Carburetor Tuning
Bogging out of the hole is from being too rich. If you let of the gas and get right
back on throttle while moving @ plane speed, and there's a flat spot, that is a lean
condition. I have had the same problem and when I turn my high speed screw in it goes
away.
Better Center of Gravity
Get a sheet of rubber for under the gas tank, shorten the straps, and enjoy a lower
center
of gravity plus more room to work on things.
For Winter...
Wd-40 the entire engine compartment
StaBil fuel stabelizer
Remove Battery and store in warm dry place.
40:1 Oil ratio is 1 quart or 32 Oz. to every 10 gallons
Any TCW-3 Oil will work, you do NOT need to buy oil from the dealers.
Exxon SuperFlo 2 Cycle
Supreme oil for $7.99 a gallon,
Any TCW-3 Oil
Rooster Tail.
Get a copper 45 pipe solder a copper holder on it & install on your nozzle &
you have a rooster tail.
Best way to remove my old pads?
You will find the pads come right off the backing, but the glue sticks to the
ski and is very hard to remove. The 3m wheels are effective, but you will go
through two pads before you are done. Someone mentioned Lacquer thinner oin a
rag laid over the glue after the pads were totally ripped off. I tried it on a
650sx and it was effective. A sharp scraper got off 90%, and after
adhesive
remover got the rest.
The best stuff to buy is 3M Adhesive Remover. Its made for exactly this and
works excellently. I also use it to clean the surface when applying new decals.
Parts America has it, and many auto body supply shops have it. It is more
expensive than lacquer thinner, but it works better, leaves no film and has not
hurt any paint I've used it on.
Charcoal lighter fluid!
Primer kit install
Tee into the return line, the one that comes from the carb to the top
right of the gas tank. Your ski has dual carbs. You should put a primer
on both carbs, but your kit may only have enough nipples and plugs for
one carb.
Take the carbs off and remove the choke butterflys on both carbs. You
may have to grind the ends of the small screws holding the butterflys to
get them out. They are smashed so they won't come out if they do come
lose. Take the choke rod out, and the plug and nipple press in the choke
rod holes.
Sodium Chloride (Salt) is FULLY dissolved by genuine hosewater
If you hang the suit up and rinse it with freshwater and let it dry after
riding, you probably won't have to worry about cleaning it. If so, get a
good wetsuit shampoo from a dive shop and follow the directions.
Wetsuit Repair
To repair a small tear, get some wetsuit cement from a dive shop. It comes in
a small jar and is very durable. Also used for repairing small
cuts on side pads.
Impellers Explained
A pitch designation such as 14/18 indicates that the prop is basically
a "variable" pitch (angle) prop. The pitch (angle) varies from the leading
edge to the trailing edge. Two numbers to indicate degrees of each
blade in relation to an imaginary line perpendicular to the axis of the
prop itself. If you were to cut a variable pitch prop in two halves, front
the leading edge to the trailing edge, you would see that the blade is
actually curved instead of straight like props of yesteryear which were
typically single pitch props. By choosing a prop with a lower pitch
(i.e. a 13/17 vs. the 14/18) your craft will have more bottom end
(acceleration) and pulling power and you will typically loose some top
end speed. The opposite is true by selecting a prop with higher numbers.
Be careful, picking the wrong prop can kill your all around performance.
Painting
I would fill the nicks and scratches with Marine Tex or polyester resin.
That should do the trick. When I painted my old JS300 I used DuPont IMRON.
It's really one of the only paints that can stand being in the water all the
time. It is expensive, but I think it is worth it. Especially if you mess
up painting and get some runs. You can just let it dry, sand it smooth,
then buff it right out. You'll never see where the run was. Also you don't
have to clear coat it. Make sure you get the right IMRON primer for it.
DuPont recommends a certain one for plastic/fiberglass materials. I painted
mine two years ago and the paint still looks good. It is very durable. I
don't think it is a good idea to paint the bottom with it though. I'm not
sure what to use there. I did the sides of my hull with IMRON, but not the
running surface (bottom). I left that as is.
Hand Holds
Cut in the hand holds with a hole saw 1 13/16", made a slot about 3 3/4" in length 1 1/2" deep.
Then used the heat gun inside the hole to melt the foam just a little bit till it smoothed over.
Next I applied 3 layers of glass and resin, finished by sanding smooth.
You need to make sure you file the edges nice and round so that the edge doesn't cut you. I did a little with some 220 grit sand paper but not alot of sanding.
Still have to prime and paint.
Hull Repair
I know I'm about to be executed by the "hull truing and tuning" crowd, but
the following has kept my 440 looking good for 7 years now... The following
is a brief rant on fixing a fiberglass hull (as I imagine yours is?)....
* Empty/remove the fuel tank, and then roll the boat over so it's easier to
work on its belly. (If you attempt to work on the boat the right way up,
you get all sorts of interesting fiberglass 'stalactites' which are a
bastard to sand off!)
