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2001 Seadoo Sportster LE. Just got it!

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"Something about the throttle. The engine sounded not "linear" to me when I push the throttle up. It seems to detect at one point and rev itself up ready for "flying". Is it the low speed high speed switching?
Throttle was at 60% to get 30MPH/5500RPM. Just curious what happens at 100% LOL. "

Pretty cool little boat, huh?

Yes, you will notice an acceleration kick when the rave valves open, sorry but I don't recall the RPM this happens?, just under or around 5000RPM maybe, I've become numb to it actually. You will also feel a more pronounced second kick at more than 80% throttle point as the TPS signals the MPEM to advance ignition timing (by up to 10*), this second kick is considerably more noticeable than the RAVE kick, in my experience.

We also went riding in the Sportster today! FYI so I can tell you exactly, the idle linkage stop is set to idle very close to 1400RPM in water(just under 1500RPM) and idles 3500RPM out of water (while blowing out exhaust water).

30mph on the dream-o-meter at 5500 RPM is about the same as I see as well, at 4800-5000 RPM the boat stays on plane at ~20MPH, I normally cruise about 5000RPM, slightly more than 20MPH, depending on wind maybe 25MPH.

I think it's possible only a small amount of water comes from the exhaust after trailering. If your ramp is steep then maybe some water came out from the angle. Still, I always blow it out BUT before restarting squirt a bit of oil into each carb if I won't be using the boat for several days.

FULL WOT throttle I have seen as high as 50MPH on the dream-o-meter with two people and 1/2 tank fuel on a calm day with no wind (or maybe brisk breeze from astern, LOL?) at about 6900 RPM I think you need the correct oil in the injection system for this, especially if running this way for longer than a short burst.

It sounds like your boat is running correctly in the mid range, nice to hear you had a good and safe adventure! :)
 
Yes, pretty cool boat.

I was amazed when the boat "latched" into the water, headed up and took off. (do you guys call it on the plane?)
I thought this boat is only a powerful engine with a jet pump. But now I realized that: what a beautiful engineered piece!

A neighbor gave me a seadoo 3 person tube today :-D. He just listed his house for sale.
Need to get a pump and check for leaks.

I am a little afraid to try WOT. It is a 13 years old engine, just not sure about it.
My friend told me a couple of days ago: This type of engine becomes family quickly :-D. I kind of got it.

My boat idle is around 1400RPM (I tweaked it up to 1400RPM today), idles out of water starts at 3500RPM and will run away.
4800-5000RPM is about 20MPH on my boat too.

50MPH???!!! did you need a seat belt? Is it hitting the waves like hitting a hard floor? Last time I had this type of insane speed was at Tailand many years ago and lost my hat.

Just an interesting question here. If I put my boat in neutral and minimum throttle, it just keeps circling in the water. I was told don't shut off your engine when you are out. So my questions: what do you guys do if you want to have a relax in the lake, or fishing. Or this baby is only made for speed:cool:
 
I was amazed when the boat "latched" into the water, headed up and took off. (do you guys call it on the plane?)
*Yes, the hull will lift onto plane at planing speed. At this point it may seem to speed up some. Then you might notice the speed will be more than 20MPH. You can come off the throttle some small amount until the speed decreases to 20MPH but much slower than that it will come off plane and slow dramatically.

I thought this boat is only a powerful engine with a jet pump. But now I realized that: what a beautiful engineered piece!
*Agree, I think it's the best small boat package for family fun that I have operated.

I am a little afraid to try WOT. It is a 13 years old engine, just not sure about it.
*Agree, everything needs to be correct, especially the oiling system. I recommend BRP XPS-II for this. Also, recheck your compression, it should not be too weak b/c there is a lot of heat generated at this power level.

My boat idle is around 1400RPM (I tweaked it up to 1400RPM today), idles out of water starts at 3500RPM and will run away.
*I hope you can recheck the idle mixture screws position and find they are not in the correct position to solve this.

