New to me 96 XP

[Flysooner9]

I’ve read a lot of the XP mod threads but wanted to ask some questions. I just picked up a stock 96 XP. I don’t care much about top end speed. I want to make this a ski with great acceleration and fun handling.

so far I’m thinking a skat swirl 17/22 prop for starters.

sponsons, looks like a lot of options?

I see a lot of posts about the R&D nozzle but seems hard to find.

how about intake grate? Ride mostky in light to medium lake chop. Rarely see glass water around here.

any other recommendations for making a fun to ride ski?

 

[PorknBeans]

I can recommend a few fun mods that are easy and pump gas friendly....

1. Higher compression head with no more than 175 lbs. per cylinder. You can buy a nice aftermarket head(BuckShot, NOVI etc.) with 43cc domes for 91/92 octane pump gas. Or you can have the OEM head shaved down to increase compression that way. I like the aftermarket head with more cooling capabilities due to the higher heat generated with the increased pressure and the good looks of an anodized head/head shell

2. Free flowing flame arrestors(K&N, R&D, ProK, Tau Ceti/Hot Products) will allow the engine to take in more air. A step up with the Pilot Jet from 70(stock) to a 75 is required for proper jetting with this mod to avoid engine damage(lean condition)

3. Aftermarket sponsons that are adjustable make for some great handling in long sweeper turns, rough water handling and just keeps the ski from sliding out and sending you into a tail spin. Lose the stock sponsons for great handling. Just be aware that removing and installing the stock and aftermarket sponsons like WORX Racing sponsons require silicone around the bolt holes and aren't too much fun to remove and install. But once they're installed. You'll have a blast with carving and being able to hold turns very easily without sliding out

4. Trigger throttles are way more comfy than the stock thumb throttle. U.M.I., GT or similar brands are great additions to your ski for riding comfort.

5. Gunwale mats like Hydro-Turf(Anaheim, Ca.) mats are another great addition to comfort(shock absorption and traction) due to the closed cell foam design will give you traction while turning, jumping and reboarding. As well as great looks with different styles of colors, camouflage and marbling to suit your fancy. A must have in my book

6. Intake grates help keep the pump loaded with water for forward propulsion in rough/choppy water. A top loader intake grate from R&D or WORX work really well and are very popular.

7. Custom seat covers add a nice touch to your ski. As well as traction, longevity of the better materials and custom stitch work like from JETTRIM(Lake Havasu, AZ) pull it all together

8. Stainless steel impeller(s) from Skat Trak or Solas add speed, torque and midrange power, depending on the pitch of the impeller to match the power enhancements of the engine. You already have a 17/22. So with any other engine mods. You could play around with different pitched impellers to get the desired power output

9. R&D Exit/Steering nozzles are a very nice addition. Since it can add speed(smaller diameters than stock nozzle diameters), torque(larger openings than stock diameter) and handling(nozzles are physically longer than stock nozzles). They are tough to find a set in the right diameter combo for your set up. But they are worth the hunt. The 85mm exit & 88mm steering combo is the most popular.

There are other modifications that can obviously be done and will cost more. with possible higher maintenance. But will make the ski go faster and behave differently. But the items I've listed are all of the items I used on my '96 Sea Doo GSX when I first bought it in Aug. 1996. I gained low end torque, handling, better acceleration and the fun factor was much improved over stock. It is a very reliable set up and not too expensive to put together. You could install all of the items yourself with minimal tuning of the carbs due to the flame arrestor(s) and higher compression head.

 

[Matt Braley]

A lot of good info up there PnB.

I say buy a 35 dollar TTO tach or a 50 dollar Tiny Tach. That shows rpm as the engine runs and only requires wrapping a wire around a plug wire a couple of times. They also count engine hours and display them when the engine is not running. Now you can go play around on the ski and see how you like it and find out what parts you don't like about it. Get a good WOT(wide open throttle) run on some flat water and note your top rpm.

You should see 6800-6900ish rpm, VTS trimmed up with less then half a tank of fuel and a 200lb or less rider. If your not getting to that rpm quickly in an exhilarating, arm yanking fashion then you can dive into the reasons why. Any downsides of the overall experience can be addressed except it being tipsy when not under power when 2 people or an unbalanced person is on it.

Some folks like to spin 360's and do freestyle tricks while others like to be able to rip quick U-turns. If you want it to run on rails then sponsons would be your thing. RacerXXX makes nice new sets very reasonably if you PM him. If sliding around and pulling 360's/freestyle tricks is your thing then I would not get the aftermarket handling mods like sponsons, extended trim tabs, and intake grate. However since you mentioned rough water you'll probably want to try one or more of those.

 

[Flysooner9]

Thanks guys, I’ve ordered an intake grate for it to help with the rough water pick up. Will probably get that skat prop soon. The guy thought it had an aftermarket 17/32 on it but that sounds like way to high of a number. Will see how it rides when I get back from this work trip.

It has an aftermarket flame arrestor on it but hasn’t been rejetted. Might just buy an air box and put it back on. Are the jets easy to find and swap? I’ve rebuilt carbs but haven’t messed with jets.

 

[PorknBeans]

I would say with your current set up. Get a tach like Matty B. suggested. You can then see where your rpms are at with the current impeller. A Solas 16/23(leading/trailing edges) impeller is a nice replacement for the stock impeller. If you added some engine mods. You can pull the impeller out of the pump and have it repitched 1/2 of 1 degree. Effectively making it a 16.5*/23.5* for better acceleration and not to spin the stock or Solas 16/23 impeller because the engine mods will spin the engine and the impeller isn't matched to the power output.

