In reviewing some of the industry’s best products, we at The Watercraft Journal have tried to find ways to make one’s experience of owning, maintaining and generally enjoying their personal watercraft as easy and trouble-free as possible. Sure, testing out the latest supercharged machine is fun, but that’s only half of the job. There are many tools and accessories that are just as important; and one for us (and many of you) is finding a quality PWC cart.
When not in use, a PWC cart needs to be compact and lightweight. When carrying a ski, it’s got to be versatile, easy to roll around. And for the shop or individual with a wide variety of units, it’s got to be adjustable and sturdy. Thus far, no PWC dolly can check all of these boxes…until now. Black Widow’s new PWC Dolly is made from anti-corrosive galvanized steel tubing and features adjustable bunks to fit a variety of machines. Stout and durable, it’s 3.75″ swivel casters can carry up to 1,000-pounds easy over most surfaces.
Here’s the original press release in its entirety: Black Widow, manufacturer of quality, affordable utility products for the powersports market, introduces the Black Widow® Personal Watercraft Dolly (Part # PWC-DOLLY-V2, MSRP: $189.99) for moving and storing jet skis, Jon boats and inflatables up to 1,000 pounds. Designed for use in both commercial and personal garage/shop settings, the dolly is adjustable to fit varied PWC models and includes all hardware.
Constructed from galvanized steel for better corrosion-resistance, the dolly includes the mounting plates and brackets along with four 3.75” casters that rotate 360 degrees for smooth movement across different types of floors. Two of the casters lock to prevent movement once positioned.
The Black Widow Personal Watercraft Dolly features dual bunks with three symmetrical width adjustments (center to center: 12.25”, 16.25”, 20.25’) that rotate internally within their brackets to conform to different hull angles. Marine carpet on both bunks protects against scratches to the PWC. Measuring 20.5” high, the dolly remains low enough to create a wide, stable base with its large 50.5” L x 33.875” W footprint.
Of these machines, all operate with the identical DOHC, 16-valve, parallel 4-cylinder and 1,498cc engine. All save for the larger Ultra LX employ the same 148mm axial-flow, single stage jet jump as well (the Ultra uses a 155mm pump). Pertaining to the Ultra LX specifically, The Watercraft Journal was hopeful that the expected redesign for the supercharged 310-horsepower series would have effected this model as well. Per this release, such was not the case.
The 2022 Ultra LX remains relatively unchanged apart from a new Ebony/Sunbeam Red color combination with a modest MSRP increase of $300, bringing it to $11,699. Despite it’s stellar 56-gallons of overall storage, 20.6-gallon fuel cell and premium paint scheme, the Ultra LX fails to reach the dedicated cruiser market as it persists without Kawasaki’s engine management system, which gives the other JetSkis its fly-by-wire throttle and cruise control feature.
In light of Yamaha’s new SuperJet, the Kawasaki SX-R 1500 has only elevated its stature as the top performing 4-stroke standup offered today. Between the two, the SX-R and its runabout-inspired hull is the preferred pick by racers and athletes looking to carve buoys at speeds about 60mph. Changes to the JetSki are minimal: a $300 price increase from $9,999 to $10,299 and new graphics that include a ribbon of gold amid the Ebony Black and Lime Green.
The final models announced are those comprising Kawasaki’s newly minted Recreation segment: the STX 160, 160X and 160LX. All three STX models include Immobilizer keys, SLO key operation and Cruise Control, as well as the folding “Slide & Lift” rear seat (and kickstand). Differences between each model are minor (particularly between the 160 and 160X) with the 160LX being a major outlier, as it is equipped with much of the same accoutrements as the Ultra 310LX.
Specifically, those add-ons being Kawasaki’s Jetsounds Bluetooth-operated sound system, the heat-resistant LXury seat and two-tone LX deck mat – not to mention a very unique paint offering. For 2022, the STX 160LX comes in Ebony and Turquoise (with gold highlights). The color is reminiscent of 2021’s Riptide Turquoise on the STX 160X, but is deeper with rich metallics and a gold highlight in its graphics – and comes with a $12,199 MSRP, a bump of $300.
For 2022, STX 160X jumps an additional $300 as well, bringing the MSRP to $10,499. It trades in its Rip Tide hue for Ebony and Lime Green, which was the international livery (same colors we reviewed earlier this year). For the final STX, the 160 comes in Crystal White/Pearl Neon Yellow with an MSRP of $9,899 (only $100 more than last year’s $9,799). The base 160 has Cruise Control, but not the up/down toggles like the other models.
“And what about the other half?” you ask. To date, the remaining supercharged machines have yet to be announced, and likely for good reason. As WCJ has noted, major additions and changes are expected for 2022, which we suspect will rocket Kawasaki’s flagship platform to the front of the class in many aspects. When those new models will be announced still remains to be seen, but we’re banking on late September/early October at the latest.
