Picked up the new Sportster 150 today! (Aus)

[mrtockley]

As the title says, I just picked up my '05 Sportster today. It's got approx 80 hours on it (215) and had a S/C rebuild in 2010, so I'm assuming that the ceramic washers would have been replaced with steel ones. I've just ordered some Hydroturf, but was wondering what other owners from Aus have done in the way of cheapish bolt on upgrades to get a little bit more power? I'm thinking possibly new intake / exhaust or even new S/C unit, but all of the U.S sites have part numbers etc for the Jet Skis and don't seem to have too much info for the boats. Has anyone ordered upgrades and willing to point me in the right direction?

Cheers,

Kris.

 

[Dr Honda]

First... congrats on the boat.


Second... DO NOT ASSUME IT HAS STEEL WASHERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Ceramic washers were supposed to come in the 2008 boats... but we have verification of 2009 boats with them. Also... just because the SC was rebuilt/serviced... the dealer could have put ceramic washers in it... if that's what they had on the shelf. The Ceramic washers are known to fail with as low as 20 hr's on them... and THEY WILL kill the engine if they give out.

So... pull the supercharger and look. The ceramic washers are a gray/green color... and the steel will be metallic. If you are unsure... an easy swipe of a file on the side will tell you. The tool steel washer will let the file bite... the ceramic will not even scratch.


Third... You won't find any real "Mods" targeted to the boats. They drop reliability, and you really won't "Feel" an improvement. you could spend $4000 and only gain 4~5 mph. With that said... the boats share the same parts... so the aftermarket parts will normally work.


I'm not trying to be harsh... I'm just trying to bluntly honest so you don't waste $$$$$.

Put in the Hydroturf... and go enjoy the boat.

Oh... and finally... post some pics. :thumbsup:

 

[mrtockley]

Ok thanks for the advice! I've never pulled a charger out before, is it easy to do? Is changing the washers hard and or expensive?

 

[moochy]

Nice. Buy, where in AUS are you?

 

[mrtockley]

In Melbourne near the Frankston area.

 

[moochy]

That makes 2 of us I'm in carrm dwns

 

[mrtockley]

Have you taken yours to the Carrum water sports center yet?

 

[moochy]

Nope haven't been their yet. Would be good on a windy day though

 

[mrtockley]

Hopefully taking the boat there in a few days.

 

[mrtockley]

Should I be able to start the boat dry? I tried to crank it over tonight and it just started clicking like the starter didn't have enough juice. I put a booster pack on the battery and it made the same noise only a little louder. Every time I tried to start it, the gauges would go crazy then set back to 0 (analogue dash). I spoke to the previous owner and he said to try and start it in water?

 

[moochy]

Make sure your dess key is giving 4 quick beeps prior to start, you might also have it in Forward. Boat needs to be started in neutral. If your starting out of the water hook up a hose to the bib at the back of the jet assembly.

Then as follows.
Engine on
Water on
Water off/ake hose off boat
Few big revs to push out water
Engine off.

 

[mrtockley]

Make sure your dess key is giving 4 quick beeps prior to start, you might also have it in Forward. Boat needs to be started in neutral. If your starting out of the water hook up a hose to the bib at the back of the jet assembly.

Then as follows.
Engine on
Water on
Water off/ake hose off boat
Few big revs to push out water
Engine off.

Yeah it beeps twice to let me know the dess has accepted. Then after a little while it constantly gives me 4 quick beeps every few seconds. I triple checked its in neutral but it won't kick over. I just wanted to make sure it started and ran for a few seconds and was going to switch it off but it won't even fully crank.

 

[moochy]

2 beeps mans something's not right even if 4 beeps come after it, someone here will have the troubleshooting codes if you dont have a manual

 

[mrtockley]

Yeah I was just looking at the manual. 2 short beeps means that everything is correct so I'm leaning towards a dud battery.

 

[chucked]

Yes, sounds like a bad battery.

 

[mrtockley]

I'm looking at a new Marine battery with 750CCA and 100AH. That should hopefully be enough to save any further battery issues.

 

[moochy]

Looking in the bay of my boat now I have a rocket global battery CCA730 RC160. Pn. SMF M27-860
.
Got it from hall rd fishing shop around $260 from memory.

I have the same battery but a but smaller that I will be putting in as a dual setup.

 

[mrtockley]

Just picked up a Century - think MP720. 720CCA and 100 Amp Hours for $199 at BFC

 

[moochy]

Nice one, did it fix the problem?

 

[mrtockley]

I haven't put it in yet. I'll let you know in an hour or so

 

[moochy]

Any luck with the new battery?

 

[mrtockley]

Nah it was too big for the battery holder! I ended up getting a cheap charger and left it on all night and it started this morning. Took the boat out this arvo and it hasn't had any dramas so far.

 

[moochy]

Nice one, how was carrum on such a windy day?

 

[mrtockley]

Nice one, how was carrum on such a windy day?

Ended up going down to Lake Eppalock and just got back today. It was nice and warm and the water wasn't too choppy. Did have some drama's though. On the way up, I clipped a fire extinguisher that some wanker had left on the Bolte bridge and couldn't get over far enough cos there was truck right next to me. It clipped the right trailer rim and bent it letting some air down in the process. I managed to pull over and bang it back into shape but the hit made an egg in the tire. So it looks like I'm after 2 new rims and tires now. Anyone now a good cheap place in Aus for trailer rims and tires? The trailer is an American trailer so the wheels and tire sizes are weird, but I think they are 5 stud on 4 1/2, 12" rims with 5.3 " tires.

On the way back, I realized that I forgot to fold the bimini away and found out the hard way that it can't handle 100 kays an hour while still up I feel like an idiot but that's boating and I've never had a bimini so I forgot all about it. Are the bimini cover's expensive ? It's the bimini on the wake tower.

Tried to upload a pic but it's got some sort of error. Is 2.25 meg too big ?

 

[Macster]

I upgraded the stock trailer wheels with bigger wheels. Although the Speedster and trailer is probably about one tonne, that's still quite a lot of weight for biscuit tyres. You won't be able to fit larger wheels under the mud guards unless you either:

1. put a spacer between the trailer chassis and the mudguard (thereby raising them). I just used cut pieces of wood or
2. reposition your trailer axel to be below the leaf springs instead of on top. This requires no new parts just some locktite for when you do the ubolts back up.

I had a 4wd so option 2 actually raised the boat trailer to about the same height as my lifted 4wd, but you could run into problems if you have a lower car.

Lastly, I got three rims and tyres (Ford pattern from memory) for $180 second hand from a tyre dealer. If you can't afford to buy a trailer spare wheel mount, just carry the third wheel in your boot.