New 97 speedster 2 me

[simplewon]

Just bought a speedster. One carb was stopped up but at 2800 I figured I could fix it.

Got the carb dissected, dipped and cleaned then reassembled. Went to the lake, quarter tank of gas, it was not gas, mostly water in the tank. Cleaned out the tank last night with a 12 volt remote fuel pump, removed the carbs, sprayed alcohol with oil mixed in the engine, before disassembly to prevent rust from the water.

The boat was demo'd in normal fuel mode, I did not add fuel first time to the lake wanting to burn out the old fuel. I switched to reserve and sucked both carbs with water. Ouch.

Questions: The boat only came with a white lanyard. Is this the learning key or does the yellow and white rule not apply for 97?

What gps speed should I expect out of it, pure stock?

The manual like at the top of the page, if I pay 11 bucks, is it one manual at a time or can I then download the owners manual and the service manual or do I pay 11 bucks twice?

Thanks for all the info.

 

[fastboatman29212]

I also have a 97 speedster. We love it. Sorry about the bad gas hassle. Sounds like you know what to do. I wouldn't have had a clue what to do but the FSM does have a section on what to do if engine gets water in it.

Just so you know, the fuel supply for the reserve and normal lines is all from the same tank. It does not switch tanks when you switch from normal fuel mode to reserve. The normal fuel position just has a shorter length into the tank than the reserve line side. Thus, when fuel is low, it will suck air before you really run out of fuel. I know because I just had my tank pickup tube out and cleaned my tank at the same time. The pickup tube has 4 nipples. One is for the tank vent, another for the return line from the carbs, another for normal fuel position and the last for reserve position. If the fuel was bad, then it was all bad.

Anyway, The best my Speedster will do is right about 60mph with one 200 lb. passenger/driver (me). Does 55+ with 2 people. Those were speedometer readings but I am gonna check a GPS reading this summer.

I don't know the answer to the lanyard question.

I bought a CD-ROM version of the FSM off eBay and it was worth every penny. I print out pages I need and work on the boat with them in hand. I recommend getting one. I have no experience with the premium membership at the top of the forum page.

This forum has been a great resource for me and you will get the answers you need. Do your homework, read, read, read, and then ask questions and people are very willing to help.

 

[simplewon]

Thanks for all the info. Your right, a lot of reading. I did take the fuel sending unit out of the tank to ensure it's screen was not clogged. Blew out all the hoses with the air compressor with the carbs off the engines also.


Does yours have a yellow or white floatation on the lanyard?

A freind services boats at a marina, he said all the ones he works on have two and the white is a learning one, said I need yellow, about 100 bucks and he told me a fair marina to go too. Not the one he works for lol. He also said for my year he could be wrong, said he knows the newer ones are like that but not sure about the 97

 

[RFoster130]

Any lanyard can be programmed to do whatever. They just color code them to make it easy for the owners. how fast is it letting you go?

 

[fastboatman29212]

I only have a yellow lanyard. I have never seen anything in the FSM or owner's manual that would make me think there are 2 styles of lanyards. I'm not gonna be much help in that category.

 

[simplewon]

I took the speedster out, as soon as I left the ramp, jeep still on the ramp, it died. Would not start back. Wind was high, I fought the wind paddling hanging off the nose of the boat. Nearing death I held onto a tree branch to rest. Then tied to a rock bluff and rested. Tried cranking again, I could hear the accelerator pump spraying but would not start. It would fire some. Sucked a flat rock up in the jet on the right engine so I did not try that one any more. Finally walked it back to the ramp, loaded it and headed home. In the garage, the rock I could not reach from underneath. It did not make it in the impeller, just before it. I tried fishing it out without luck. Thought, now I'm going to have to take this apart. Went after my gas leaf blower. Worked like a charm. Two flat rocks came right out, had the weed thing open.
Then, after removing the carbs, the pumps were full of water so I took a 12 volt fuel pump and pumped from each lower fuel hose, dissected the other carb and soaked it overnight and pumped fuel from the three low spots in the gas tank to a can. Accessed by taking the sending unit out of the tank. I also switched from res to normal fuel selection and pumped the fuel from the lines again. This morning I reassembled the carb and installed both of them. I had already rebuilt the other carb.