50MPH???!!! did you need a seat belt? Is it hitting the waves like hitting a hard floor? Last time I had this type of insane speed was at Tailand many years ago and lost my hat.
*I think you cannot wear a hat, I must remove mine while riding in this boat. No seatbelt, the water was very calm.

Just an interesting question here. If I put my boat in neutral and minimum throttle, it just keeps circling in the water. I was told don't shut off your engine when you are out. So my questions: what do you guys do if you want to have a relax in the lake, or fishing. Or this baby is only made for speed.
*Today we rode to an island where we dropped anchor off the bow and tied the stern to shore so the stern is in 1ft of water, I placed the shifter in "F" to raise the reverse bucket, then we climb on and off the stern to enter/exit the boat and swim in the water for several hours. After we agreed to leave then pulled anchor and placed it in the ski locker, started up (should start instantly if carbs are properly adjusted and in good condition) and ran 3000RPM for 3 minutes to warm engine sleeves then hit WOT to plane the boat, backed the throttle down to 5000RPM and rode home 22~25MPH. Sometimes I ski on the trip to or from the island.

We ran the boat today less than an hour, the round trip is under 10 miles.

If you ride all day you must pull a skier or riding toy, it's wearing the engine and consuming fuel! :)
 
Sportster-2001-951C-Stock said:
backed the throttle down to 5000RPM and rode home 22~25MPH. Sometimes I ski on the trip to or from the island.We ran the boat today less than an hour, the round trip is under 10 miles.
Click to expand...

This is nice, keep it at 5000PRM for 10 miles is good enough for me.
If I do long ride, do I need to "rest" the engine on the route?

Sportster-2001-951C-Stock said:
If you ride all day you must pull a skier or riding toy, it's wearing the engine and consuming fuel! :)
Click to expand...

I guess this is because there is no transmission and all the resistance got put on the cylinder directly? I will try the big Seadoo tube I just got in a few weeks when the water warms up eventually :-)
 
Bonmotwang said:
This is nice, keep it at 5000PRM for 10 miles is good enough for me.
If I do long ride, do I need to "rest" the engine on the route?



I guess this is because there is no transmission and all the resistance got put on the cylinder directly? I will try the big Seadoo tube I just got in a few weeks when the water warms up eventually :-)
Click to expand...

For a long ride, I think to vary engine speed is better for the engine. For example, don't run at the same throttle position for an extended time, run it up a few hundred RPM for a couple minutes then back to 5000 RPM. Otherwise the cooling is sufficient to absorb heat and keep running at this speed for any length of time. I think it's dangerous for the engine to run WOT for longer than a short burst like getting on plane, my personal feeling.

I take advantage of smooth water to run a bit faster then return to 5000 RPM in rougher water, like if rollers are coming sideways from another boat's wake I run the slower speed. In this way engine speed is varied, which is better for a 2-stroke IMO.
 
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Sportster-2001-951C-Stock said:
I think it's dangerous for the engine to run WOT for longer than a short burst like getting on plane, my personal feeling.
Click to expand...

I didn't use WOT to get on plane. What I did a few times was have the engine kind of revving around 5000RPM, and the bow comes high above the water, and after a few seconds, it takes off.
 
Bonmotwang said:
I didn't use WOT to get on plane. What I did a few times was have the engine kind of revving around 5000RPM, and the bow comes high above the water, and after a few seconds, it takes off.
Click to expand...

That's fine, you don't have to use WOT if you don't want to stress the engine. I do it for the acceleration feeling and confirmation the engine is running properly.
 
Sportster-2001-951C-Stock said:
That's fine, you don't have to use WOT if you don't want to stress the engine. I do it for the acceleration feeling and confirmation the engine is running properly.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I will keep doing my way until I got my other things fixed:
- install the exhaust bracket,
- get the oil pump cable
- and confirm the oil is going in
- change the oil to the correct type. (I was trying to take some oil out and show you, but somehow I cannot insert my pipe into the tank from the outside port).
- the fuel input pipe into the carbs is already black one. Do I need to change the other grey pipes?

Do you agree with the list or something else to add?

