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So I might buy a 96 sportster

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Mekanix

Mekanix

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Going to look at a 96 sportster for 1200$ including trailer.

Story goes:

Owner didn't winterize and start of last year.
Tried to start it and noticed the jugs had cracked. Then brought it to a dealer...

Well 14 months later dealer hasn't touched it and he wants to cut his losses.

In that time the Owner bought a:

Crank, Used from ebay but apparently in perfect condition :P
Haven't seen it myself so who knows but it was oem.
The original one was "gritty" from rust but it did run like that :P

WSM regular top end piston and gasket kit and some stock bore jugs.

So all I would have to do is remove/rebuild the engine and it should be all that is needed.

I'm supposed to go look at it soon. What should I look for ?

Also. I'm used to the 720 in the 00 GS but I have a hard time seeing how it could push a boat :P
What is it like with a single engine pushing one of these ?

thanks
 
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If you consider you are buying a boat hull with a bunch of extra parts and a trailer; sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Obviously, the hull condition is key; but if the seats happen to be in good condition, they are worth half the asking price by themselves.
It is the smallest engine they used in that boat but they did use that motor in their boats all the way into 2002.
At roughly 85hp it will be a nice joy rider and it will pull a tuber or a skier (with 2 skis).
Depends on what you plan to do with it.
If you are doing the work yourself, you are going to have roughly $2200 to $2400 into it once rebuilt and you will know what is in it.
It would be slim pickings to buy something good to go in that ballpark cost; even then compression is all you would know about the engine.
 
Thanks for the info.
I had doubts that it could move more than its self :P
What kind of speed is it capable of ?


I Saw it today and the upholstry is intact but mildew everywhere and on the wheel. Ew!

The bottom of the hull has a waterline stain that might be difficult to remove.

The engine compartment is good and clean.

Pars included are:

Engine, Nice but apart and covered in the hull.
WSM top end piston/gasket kit
2 more base gaskets (no idea why)
4 cylinders ( two are cracked but easily repairable
4 more EICO oem pistons in excelent shape.
crank and rotary seal's
Crank I haven't seen yet but it looked like it was well packaged.
Carbs have new kits in them as well.
New key,
new battery,
life jackets, moors...

Trailer looks good, and as far as I can tell only needs one bearing budy for inspection and I'll probably do the bearings anyways.

for 1200 total that's not too shabby I'd say :)

No idea how much it will take though to get it all done.

One thing I did notice is that the arm on the reverse gate that connects to the cable broke off.

Will the plastic gate from a GTX fit on there? I might have to shim it out to avoid the nozzle but will it bolt to that pump?
 
40mph with a normal load and tank of gas is realistic and plenty fast on the water for most.
Twin Engine models on the same era didn't do a whole lot better (+5 to 8 mph) due to the weight factor; however, the hole shot and recovery after a high speed turn with the twins is noticeably better.

I am one of those that likes the simplistic part of the single NA engine setup over the speed of the twin engines.
 
Cool. More than fast enough.

What about the reverse gate question I had?
Should I replace with plastic or fix the original?
 
I bet you can't get the OEM gate so if you make a jetski one work why not. You can get the cables from SBT they are like $100. I have a dual engines but in a 18' boat and it does about the same speed as yours. Only the 14' with dual engines moved really good. The only thing I worry about is the crank in the whole deal you have. Personally I would have the rebuilt if budget allows or send the engine out to get all done for you. Either way if you try it and the engine fails you are looking a about $900 to get it done. Maybe more since you are in Canada and you might have taxes and crap..
 
I don't about the reverse gate issue; I typically opt for OE unless it simply is not available.
The reverse gate on the boats tend to get more abuse (due to weight when bumping anything) than a ski; my guess would be that the metal is there for a reason.
 
The cable survived, its the arm that it attaches to on the scoop that broke off. Looks like I can fab a piece for that though although I'd rather just do the swap since I'll have the pump out anyways.
I'm waiting for it to be delivered to my place on Saturday so I'm planning ahead.

I'd rather my own build with the right parts to be honest over the rebuilds. I think I'd pay more attention to detail and have the piece of mind knowing whats in there :)

How long can something like this operate at full power or is there anything I should know about how it handles ?
 
