With the early Spring thaws, the first wild, unshaven Canadians have started emerging from beneath their beaver pelt blankets and begin their first instinctual migrations in search of Tim Horton’s Coffee. Ryan Dalli and the rest of the Jet X Powersports crew enjoyed no such winter hibernation as they were hard at work preparing for the upcoming racing season. To those familiar, Jet X maintains a fleet of formidable Sea-Doo Sparks, and this year is no different.
After a few months of wrenching, weather was cooperative enough to allow for some break-in time. “We tested the modified Spark Trixx yesterday,” Ryan told The Watercraft Journal. “We compared the Spark to a stock 60 and a 90-horsepower unit.” As both a service dealer and the head of an accomplished race team, Ryan has become an expert on the Rec Lite runabout. “[The] stock 60 we where able to see 42mph, [the] stock 90 we where able to see 48 mph. On the modified Trixx we where able to see 53/54 mph with increased throttle response and mid range.”
Of course, with any test, replicating the circumstances is imperative. Ryan explained, “We timed the modified Spark to see how [long] it would take to go for 1-2mph (idle speed) to 53/54mph – it took on average of 3 pulls, 8 seconds. The weather was 58 degrees and water was clear and calm. Water temp was around 45 degrees. For this test we used pump fuel ESSO 91 octane.” Ryan added, “[The] rider was Andrew Bezan (190lbs.). He races for us [Jet X] in Pro GP Sport.”
Achieving a 54 mph Spark (without serious engine mods) was accomplished by putting all of RIVA Racing’s Stage III kit to work (as well as a few other extras of Ryan’s personal choosing). The build included a RIVA Fresh Air intake, RIVA Intake manifold upgrade kit (ribbon removal), RIVA Waterbox and Rear exhaust kit, RIVA stainless steel wear ring, RIVA Intake grate with pump stuffer, Solas 12/14 impeller and RIVA’s MaptunerX ECM tuning which accounted for the 400 rpm gain over stock that it picked up. While all of the images below could be spun into a full-length technical article providing useful step-by-step instructions, Ryan’s own humility kept him from giving himself so much credit.
