Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

......... ~ _ Jet Ski Super slides and big blue berms By Brad Zimmerman Okay, so aJet Ski isn't a motorcycle - but it's the only thing you'll ever be able to fall off all day long without suffering strawberries on your elbows and dust in your ears. You just mention those advantages to a motorcycle rider and his ears perk right up. The Jet Ski is a product of the green wizards over in the Kawasaki building. It's driven by a 44Ccc engine (the same powerplant used in Malibu Grand Prix cars but with a water cooling system) and is thrusted forward in the water by a jet-drive system (which means Uncle Fred can't chop off his fingers 'cause there's no prop). The gas tank ·holds a little over three gallons of pre-mix so you can ride for a good hour on a tank of gas - it burns fuel just a little quicker than your average din bike. The Jet Ski has an electric staner and a hand pull choke. Just pitch it in water six inches or deeper, yank the choke, hit the starter and the gas at the same time and you're off - for about three feet - then you fall down. Lots. Often. You see, riding a Jet Ski isn't at all like a bike. It's not like hang gliding, roller skating, surfing, bowling, cribbage or sex. It isn't like anything else at all. To get underway with a Jet Ski you lay down in the gunnel (fancy Jet Skiish term for hull) on your stomach and turn the throttle wide open. As the ski picks up and planes in the water you pull yourself up inside and you're on your way. As you go along you'll learn how to keep your balance enough to stand up. People who constantly kneel, instead of stand in their Jet Skis are booed and hissed at by veteran Skiers. Steering is accompliahed with the throttle, body english, and by turning the handlebars. When you turn to go right, you have to pitch the bars towards the right, lean to the left, but suppon your weight on the opposite foot and hang in there. It sounds complicated, but after about your 20th try, it all clicks together and your brain says "okay, I get it now." It's like riding a bicycle. Nobody forgets how to fall off. Or how not to. The tightness of your tum is decided by the amount of body english and throttle you use. Full throttle full lock slides get you skimming and skipping across the water sideways until you build up a water berm, and use that .iust like a din berm to carve through _ .. - ~ ... the water and change direction. The rear of the ski will smacll into the berm, slow the ski for a moment, then come back out of the berm·in what can only be called a water wheelie, with the front ~~ ~gh in the air. For the IIigbtly squeamish, safe wide gradual tums are accompliahed by sIi~tly backing off the throttle. WIthin a couple of hours, you can get it licked, and the fun stans. The things that you can do with a Jet Ski are astounding. 1£ you think motor· cycles are neat to pitch around - you gorta try this. Like to jump your motorcycle? Get airborne long enough to shake up your lowtt end bearinga? There's wave after wave out in the ocean. Jump on the ski, head right at the face of the wave and charge up the front. When you get to the crest - there's nothing on the other side but air. The average drop from a wave with a Jet Ski is at least four feet. If you're independently crazy, you can top the 20 foot marker of "Me and my Jet Ski" flight with bigger waves. We know a' couple of deranged gents who regularly launch their skis off the water ski ramps. We haven't tried it. We're not going to. Nothing, not even the peristyle jump at the Superbowl can simulate the feeling you get in your stomach as you fall through the air with a gOO pound ski below you, looking at the next wave and figuring how to get the most air from that onel It's definitely bizarre. And the best pan is that it's safe. Each of us who jumped on the Jet Ski must have bailed at least a hundred times. Endos, slide-outs, high-sides you name it, we did it. And never got hun. Wearing a life preserver kept the air-gulping end out of the water. A wet suit was plenty comfonable, even in 40 degree ocean water. And the Jet Ski, as soon as you bail off, drops the throttle down to idle and makes a sweeping circle, coming back to pick you up and stan all over again. Once we found out that you couldn't get hurt, the fun really started_ We were doing wide open full lock clickers just to see how far we could go. before a high side that pitched you a good 20 feet downstream. We discovered ocean ships that had giant wakes, great for crashing through like they were whoop-deedoos. We could strafe fIShing boats, do horrible looking, but completely safe, crashes right in front of sea-side restaurants. We checked out fallen skiers (especially the women) and even towed a sailboat out of some muck in a harbor. Suprisingly, the Jet Ski will get your blood pressure up with a minimum of fuss. It only goes g5mph at best on smooth water, but it's plenty fast enough to form a great basis during a marathon bench racing session. Like anything else that motorcycle people buy, there are guys around who can trick out your Jet Ski. Accessories you'll have to nab down are life preservers (about $gO), and if you want comfon a wet suit (about $50). You can use the same gas cans as the ones for your bike, the ski will fit in your van, mini-pick up or can be- put on a motorcycle trailer. A brand new Jet Ski will cost you about $2400. About the same price as a new motorcycle. And the prices for used skis in the classified ad sections are tempting. We guarantee that you'll get your money's worth. A Jet Ski can duplicate just about anything you can do on a bike (okay, we'll rule out enduros). It's clean, you don't come hom'e all banged up and if you're not careful three things will happen - you'll fall in love with Jet Skiing, you'll get a tan, and you'll be tripping over women wanting to ride Iff it. ····..i·~ The new A'-TV s ecialt ._ _.....,,...,...::-..::.;;'''alo from f,l",ck the lar~.. distributor of M/C rts and accessories. '--"'T~h:"i"'s"'"'c'olorful 16catalo feature," '9. pop.~jar and har.d-to·-find items, ..~!£6i "'!.!~h some item~~. available for ~.~.~_.~ ____ , ._ _~ .__ _ _•.. ~Ime. ~~ =_ It. __ - -- .- Order ..:l0ur catalog sendin $1 _..- .~.~.d~ or money.prder to· ROCKY ATV CATALOG _..... _____ . ~r:'. . .c heck Please be address De t. SC-::C==~-- P.O. Box "43'; Sunnyvale. CA 94066 sure to IOclua"e"::';y:':::o'::;ur::'n-a-m-e-a-ncf printed clearly. an your cheCk:'"' _ _ _ _ _ _:::::::..-iRocky sells only ,ts- catalogs direetiYiO . ... --consumers. Items'"in t em are aVailable . - - - - from dealers everywhere. ", Next month: ATV Grand National • RACING CASTOR DON'T SETTLE FOR ,!~~~JST1 ~ount. mek_ every Stop peylng thoM expensive repeir bills caused by Brenda X. 21 yeIII'S experience In the menufecturlng of the world's finest Ceator Lubrlcama. ..-D ..OW "''8leMdJaU'' "PURE GOLD" OCTANE.& In POWER BOOSTERI s::OOdetonetlon enc:Ilncr_ Ohio ~WhinUHdwlth ~ng orcvCli engE.or~fuelaIn 2 ...1 proven. Dyno teated. At. price you c:.JI.ttonI. ·~~~·Co~tion 1433-37 Rm Street Escalon, Cellf. 95320 209-838-7912 (tIl-Till PRODUCT MANUFACTURER .... ·x·....... - - . . ... T...._ · _ _ •...te-en DiMI9 ......... E .... 10659 Prospect Ave .. santee. CA 92071 (714) 562-0388 1 . u--Ilriw. U-111 113:l1li _ N - - , ...... CA _ _ . .,ane 21

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