1997 GTX Top Speed?

[brushneckmatt]

Hi All,

Thanks for all your help so far, you guys are great. I have a 1997 GTX and it is running fine so I have no complaints at all about it. New gas lines, rebuilt carbs, pump is clean and good prop. 151 and 150 psi in the cylinders but high hours, 225. I noticed that most people are saying that model should push 52mph. I took my GPS out on it on Friday because the speedometer does not work, and I top out at 44 mph. I weigh 180. I was wondering if my ski seems slow for that model or is that about normal? I am still having a blast with it anyway so just wondering really. I am just bummed I have to winterize it so soon after buying it.

I also have an unrelated question. Is there a buzzer or siren if the oil pump should it fail on a '97? Just wondering as it is something I always think about. Thanks!

 

[lamajama]

As far as the speed issue I've had a few 97's over the years (3 actually) and 1 topped out at 55, one at about 52
and one at about 48 so you could be a little light on the speed - keeping in mind that these speeds were on the machine's
speedo's which can be unreliable. You might want to look at your RAVE valves and clean them. As far as the buzzer goes I do
not specifically recall one for failure but IIRC there was a buzzer for "low" oil. I used to take a marker and mark a line on the
oil tank and each time I put gas in I would eyeball the line and recall if the oil level had moved...! Little low tech but it worked..!

 

[WhiskeyD]

Check the condition of your wear ring

 

[Strizzo]

The beeper will only sound constantly if the engine overheats other than that it is used for basic diagnostics of the mpem and lanyard key/post. More important than the speed you were running, what rpm was the engine turning at that speed. If you were turning 7000 rpm at 44 mph, look at the wear ring, if it was only turning 6400 rpm or so, check/clean/service the raves.

 

[speedbuggy67]

chech the waterbox valve make sure its working right and bellows doesn't have a hole in it it and spring is ok. Cleaning rave valves help, and is the throttle cable adjusted correctly. What is the compression? IF the compression is low that could slow you down.. 52 is about right.

 

[Strizzo]

chech the waterbox valve make sure its working right and bellows doesn't have a hole in it it and spring is ok. Cleaning rave valves help, and is the throttle cable adjusted correctly. What is the compression? IF the compression is low that could slow you down.. 52 is about right.

He posted compression (151/150), hours (225), rider weight (180lbs), gps measured speed (44mph), and what he has seen mentioned as the normal top speed for a 97 gtx (52) in the first post.

 

[speedbuggy67]

He posted compression (151/150), hours (225), rider weight (180lbs), gps measured speed (44mph), and what he has seen mentioned as the normal top speed for a 97 gtx (52) in the first post.

my mistake on missing the compression reading it was late just wanted to help..... high hours shouldn't be a huge factor if compression is good, wear ring, waterbox valve operation, carb adjustment/cleaning, accel cable and of course riding on glass to achieve the top number.

I also have an unrelated question. Is there a buzzer or siren if the oil pump should it fail on a '97? Just wondering as it is something I always think about. Thanks!------------ seadoo oil pumps when cable related fail in the full open position so you'll be over oiling. I don't think there was any warning if it fails, i add an extra ounce of oil to every gallon in my 96xp tank for my own piece of mind and no downside with doing that (some might argue its a waste of oil i don't feel it is and i sleep better at night doing it) . I know the 96xp 787 has no warning on the pump.

Scott

 

[bell99man]

Yeah, kind of seems like a pressure drop trigger or no flow sensor could have been designed into these things. I know...something else to fail but at least it would make the driver look when it did alarm.

 

[Strizzo]

the flow is so low that it would be the difference between like .001 oz/min and 0. there would likely be a lot of false alarms because at idle the flow is very very small, and it goes in pulses rather than a constant flow.

 

[brushneckmatt]

Thanks! I will work on a few things this winter but unfortunately won't be able to try them out until May. I checked the RAVE valves and they looked clean but I will go through them anyway since I have them off. The wear ring looks good actually but I will know better once I get it taken apart to change the pump oil. Doesn't look like any significant wear though and not much space at all. The waterbox valve I have looked at and it looks fine but I will take that apart as well. Is there anything I should look for on this? At full speed (44mph) it is at about 7000rpms and I kind of feather back to 6500rpms when riding after it has planed off so kind of reluctant to adjust the throttle cable as I am thinking it might make matters worse. I might tackle that come spring when I can ride again. The carbs were just redone so it could be an adjustment there. I will change the spark plugs before next season too. If you guys can think of anything else, let me know.

 

[Strizzo]

if you're only hitting 44mph at 7000 rpm, something is amiss. check and make sure your reverse bucket is adjusted correctly, if it hangs down too far it can inhibit the jet flow.

 

[brushneckmatt]

Hmmm, you might be on to something Strizzo. I was checking the reverse bucket and it doesn't get to the locked position in forward. It slides up almost all the way and I can push it up into the lock position but from the seat I wouldn't be able to get it to lock unless I give it a reach around. It seems to want to sit too low. Do you think that could shave off 8-10mph? It does seem to hang about a 1/2 inch into where the water is pumped. I am going to try to adjust it with the little adjustment that is left and see if I can get it to lock using just the shift lever. I am so bummed it is too cold to check it out.

 

[brushneckmatt]

No dice on the adjustment. I even tried it to the extreme both ways. Is there another way to adjust the bucket so it slides up more?

 

[Strizzo]

Dschmidt had a similar issue with his gtx. I'm not sure if there is another adjustment than at the bucket, but look in the manual for where it should be adjusted to.

 

[brushneckmatt]

Got it! Took awhile to get the right balance in the adjustments. There are actually 3. 1 in the back near the pump, 2 under the glove box. It catches a little here and there but it now locks in the forward position. Now I just have to wait 7 months to try it out.