Is this the part? There are some on Ebay new. It's actually at the dealer I bought my Speedster from in 99. Or maybe Nick's bro has one used for cheap.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271000382-s..._Watercraft_Parts&hash=item3393573a5f&vxp=mtr


271000382

94.jpg
 
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That's exactly what it is :) I was just about to find a piece of metal to make that out of.
 
Pic's



004.jpg002.jpg

It's not that nice right now but hopefully I can celan it back to this condition.

Whats the best for removing mildew and cleaning vinyl?
I was thinking majic errasor and spraynine or super clean for the harder stuff.
 
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Star brite make a mildew and stain remover, and it works great. My bro in law said he had used some mildew and stain remover from Wal-Mart and it works great and is like 3 bucks instead of 12.



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racerxxx said:
Star brite make a mildew and stain remover, and it works great. My bro in law said he had used some mildew and stain remover from Wal-Mart and it works great and is like 3 bucks instead of 12.



Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Good call on sourcing that cleaner from Wal-Mart, Ocean Bio-Chem packages most of the Starbright product line and also offers the same products for private label bottling and sales.

Exact same stuff, I buy non skid deck cleaner there for a fraction of the SB labeled bottle price.
 
Mekanix said:
I'd rather my own build with the right parts to be honest over the rebuilds. I think I'd pay more attention to detail and have the piece of mind knowing whats in there :)

How long can something like this operate at full power or is there anything I should know about how it handles ?
Click to expand...

The self build was certainly the intent of my post; no one will treat your stuff the same as you will. In my case, I would most likely overkill and take too long but I would know what I had.

As far as full power...it is basically a large jet ski, keep it lubed and cooled and you are good to go.
That said, I typically wouldn't run any engine at 6000 to 7000 rpms for a prolonged time frame.
Of course long periods of extreme high RPMs are the norm for race engines; however, engine rebuilds after/before each race is too.

It will handle similar to any small boat in the straight runs but with far more maneuverability in turns.
It is small so you are going the feel waves and even chop. It is a fun ride but don't expect it to always be dry (spray and splash is normal).
The impeller spins one direction so the reverse takes getting use to as the steering direction is opposite to a outboard or reverse spinning prop.
 
Thanks for the tips :)


Can I change the hood ? I'd like to use a 3 gauge hood if possible. Or maybe make one that will hold a 3 gauge GTX cluster :)
 
Its new to me. I usually don't leave my machines alone long enough.

I do find that washing and waxing once in a while helps keep the body clean.

But for the vinyl I've been using SPF 60 sun tan lotion. Its been keeping the material flexible and keeps the sun from fading it. Plus its not fading or showing any signs of mildew growing on it :)

I'm hopping that when its clean I can use the lotion and keep them clean like the seadoo's.
 
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Yes, I've been using baby oil on my vinyl for years although I really don't know if it does harm or not. Keeping the boat dry inside (uncovered) and under roof is the best way to avoid mildew although dust can settle on the interior. I also use a car duster with bees wax cords to wipe the seats and of course water with sponge if they're filthy nasty.

The worst thing you can do here is cover a boat that has pollen all over the interior then set it outdoors in the weather, guaranteed nasty mildew!

I do cover the boat in winter, while it sets under a dry roof.
 
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I wonder if there is some sort of desicant that could help when its covered for storage.

all mine are outside. Not much of a choice for me, but I try to keep them covered and insulated top and bottom and then cover what I can with black pallet wrap. I find that it will withstand the weather and keep the moisture out.
 
Yes, your weather is a bit different from ours perhaps not as challenging, hard to say. On warm humid days moisture absorbs into the boat interior and as the temperature cools at night the moisture condensates onto the surfaces. Basically, the boat never can dry out inside. Add any amount of dust, especially pollen, and instant mildew!

Some people like to wrap their boat in the shrink wrap for winter and this has vent cups attached to allow some breathing, seems to help and much better than no breathing(so often a huge mess).

I think if I was storing covered outdoors I would consider an electric fan for ventilation, perhaps solar powered like the ones often used to ventilate cars in Arizona heat while sitting in parking lots. These are attached to the top edge of roll up windows. Not sure exactly how it could be integrated into a boat cover but I bet you can think of a way! Heck, maybe someone sells them for boats! I should look.

I'm not a big fan of desiccant, I don't think it has enough capacity.

I'm not kidding man, you should see my car that sits under a roof. I haven't washed it yet this year and it's covered with mildew.
 
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