Well ladies and gentleman I just got back from Puddinstone Lake, finally got the chance to take my new 2011 Speedster 150, naturally aspirated 155hp. I took possession this past Monday 7-9-2012, without test driving it. It was a leftover nonsold 2011, it was actually exactly what I was looking for, I wanted an unsold one because they always discount them, and usually offer extra incentives such as an extended warranty (3 years in my case), thousands of dollars in discount, and an awesome interest rate (and luckily no money down as well). So I got all those incentives, sacrificing of course the 2012 badge and new redesign instrument cluster which I was willing to do.
Before I continue let me start by saying that I currently own a 1995 Sea Doo Sportster, 657x 85hp. I owned it for 3 years, it was a cool project. I just sold it on eBay on Friday.
Now back to my new boat, I'm betting you want to know, I took videos of me launching the boat, so I will be posting those up as well. Well launching the boat was a breeze, loved it, I love these small boats because they are so easy to maneuver. Of course I turned it on for 10 seconds before backing up the boat in the water (something I learned to do with my 95 Sportster).
First thing I noticed, and of course I loved was that it turned on instantly, I'm kinda glad I didn't have to take the sparks plugs out, turnover the engines for a bit, and throw starter fluid in the holes. Wow, I'm not sure if I ever have to do that to this new one, but I was great not having to do that.
I turned it on while on the trailer, put it in reverse, and voila there I went, it was fast, so I had to be careful. My girlfriend parked my truck, and I idled around the lake to get the juices going while I waited for her to come down.
Im going to tell you right of the bat, that it felt soooooo much like my current boat. To be perfectly honest, I felt that my 95 sportster was faster, Im not sure if it's because it's that sweet sound of the 2 stroke engine revving up that I love, plus the smell of the 2 stroke engine mix of the fuel, lol.
I was told in the manual that I can't go full throttle to 7400 rpm while on the breakin period so I didn't. Also I noticed this boat has a cool digital display, AND computer that I bet can record error codes and etc.. So I was trying to be cool with the engine while breaking it in.
I tell you one cool feature it has it tells you in what depth of water your in, so you can be aware of when to turn it on. I think thats cool. It's like a built in depth finder!
Also I LOVE THE NEW NEUTRAL LOCK SYSTEM. I videotaped it, its unbelievable, I loved it, on my 95 sportster of course it's not going to have that cool feature, the feature is that when you put it on neutral in the middle of the lake, some kind of computer keeps the boat intact in one place. (so no going forward in neutral, or reverse for that matter). It's not perfect, but it was pretty dam cool, specially if you want to lounge somewhere and throw your anchor out. I loved it.
The fastest I took the boat was only 33 miles per hour, at 6800 rpm, but I noticed it getting faster the more I used it. The speed limit is only 35' its a small lake, and there were a lot boats out with skiers, so to be perfectly honest i couldnt get a good top speed, plus remember im still breaking the boat in.
Fuel consumption is amazing, I had a full tank when we got to the lake at 3 pm, left at 6:45, and all I used was a quarter of a tank of gas. I don't know how much fuel is good, but I read some horror stories here, so I only used like $12 of gas... That's cheap!
It was a pretty good day, no issues whatsoever, except one thing, but it was my error, when I beached it to go swimming at the beach area, we came back and the boat wouldn't start, we got worried, pull the manual out, and I was getting one long beep, I was reading and reading, it said that it wasn't on neutral, I put it on forward, reverse, neutral a couple of times, didn't work, I already pushed the boat out and we got worried so we threw the anchor out. Then I tried again, read the manual again, then there it was, did I put my key all the way in? Lol... Did that and started right away.
So bottom line, it didn't feel that much different than my old rig, but of course this new one with the radio, mp3 hookup, Sirius radio, made the difference. I felt that 95 sportster has more room inside too.. ? So go figure. All in all I really liked my new boat, easy to launch, easy to retrieve, the ride was awesome, depth finder, and neutral lock was really cool, swim platform, rear ladder. I think I made the right choice..
Thanks for reading!
Before I continue let me start by saying that I currently own a 1995 Sea Doo Sportster, 657x 85hp. I owned it for 3 years, it was a cool project. I just sold it on eBay on Friday.
Now back to my new boat, I'm betting you want to know, I took videos of me launching the boat, so I will be posting those up as well. Well launching the boat was a breeze, loved it, I love these small boats because they are so easy to maneuver. Of course I turned it on for 10 seconds before backing up the boat in the water (something I learned to do with my 95 Sportster).
First thing I noticed, and of course I loved was that it turned on instantly, I'm kinda glad I didn't have to take the sparks plugs out, turnover the engines for a bit, and throw starter fluid in the holes. Wow, I'm not sure if I ever have to do that to this new one, but I was great not having to do that.
I turned it on while on the trailer, put it in reverse, and voila there I went, it was fast, so I had to be careful. My girlfriend parked my truck, and I idled around the lake to get the juices going while I waited for her to come down.
Im going to tell you right of the bat, that it felt soooooo much like my current boat. To be perfectly honest, I felt that my 95 sportster was faster, Im not sure if it's because it's that sweet sound of the 2 stroke engine revving up that I love, plus the smell of the 2 stroke engine mix of the fuel, lol.
I was told in the manual that I can't go full throttle to 7400 rpm while on the breakin period so I didn't. Also I noticed this boat has a cool digital display, AND computer that I bet can record error codes and etc.. So I was trying to be cool with the engine while breaking it in.
I tell you one cool feature it has it tells you in what depth of water your in, so you can be aware of when to turn it on. I think thats cool. It's like a built in depth finder!
Also I LOVE THE NEW NEUTRAL LOCK SYSTEM. I videotaped it, its unbelievable, I loved it, on my 95 sportster of course it's not going to have that cool feature, the feature is that when you put it on neutral in the middle of the lake, some kind of computer keeps the boat intact in one place. (so no going forward in neutral, or reverse for that matter). It's not perfect, but it was pretty dam cool, specially if you want to lounge somewhere and throw your anchor out. I loved it.
The fastest I took the boat was only 33 miles per hour, at 6800 rpm, but I noticed it getting faster the more I used it. The speed limit is only 35' its a small lake, and there were a lot boats out with skiers, so to be perfectly honest i couldnt get a good top speed, plus remember im still breaking the boat in.
Fuel consumption is amazing, I had a full tank when we got to the lake at 3 pm, left at 6:45, and all I used was a quarter of a tank of gas. I don't know how much fuel is good, but I read some horror stories here, so I only used like $12 of gas... That's cheap!
It was a pretty good day, no issues whatsoever, except one thing, but it was my error, when I beached it to go swimming at the beach area, we came back and the boat wouldn't start, we got worried, pull the manual out, and I was getting one long beep, I was reading and reading, it said that it wasn't on neutral, I put it on forward, reverse, neutral a couple of times, didn't work, I already pushed the boat out and we got worried so we threw the anchor out. Then I tried again, read the manual again, then there it was, did I put my key all the way in? Lol... Did that and started right away.
So bottom line, it didn't feel that much different than my old rig, but of course this new one with the radio, mp3 hookup, Sirius radio, made the difference. I felt that 95 sportster has more room inside too.. ? So go figure. All in all I really liked my new boat, easy to launch, easy to retrieve, the ride was awesome, depth finder, and neutral lock was really cool, swim platform, rear ladder. I think I made the right choice..
Thanks for reading!
, has to fill up twice in 5 hours! ouch! its like a 40 gallon tank..