I can get it for 500 bucks. Are the two compatible to swap the engine?
 
I would keep your 96, the 97 is fun but defiantly feels like it needs the 951 power. In my opinion the 96 is way more fun than a 97. But it depends on what you want out of your ski. If you want to jump, spin, tailstand, then go 96. If you want to have a comfy ride, take hard turns, slightly more stable then go 97.

If you decide to go 97 you need to swap the PTO over and ideally keep the 97 MPEM if it has it.
 
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In case your curious, the 97 xp has a different pto on the engine, so you would have had to swapt that.
All the wiring is different so the 97 wiring and mpem better have been good.
97 looks cool but feels slow and sluggish and the 96 feels like a rocket by comparison.
 
He would need the PTO from a 97, ideally the MPEM unless you want to rig up 96 electronics.
 
Pics..... looks like it was painted blaze orange that faded to white
 

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I still like the 1997 XP and we have 3 in our group. If you ride rough water it will walk all over a 1996 XP. You get the rough water smooth ride, the inside lean turn and the reliability of the 787. Yes it is a little underpowered but for $500 you can get a Group K Sleeper and it is as fast as the 951 XP's but more reliable.

I wouldn't bother with an engine swap if you already have the 1996 XP.

On smooth water and just being stupid you can't beat the 19996 XP and I would take it over the 1997 XP.

Or just be a Seadoo junkie like me and get a 1996 XP and a 951 XP, 2001 in my case. Depending on the lake we ride I pick the correct XP for the occasion, LOL.
 
I still like the 1997 XP and we have 3 in our group. If you ride rough water it will walk all over a 1996 XP. You get the rough water smooth ride, the inside lean turn and the reliability of the 787. Yes it is a little underpowered but for $500 you can get a Group K Sleeper and it is as fast as the 951 XP's but more reliable.

I wouldn't bother with an engine swap if you already have the 1996 XP.

On smooth water and just being stupid you can't beat the 19996 XP and I would take it over the 1997 XP.

Or just be a Seadoo junkie like me and get a 1996 XP and a 951 XP, 2001 in my case. Depending on the lake we ride I pick the correct XP for the occasion, LOL.
Pardon my ignorance, but what's a group k sleeper?
 
Nice looking ride Legacy37! I'm glad I'm not the only Okie or Redneck that uses spare tires to put their ski on haha. I have 4 35" tires that I use, stack 2 in the front and 2 in the rear and it's the perfect height to work on.
 
OH! That's cool thanks for the information.
No problem and so much good reading on that site.

I bought a 1997 XP brand new in 1998 when the 951 Limited came out and the dealer couldn't get rid of the 97 once the 98's were on the lot. So after 10 hours of break-in I pulled the top end off and sent it to Group K. It was exactly what he said, looked, started and idled exactly like a stock ski but it was dead even with the 951 Limited for thousands less and all it ever needed was oil and gas.
 
That would be awesome to have that done to mine, since I have so little invested into it. I was looking at some skis on the offer up app when I seen this guy had one for sale for $1600 and he lived like 10 miles away. So I went down to look at it we opened up the engine compartment there was about 6 inches of water sitting in there from a rain storm that we had just 2 days before I went to look at it. So in his mind he thought it was toast, in my mind I was thinking cheap haha. He told me that he couldn't sell it the way it was and if I wanted it just take it. So I did! Drained the water, loaded it up took it home. Pulled the spark plugs and they were literally brand new, pulled the carbs opened them up and not a spec of dirt on the filters and no rust, pulled the rotary valve and it had a little rust nothing to worry about. Made sure there was no water in the motor and cleaned everything including the starter, replaced all the fuses, rectifier, starter solenoid and battery. Anyhow, I remembered him saying that he got a new key for it cause he lost the old one and I would not start. I took it down the a dealer had them program the key (for free) and boom she fired right up. So a few hundred dollars and a couple of days that's how I got my 97' xp. SCORE!
 
That would be awesome to have that done to mine, since I have so little invested into it. I was looking at some skis on the offer up app when I seen this guy had one for sale for $1600 and he lived like 10 miles away. So I went down to look at it we opened up the engine compartment there was about 6 inches of water sitting in there from a rain storm that we had just 2 days before I went to look at it. So in his mind he thought it was toast, in my mind I was thinking cheap haha. He told me that he couldn't sell it the way it was and if I wanted it just take it. So I did! Drained the water, loaded it up took it home. Pulled the spark plugs and they were literally brand new, pulled the carbs opened them up and not a spec of dirt on the filters and no rust, pulled the rotary valve and it had a little rust nothing to worry about. Made sure there was no water in the motor and cleaned everything including the starter, replaced all the fuses, rectifier, starter solenoid and battery. Anyhow, I remembered him saying that he got a new key for it cause he lost the old one and I would not start. I took it down the a dealer had them program the key (for free) and boom she fired right up. So a few hundred dollars and a couple of days that's how I got my 97' xp. SCORE!
Nice score for sure. Ride it and see if you like it then if you do send it to Group K.
 
That would be awesome to have that done to mine, since I have so little invested into it. I was looking at some skis on the offer up app when I seen this guy had one for sale for $1600 and he lived like 10 miles away. So I went down to look at it we opened up the engine compartment there was about 6 inches of water sitting in there from a rain storm that we had just 2 days before I went to look at it. So in his mind he thought it was toast, in my mind I was thinking cheap haha. He told me that he couldn't sell it the way it was and if I wanted it just take it. So I did! Drained the water, loaded it up took it home. Pulled the spark plugs and they were literally brand new, pulled the carbs opened them up and not a spec of dirt on the filters and no rust, pulled the rotary valve and it had a little rust nothing to worry about. Made sure there was no water in the motor and cleaned everything including the starter, replaced all the fuses, rectifier, starter solenoid and battery. Anyhow, I remembered him saying that he got a new key for it cause he lost the old one and I would not start. I took it down the a dealer had them program the key (for free) and boom she fired right up. So a few hundred dollars and a couple of days that's how I got my 97' xp. SCORE!
I paid 500 bucks for mine, needed a cdi, A coil, and rebuild of the aft electrical box. The trouble shooting sucked tho. I am going through the carbs cause carbs. Has great compression
 
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