Got Another Deal!!!! Any Jet Ski Mechanics in the house?

Well I ended up buying my wife a 1996 Yamaha GP760 Jet Ski two weeks ago. Premo condition, low hours... $1500. We both like it so much that I decide that I would buy another one. Little bigger... for me. So I stared trolling craigslist. This past Friday I ran across a decent buy. A 2000 Yamaha GP1200 Jet Ski + a 1995 yamaha GP700 Jet Ski, on a NICE heavy duty double trailer for $2000. Yeah I know... Too good to be true.... But it was true. Guy was the owner. Had all the paperwork etc.... So I bought them. They had not been ran in 2yrs. Had set up and gotten quite dirty... Well I started out by cleaning them up. I dont like working on dirty crap. So after cleaning the piss out of them, I started going thru them. I took the plugs out, Fogged the cylinders, and put new plugs back in. I also Gave the carbs a good soaking with Amsoil Power Foam Carb cleaner. PUt fresh gas and a new fuel filter in it too. Let it sit for a while then tried to crank them one at a time. The 700 Fired right off. Ran like a singer sewing machine. The 1200 finally started turning over once I figured the security code out for the damn thing. It was slow to crank, but finally started running. Really rough at first, then It slowly started lining its self out. To the point I was ready to back them into the water and see if they would pump water. They both did. Ran them both for 10 minutes or so. 700 ran perfect. 1200 was bogging/missing a little. They sat over night in the drive way. The next morning they both fired off and seemed to idle much better. So I took them out. Ran the 1200 for about 45 minutes. After that, it started missing. So I tied it off to the pontoon boat and drug it back. The 700 ran like a scalded ape.

Got around to messing with the 1200 today. Decided to check the plugs. Front two were a little wet/oily. That normal on a 2 stroke? I had ran it for a minute or so to see if the miss was still there. Took the back plug out and the tip was bent down toward the electrode. The GAP was paper thin.... I dont recall eyeballing that new plug before I put it in. The other two I did. I would think that It would have ran like crap from the get go if the plug was like that. I swear I see a mark on that cylinders piston.... So I put a new plug in. Cranked up. Was kinda hard to start just like it was prior to the lake run. Seemed to run fine. Was idling better etc... My quiestion is this.... What the hell could have caused the Spark plug damage? The only thing I can think off is slop/wear in the crank? Why did/does it seem so random? Running fine now etc.... Just trying to figure things out. I am not a 2 stroke person.

I got a hell of deal. The GP1200 sells for $3600 used around here. This one only has 120hrs on it. After seeing the 700 run, my father in law bought it for 800 bucks. So I have 1200 tied up in a 2000 Yamaha GP1200 and a Nice double trailer. Cant beat that. IF I have to put a new motor in it... Im still money ahead. At least then I will know what I have. Here are a few pics. Let me know what you think? Deal? Any input on the plug issue?

More toys Clay. Can never have enough.

Clay,
The 701, that's really what it is, will run forever, it is the most reliable pwc motor Yamaha ever made. A lot of rental companies still use the XL700 even though they quit making them in 03, they run forever. See my avaitar, that's my XL700. The GP12 on the other hand, was plauged with problems. The rear-cylinder runs hot and is subject to failure with out a dual-cooling set-up, whereas you tap the head and jet-pump and run another cooling line to it. I'd get a compression guage and see what you have there. I'd bet the rear-is low. Even a finger over the plug-hole can give you a little test. Check how it blows off your thumb compared to the front ones.......It will be weak I bet.

Be forwarned tho, the Raider 700 hull has some very, very bad traits. if you cross a boat wake or wave not square, at high-speed, it will spit you off and you won't know what happened , you will go one way and it will go another. Yamaha only made that hull for a couple of years for that reason.

And you can get a short-block for the 1200 from http://www.sbtontheweb.com/index.htm I'm pretty sure that one is a non-pv (Power-Valve) the pv motors were worse than the non...
Great prices, good warranty. Been there, done that. I had the exact 1200 and after 2 motors, I gave up..............The 760 is the same bottom-end as the 700, good motor too!!! If your wife gets tired of the bouncing GP760, it cavitates badly, buy some hull extensions for it, that will stop it from bouncing.

Sorry to keep adding on here, but your bringing back my past history with PWC's, it's making me dig back in the old mind, things I haven't thought about in about 10 years. Which is kinda cool tho.

Ok, some old-school stuff-

1976 Kawasaki JS-440, I did all the paint-work, this was from, I think 1980....



1988 JS-550 I think from about 92



Can't remember PJS ,race-ski, the hull was carbon-fibre!!!



1996 760 Waveblaster, great surf-boat!!!!!!!!!!!

Cool. I think you have convinced me to sell the 1200. I posted if for 2500 10 minutes ago and already got an offer of 2k. I have found a 1999 700XL that I might just buy. Are the Seadoos and good? With a Rotax motor. Or are the Yamahas a better machine?

Wow Pate, you're OLD.

Good luck on your sell/purchase, Clay!

Clay depends on what year Sea-Dog. Stay away from the 96 thru, I think 99 RAVE Motors, They are problematic big-time too. I personally won't have anything but a Yamaha.