Just to confirm the oil squirting process one more time: after pull the boat out of the water, take off the air silencer, start the engine and at the same time squirt oil into both carb openings, about 10ml each?
then shut off the engine?

Thanks
 
Sportster-2001-951C-Stock said:
That's fine, you don't have to use WOT if you don't want to stress the engine. I do it for the acceleration feeling and confirmation the engine is running properly.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I will keep doing my way until I got my other things fixed:
- install the exhaust bracket,
- get the oil pump cable
- and confirm the oil is going in
- change the oil to the correct type. (I was trying to take some oil out and show you, but somehow I cannot insert my pipe into the tank from the outside port).
- the fuel input pipe into the carbs is already black one. Do I need to change the other grey pipes?

Do you agree with the list or something else to add?

Just to confirm the oil squirting process one more time: after pull the boat out of the water, take off the air silencer, start the engine and at the same time squirt oil into both carb openings, about 10ml each?
then shut off the engine?

Thanks
 
Bonmotwang said:
- install the exhaust bracket,
*Yes, the vibration stress on the manifold is too great.
- get the oil pump cable
*Agree, try to confirm front control is not being damaged from the angle(s)
- and confirm the oil is going in
*I think you did this, if it's not going in the engine would no longer run now.
- change the oil to the correct type. (I was trying to take some oil out and show you, but somehow I cannot insert my pipe into the tank from the outside port).
*I disconnected the oil line at output end of oil strainer and placed it in a bucket to drain the tank. Then I confirmed the strainer had no debris inside and poured some fresh good oil through the tank to flush the bad oil through. I was careful not to allow air bubbles to enter into the tube going from the strainer to the oil pump, while holding the tube from the tank high, I refilled the tank with good oil and held the outlet tube so bubbles would not form while reconnecting it to the oil pump tube. No air bubbles were remaining to cause possible pump malfunction. This is a bit of a short cut I took, b/c the correct way is to remove the oil tank and clean all traces of the old oil and to replace the oil strainer.
- the fuel input pipe into the carbs is already black one. Do I need to change the other grey pipes?
*This is a good idea at some point, especially if you need to rebuild the carbs this should be done at the same time. If your fuel does not contain ethanol that damages the gray tubing then it's less of a problem. So if your engine runs out of fuel during anytime then the fuel filters inside the carbs may be plugged with gum from the damaged gray tubing. Fortunately most of the problem doesn't exist b/c the factory used the black line to feed fuel but still they used some gray line that can cause fuel flow problems by clogging the tiny filters inside the carbs. Thus the general answer is to replace the gray lines before engine damage is caused by fuel starvation, and may as well rebuild the carbs at that time. The normal black tubing is usually too thick in the walls to fit onto the PTO carb barb fitting so when you obtain this tubing I think you will find it's necessary to use a thinner wall stuff that's transparent, and isn't laminated with woven nylon.

Do you agree with the list or something else to add?
I can add to your list extensively, probably. But I think you have the important items covered.

Just to confirm the oil squirting process one more time: after pull the boat out of the water, take off the air silencer, start the engine and at the same time squirt oil into both carb openings, about 10ml each?
then shut off the engine?
* I squirt the oil into the carbs and replace the air silencer before restarting the engine to blow out the water. If I see a puff of smoke then, I'm happy. Too much oil will short the plugs gap, so always have a good set on hand, sometimes I use too much oil and this happens so I wash the plugs using a can of carb cleaner and put them back in. The plugs in my motor currently came from my first Seadoo over a decade ago, and I have two spare fresh sets already gaped waiting in the helm gauge compartment.
General rule of thumb is to replace plugs first, if any running problems occur. Always throw away any plug that came from a seized or damaged motor, don't reuse them b/c there is aluminum contamination in them.

You can tell which plug is not firing by feeling the temperature of the plug, it should be warm.

A plug works like an avalanch zener diode, the voltage rises to a point the spark jumps the gap under the conditions present. More compression and pressure in the cylinder requires a higher voltage to jump the gap, in air outside the cylinder it's easy for the spark to jump the gap, so it makes the plug look good sometimes when it really isn't good. Any contamination on the plug electrodes can bleed the voltage off so the plug can't produce a spark, such as a heavy drop of oil in the spark gap and coating the center electrode.