Today, I burned 70 dollars in fuel, runs like a top. speedo says 58mph with my wife and I, gps shows 52. The speedo is accurate up to 35mph.

Looks like the white key thingy is fine. Love this boat. I want a Bimini top, not sure on the dims. I put one on my 30 foot formula once but for this, I don't think I need or want to stand under it.

 

[fastboatman29212]

Looks like you know how to handle the bad fuel problem. We rarely use the bimini top we have, but that's because we mostly do wakeboarding/kneeboarding when we have it out and the bimini gets in the way, so we leave it at home.

I am almost finished with some serious repair work on my 97 Speedster.
All new fuel lines (35 feet)
cleaned both carbs - just need to adjust them in the water
blower fan repair
brand new throttle cables
engine-to-motor mount plate nut replacment (stupid nut came off all by itself)
jet pump oil change is planned for today.
I fabricated a new rope hatch door cause I lost the original. (I used to tell everyone, "I keep that hatch door at the lake". LOL!)
Wish me luck when I adjust the carbs at the lake. Never have done anything like that before, but I've been reading a lot and feel pretty confident.

 

[simplewon]

Good luck, I'm sure you won't have any problems. I need to adjust my throttle cables or stops on the carbs, the left engine runs 3000 less rpm than the right, I was compensating with the throttle on the lake yesterday.

I just found the owners manual and service manual, I will need to do this too. Wish I had these before rebuilding the carbs.

Thanks for the info.

 

[fastboatman29212]

Earlier this month I found a post by Dr Honda explaining how to adjust the throttle cables for best performance. I just installed new throttle cables and used his method but have not been on the water to test it yet. Sofar, so good!

All the credit goes to him, so I will quote him.

The proper sync'ing method is....

1) Remove the air boxes so you can see the carb butterflies.
2) Open the throttle levers to full.
3) Adjust the cables so the carbs are fully open, but not quite touching the carb stop. (if they do, you can break a throttle cable)
4) close the throttles, and put the airboxes back on.
5) put it in the water, and adjust the idle so they are the same (don't try to adjust them out of the water, because it can dramatically change with a load on the engine)

 

[krisrock02]

Hey I'm trying to figure out how my blower motor mounts to the hole behind gas cap. Also could you poss send me a photo of the bilge I'm have trouble figuring out the wiring so the bilge works auto. Guy rigged it hot to switch. Thanks

 

[fastboatman29212]

Hey I'm trying to figure out how my blower motor mounts to the hole behind gas cap. Also could you poss send me a photo of the bilge I'm have trouble figuring out the wiring so the bilge works auto. Guy rigged it hot to switch. Thanks

Glad to have you on the forum. May I suggest that you post your question as a new thread. It will get buried in this one since you have other issues.

 

[Corvette4me]

Hello I'm new to the forum but not new to Seadoo, I also have a 97 speedster with twin 85 hp. I've had it since 98 but because of deployments in the Army I didn't get much time to really get to know all the fun I hear everyone talking about on the forum.

I see you just replaced are your fuel lines does that inculde the oil lines? If that's the case I'm looking to do the same so where did you buy your lines and what size did you purchase?

I see your in SC. have you been to the hugh lake right off I-95 it runs next to the highway, I can't remember the name.

 

[fastboatman29212]

I see you just replaced are your fuel lines does that inculde the oil lines?

I went to the auto parts store and bought same size inner diameter fuel hose. I did so because I wanted fuel line that is ethanol resistant. I also installed small inline FRAM fuel filters just before the carb. I did not replace the oil lines since they were OK. The original fuel lines in my Speedster had started to develop a gummy substance from breakdown over time.

I've never been to that lake. I usually only go boating here in Columbia - Lake Murray.