* Sand the afflicted area(s) _heavily_ with coarse sandpaper. Sand the
damaged areas right back to the solid material, ensuring that there will be
no air pockets or regions that may have had water in them when you re-epoxy
the sanded area. A knife is useful to clean up deep groove scratches
without having to sand away half the hull.
* "Box" in the area to be repaired with masking tape, just as if you were
concreting. Those fiberglass dribbles are bastards! (Noticing a hidden
message?)
* Now the messy/fun part! For any scratches larger than a few mm across,
you will have to reinforce your repair with glass matting. Cruise down to
the local hardware shop, and pick up some polyester resin (and the
associated hardener) and some glass mat. For small hull repairs, I've found
that the 'regular weave' mat is _much_ easier to handle than the 'random
fibre stuff. Grab heaps of mat (it's really cheap), as it allows for heaps
of mistakes... You should walk away from the hardware shop with change out
of $20...
* Now, BEFORE opening the resin tin and getting coated in sticky goo, cut
out bits of mat that will fit in your sanded/cleaned out hull areas. For
regions that have been lowered by sanding, plan to raise them back up with
several layers of matting. Don't panic about being exact here, as you can
always sand your work back, or add extra layers of mat if you find you
haven't added enough at a later stage.
* The actual art of fiber glassing will come to you with practice, but fear
not - I am an uncoordinated spastic when it comes to using my hands... it
just goes to show that anyone can do it! A few tips though...
- Mix up the resin and the hardener as directed on your tub of resin.
Follow the instructions to the letter! If your work takes two weeks to
harden fully or cracks and crazes as you work, then you've done something
wrong. I've been here too... just sand it back and start again!
- Wet the surface of the hull with resin before applying the mat - It makes
it easier to get the air bubbles out.
- On air bubbles, slowly lay the matting onto the wet surface (on an angle)
to allow the air to escape as you go. Don't continue if you've left air
bubbles... squeeze them our, or rip up the matting just laid, (get a new
one) and start again.
- Don't wear gloves. Yeah, it's really messy, but I find it's easier for
the novice to do a better job without them.
- Get someone else to cut up the matting if you need more once you've
commenced work... that resin is so sticky!
* Let the resin set (with spiky bits of mat protruding and all) You can
sand any blemishes/matting bits out easily at the end. Leave it to set for
as long as possible - at least a day.
* If the next day you spring out of bed to check on your masterpiece and
find it's still sticky, then leave it! It will set (it just might take a
week)...
* If it's all nicely set, but there's a big fat air bubble under a layer of
matting, then the easiest way to get rid of it is to drill a hole into the
bubble (in two places) and syringe (or squeeze in with your finger) some
more resin. Let it set, problem solved!
* You _will_ have to sand your work back to achieve a nice finish at then
end, but you can minimize the required elbow grease by being as neat as you
can as you go. Aim to have a thickish layer of resin on top of your repair
at the end, so that you can sand back into this region to bring your work in
line with the original hull shape. It is best if you do not expose any of
the fibers of the glass mat when you are doing the finishing sand.
Actually, if you do, keep sanding, and fill the small depression with resin
only. This stops water from wicking along the glass mat and lifting off
your (beautiful) repair.
* Finish the job with a really fine grade of paper. You can now stand back
and admire your handiwork for any flaws. If you're happy with it, grab a
can of enamel spray paint ($3 from the hardware shop again) and squirt away.
Apply at least two coats for a really neat looking job.
One fixed ski for the sake of $20 and a weekend's part-time work.
As you get more adventurous, you can tackle larger jobs such as splits and
holes in the hull, but it's just easier not to let your mates ride your ski
Steering Cable
"So, I snapped my steering cable (I'm pretty sure) on my 96 sxi. Where should I look to find a new one and is there anyone who can give me an overview of replacing it?"
You can get one from Kawasaki or a variety of other places you see in magazine
ads..Replacing it can take an hour or two the first time. You will have to remove your exhaust pipe first, then gas/oil tanks. Undo the hose clamps towards the filler tube and the plastic part that actually holds the threaded filler cap on (phillips screws you can see when you take the gas cap cover off). This is a good time to clean out your tank. You have to remove the turnplate cover to take one end off. You'll have to remove your rideplate. You will need a large open end wrench or crow's foot to undo the stern grommet assembly. Be sure to note where the O ring is and replace it with a smear of fresh white grease. You will have to re-use your ball end fittings on each end. You'll probably end up with two extra stainless steel nuts from the old one. You will have to undo the zip tie on the big silicone grommet at the handlepole hinge. You also have to undo a hanger right up by the turnplate where the cable snaps into two grooves. This isn't a really hard job, but take your time. It's good to have help feeding towards the back. The next time you will do it, it will be
an easy job.
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