So yes, it's possible to have a slug of oil from the crankcase short out a plug, but often it's easily washed away using solvent and once the plug electrodes reach operating temp they should begin self-cleaning and become cardboard brown if the carbs mixture isn't too rich with fuel.
Click to expand...
 
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We are into raining season now. Is it a good idea to start engine for 15 seconds every 2 or 3 days?


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You should fog when you won't use the boat for more than a few days, to avoid cylinder sleeve corrosion. If you didn't do this the through the carbs and run the oil in you can remove the plugs and spray some oil into the cylinders or pour a small bit in, enough to run off the piston crowns and wet the cylinder sleeves (more than 5 drops! :O) and rotate by starter or rotate by hand to distribute it. If you put too much in, rotating by starter will blow out the excess from the plug holes.

Always ground plug wires when rotating by starter.

I need to find a bimini top like yours, the sun gets too hot! BTW, my speed numbers posted earlier exclude bimini top wind resistance, of course. The bimini probably makes the Sportster into a good sale bote?
 
Sportster-2001-951C-Stock said:
You should fog when you won't use the boat for more than a few days, to avoid cylinder sleeve corrosion. If you didn't do this the through the carbs and run the oil in you can remove the plugs and spray some oil into the cylinders or pour a small bit in, enough to run off the piston crowns and wet the cylinder sleeves (more than 5 drops! :O) and rotate by starter or rotate by hand to distribute it. If you put too much in, rotating by starter will blow out the excess from the plug holes.

Always ground plug wires when rotating by starter.

I need to find a bimini top like yours, the sun gets too hot! BTW, my speed numbers posted earlier exclude bimini top wind resistance, of course. The bimini probably makes the Sportster into a good sale bote?
Click to expand...

I was going to ask "is it called fogging the engine same as the one at the end of the season?"
Now I know it is the similar process. I didn't do this last fall! :facepalm:

I will pour the oil from the spark plug holes and rotate by hand because my compression is not that high (just confirmed again. 120/110). Yes, I will do the syringe to do 20mL per hole. Is 20mL (0.68oz) enough per cylinder?

I was looking at bimini solution too even I have one already, because I thought those sexy chrome bars on many seadoo jet boats are part of the bimini. But now I kind of find out that the sexy bars are mainly for storing water skis and boards, or mounting speakers.

Last weekend I saw a fisherman made his small boat into a cozy house boat using clear plastic sheets all around.
I guess he took totally opposite way from the sexy ones. :-D

I noticed that the engine doesn't like raining/foggy days. Yesterday I tried a few times and pulling the choke, then started the engine in my garage (yes, with garage doors wide open and a fan blowing at the boat). So the idle speed needs to re-adjust during those high moisture days in the water? And always good idea to have the boat idling for 5-10 minutes at the port before go into the lake?
 
Bonmotwang said:
Yes, I will do the syringe to do 20mL per hole. Is 20mL (0.68oz) enough per cylinder?

I guess he took totally opposite way from the sexy ones. :-D

I noticed that the engine doesn't like raining/foggy days. Yesterday I tried a few times and pulling the choke, then started the engine in my garage (yes, with garage doors wide open and a fan blowing at the boat). So the idle speed needs to re-adjust during those high moisture days in the water? And always good idea to have the boat idling for 5-10 minutes at the port before go into the lake?
Click to expand...

I would try to idle the boat on the ramp at a high idle, maybe 3000RPM by using the throttle controller. I don't like to idle at 1400 RPM except for maneuvering near dock, 2500~3000 in water to warm the engine feels better to me when possible.

To restart totally cold 1st start of day, do you use choke fully? I do, and release immediately as the engine fires.

You should not need to readjust your idle speed based on weather conditions once it's set to a comfortable level. Too high of idle can make maneuvering around the dock more dangerous, and increases possibility of a out of water trailer runaway. The idle speed should be very stable, if not could be fouled plug or carburetor problem.