Which flame arrestor do you have on it right now? Keeping an aftermarket flame arrestor will give better acceleration and better throttle response along with a higher compression head will = FUN! You could put a stock air box back on. It will require rewetting it to stock specs. Which might be what you already have in the carbs.

The jets are easy to find and swap out. A Mikuni SBN has 2 sides to it: a pump side and a control side. The jets are located on the control side of the carb. Just look at the side of the carb that looks like a "baseball diamond". Take a #2 philips screwdriver and pull the cover off. There is a "kidney bean" shaped cover that is held down by 2 philip's screws. Be careful NOT to strip these or any other screws. I use a Snap On #2 Philip's screwdriver to remove these screws. Because the Snap On tools just work right. And they fit perfectly into the screw heads. Place the carb on its side and press down onto the screw head so the tool doesn't strip it because the tool wasn't kept firmly into the screw. Once you remove the screws and lift out the "kidney bean" cover. VIOLIA! Main jet and Pilot jets are now on full display. Take a pocket slotted screwdriver and, again, press down on the flathead tool to keep it from lifting out of the slot. And turn the jet counterclockwise to remove the jet. The size of the opening(orifice) of the jet is stamped into the head of the jets. More specifically, stamped on the side of the head of the jet. They are hard to get to. But HOW you remove the cover(s) using the right sized tool matters.

Stock jetting for your ski is Main Jet - 142.5 with the Pilot Jet - 70.

 

[Flysooner9]

I ordered the 75 pilot jet to put in. Do I need the 2.0 N/S and 80gram springs also that I’ve seen mentioned in other threads or will just the 75 jet protect from running lean?

 

[Flysooner9]

Another question is the previous owner has it on pre mix but didn’t remove the oil pump. Just has the line from the oil filter to the pump removed and plugged. Is this ok or do I need to remove it and put a block off kit in?

 

[PorknBeans]

Good pick up on the intake grate. That'll help with rough water hook up and provide grip while turning like the R&D grate offers since it is designed to hang below the hull surface and sit deeper in the water to provide that grip. Other intake grates sit flat with the bottom of the hull so there isn't a loss of speed. Due to less drag in the water.

If you run a stock air box. Don't change the jets, spring or Needle/Seats. Leave the 70 Pilot jet installed. If running an aftermarket flame arrestor set up. Pull the 70 Pilot jet out and install the 75 Pilot jet. There isn't a need to change anything else like the N/S or the spring, if you run the stock carbs, head Leave the 1.5 N/S installed.

If the oil pump is still installed. But not being used. It's just fine to leave it in there. You can always reconnect it, if you decide to go back to oil injection. Otherwise, it's a personal choice to yank it and install a block off kit for a cleaner look. Just know that the mounting bolts might break off due to corrosion of those bolts.

The aftermarket impeller will not be a 17/32. It would be a 17/22. But certainly not a 17/32. The Solas XII impeller only goes as high as a 17.5/26.5 progressive pitched impeller. So I believe he is mistaken about the impeller pitch.

 

[Flysooner9]

So I’m having issues with it stumbling/bogging and even dieing when I go from idle to full throttle. Carbs have been rebuilt but I’m thinking either leaking N/S, LOw speed screw? Pop off was about 35 psi running KN filters. Starts and idles great. I have the 75 low jet in for the after market arrestor.

Possibly related but I also had the red battery light on the dash. Disconnected the red wire on the voltage regulator to see if there was a change and still bogged.

This is on the trailer in the water.

Any other ideas?

 

[POPPS]

Sounds like your popoff is too high,,,that 17/22 may be a little to steep,,,a great overall prop is a skat 16/24.

 

[PorknBeans]

You'll need to adjust the Low Speed screws in(clockwise) to slightly lean out the incoming fuel to the engine. You should also have 1.5 Needle/Seats installed and not 2.0 N/S. Bigger jets and/or N/S are used when mods are added to the engine to protect against lean seizures. Your Main jet should be 142.5 and the Pilot is the 75 jet.

With your ski tied down to your trailer. Back the ski down into the water about halfway in the water. Adjust the idle speed to 1,500 rpm in the water and both High Speed screws can be open 1/8 turn out and will be adjusted after the Low Speed screws are adjusted correctly. The Low Speed screws should be turned out(counterclockwise) about 1.25 turns. Start the ski, warm it up and blip the throttle and see if the engine bogs. If so, SLIGHTLY turn both Low Speed screws in to lean the fuel mixture. Blip the throttle again and see how the engine responds. Let the engine settle after each blip of the throttle to and continue adjusting until you achieve a crisp throttle response with no hesitation and higher rpm's are gained. Once you get the low speed adjusted correctly. Take the ski out for a ride and adjust the High Speed screws for throttle response from 3/4 throttle to wide open throttle(WOT) by opening the High Speed screws out so that WOT can be achieved without any hesitation.

 

[POPPS]

Great instructions/suggestions from PorknBeans.

 

[Flysooner9]

Ok I’ve got it running fairly well now. Did the “back to original” kit from OSD and that greatly help. Still need to tweak the low speed screw as there’s still just a tiny stutter when gassing it from idle. Now that I have that taken care of I’m back to looking at mods cause man that proposes horrible at speed.

Any idea where I can get an intake grate? Also when I rebuilt my pump I discovered I have the prop from the HX 11-24 I think.

 

[Whus02]

Trim tabs will help a lot with the porpoising. Make sure to get the 3° tabs or they will scrub a good amount of top speed.

I think you can get new worx intake grates still, they provide good hookup with almost no top speed loss. Jet Dynamics #17 (medium deep) or #6 (standard deep) are some of the best grates for hookup with a small top speed loss, but they are harder to find.