110/120 is pretty low, cylinder wear is expedited by corrosion in cylinder sleeves and lack of oil for lubrication. Honestly, 120 stone cold after sitting for days isn't too bad, I measured this on mine, both cylinders, once.

I'd like to know what it is for yours after running 30 seconds, I plan to measure mine soon again and I expect 125. Once, I measured 137 both, there may have been some good amount of oil in the cylinders, not sure.

And if you have an air compressor with a gauge on it, you can test the calibration of your gauge.

I guess the fisherman is avoiding rain and mosquitoes by using a clear vinyl curtain, or maybe he's taking a shower inside? :)
 
I forgot to mention, you should remove the two bilge drain plugs if you leave your boat outside, or the boat may fill with water and sink, on the trailer.

And, don't leave your vinyl records in the sun, b/c they'll warp and they won't be good for anyone! :)
 
120/110 is the number after sitting for a couple of days and cold. I will do a test with hose on it and run it for a couple of minutes. It was 60/90 after the winter sitting.

I do have an air compressor, but I doubt the reading on that is accurate. :-D

But I am ready to do more work on engines if the engine sounds overall healthy. Do you think it is there yet?




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And yes, a volume of 1/2 oz (~20ml?) should be enough, you can judge this by the amount of oil slung from the plug holes by cranking with the starter. If most of this comes out, then it was maybe more than necessary.

There needs to be enough oil poured in to run off the piston crown and wet the cylinder sleeve, so as you turn the engine the sleeve receives a light coating of protective oil from top to bottom. This will help to prevent moisture corrosion of the cylinder sleeves, b/c micro-pitting from rust on the sleeve surfaces will interfere with piston ring sealing and can be the cause of low compression. The oil also helps to fill the micro pits thus improves ring sealing, so some oil film on the cylinder sleeve is necessary in many ways.

Nobody ever broke a motor by using too much oil, but it's wasteful and messy to use too much.
 
Sportster-2001-951C-Stock said:
And yes, a volume of 1/2 oz (~20ml?) should be enough, you can judge this by the amount of oil slung from the plug holes by cranking with the starter. If most of this comes out, then it was maybe more than necessary.

There needs to be enough oil poured in to run off the piston crown and wet the cylinder sleeve, so as you turn the engine the sleeve receives a light coating of protective oil from top to bottom. This will help to prevent moisture corrosion of the cylinder sleeves, b/c micro-pitting from rust on the sleeve surfaces will interfere with piston ring sealing and can be the cause of low compression. The oil also helps to fill the micro pits thus improves ring sealing, so some oil film on the cylinder sleeve is necessary in many ways.

Nobody ever broke a motor by using too much oil, but it's wasteful and messy to use too much.
Click to expand...

Ok. Thanks. I guess I have heard enough about the good stuff about O-I-L.


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Bonmotwang said:
120/110 is the number after sitting for a couple of days and cold. I will do a test with hose on it and run it for a couple of minutes. It was 60/90 after the winter sitting.

I do have an air compressor, but I doubt the reading on that is accurate. :-D

But I am ready to do more work on engines if the engine sounds overall healthy. Do you think it is there yet?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Based on this, I think your engine may last many more years if it's oiled properly and you don't run it very had WOT for long periods.

I don't recommend running on the hose, thus I don't run my boat more than 30secs out of water. Mainly b/c there's too much chance of leaving water in the exhaust that causes corrosion, and it's too awkward to connect hose, turn on, turn off, etc.

30 seconds of running should say enough to know if boat is splash worthy, and it's enough to distribute the normal amount of oil onto the cylinder liner, and approximately duplicate the conditions of running.

I feel if the engine is sitting clod for days, the oil runs down off the cylinder sleeve back into the crankcase, thus ring seal is not going to be as good. Synthetic oils don't stick well to cold surfaces either, they run off quicker, this is why I prefer using non-synthetic for fogging when the choice is available.

110 stone cold is perhaps a little low on the one, but I wouldn't worry about it as long as that cylinder is still firing normally and you don't plan to become speed racer.
 
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