With over a year of planning and preparations due to Covid 19 Adam Williams of Florida PWC Riders/ Broward Motorsports Racing, Manny Arroyo of Jet Rider Nation, and Bassil Alrubaie of FL River Riders, hundreds of riders from all-around the state of Florida and surrounding areas were able to experience the Broward Motorsports Rec Ride. The event took place in the beautiful Florida Keys, starting in Key Largo, riding South through the Gulf side to Islamorada, cutting across to the Atlantic to Alligator Reef Light and then back.
The logistics of launching over 180 skis in the Florida Keys was one of the biggest challenges for this ride. Therefore, for Saturday, riders were given a choice of three marinas to choose from including John Pennekamp State Park, Caribbean Club, and Yacht Club Drive. Although riding was officially set to start at 10:00 AM, some riders were lining up at the ramps as early as 5:00 in the morning!
This undertaking would simply have not been possible without the local knowledge of organized groups such as Florida PWC Riders, Jet Rider Nation, and FL River Riders. All aforementioned groups had team leaders staged at each ramp location to help guide riders to the initial meeting point.
From the meeting point, the epic ride began. Riders would wind south hugging the Everglades National Park boundary, through beautiful mangroves, narrow channels, and the iconic Toilet Seat Cut. As the Rec Ride approached the Islamorada Sandbar, you could see skis stretching for more than a mile.
Once past Channel Marker 1, after respectfully honoring the Islamorada Sandbar No Wake Zone, now hundreds of skis were able to open throttle and start their journey on choppier waters toward the famous and stunning Alligator Reef Light. Once there, they were given over an hour for exploring, snorkeling, mingling with friends, and meeting new people.
Then it was time to return. But not before grabbing some grub! Riders now made their way back to the Islamorada Sandbar where they anchored or tied up to other skis, enjoyed some seriously good food from The Pincho Barge, got more giveaways, from the ride.
Safety was of the utmost priority for this ride. Broward Motorsports hired local law enforcement to help aid with the safely of the ride.This was thanks to the collaboration between Broward Motorsports and both agencies, who seamlessly worked together in the best interest of public safety and the protection the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
With close to 200 skis and over 400 people having participated in this unprecedented ride, it can be safely said that The 2021 Broward Motorsports Rec Ride was a huge success. The event was an amazing opportunity to bring riders together to explore new areas, and bring commerce to the Florida Keys. less than a year after being battered by Covid 19. PWC riders from all over Florida, and surrounding areas such as Georgia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New York, and even Canada participated and experienced the beauty, and wildlife the Florida Keys have to offer.
Aside the groups’ hard work and dedication, this event was also possible thanks to Sam Nehme, the owner of Broward Motorsports. And to those that attended to the 2021 Broward Motorsports Rec Ride, Broward Motorsports, Florida PWC Riders, Jet Rider Nation, and FL River Riders hope you had the time of your lives. Huge thanks to our sponsors of this ride: BRP Sea-Doo, FINN GPS, PWC Brackets, and PWC Doctor!
YouTuber Alvean Azurin reviews products that can potentially make your jet ski experience better. The Bopenski Kickback Chair is one of those products. The chair is packed in a durable canvas bag with vent holes to prevent mold and mildew. It has a handy carry strap and two bungees for strapping down and instructions both on paper and printed on the bag. The Bopenski Chair set up with ease both times and she was able to install it less than a minute.
She liked the chair’s lightweight aluminum construction, and the fact that it is super comfortable making it ideal for hanging out and fishing. She is a stickler for accessories that won’t scuff or scratch her Sea-Doo. The chair did neither, because of the thick padding along the bottom. The two bungees didn’t damage the ski either. Another noteworthy feature is that the chair leans 10 degrees forward, so it won’t fall off the ski when you’re kicking back.
Azurin rates the chair a quality product. It retails for $139, which she said is a little pricey. She followed that up with saying that everything for jet skis is pricey. Furthermore, the Bopenski Kickback Chair is an accessory and not a necessity, so she gave it a pass and the chair receives a great review and is worth buying!
There are few outlets on the planet more active in the Kawasaki JetSki performance community than Kspeed. Whether it’s developing new products to elevate the rough water prowess of the supercharged Ultra machines, or showing corporate that a 310-horsepower powerplant can deftly fit within the factory confines of the new STX 160LX’s engine compartment, Kspeed is paving new roads for the JetSki brand.
In a recent Facebook post, Kspeed addressed an old annoyance by many experienced riders – namely, the off-throttle “Smart Steering System” that activates when the rider attempts to maneuver their Kawasaki in tight confines without giving the ski any throttle. While good for neophytes and novices, the feature can become a bit tedious for those knowing how to manage on their own. See below:
We are seeing a lot of people on the forums and Facebook groups saying the revs stay up when letting go of the throttle, Like a sticky throttle on their Kawasaki JetSkis. New ones, old ones, it doesn’t matter.
This is the Kawasaki’s Smart Steering System kicking in. It does so when you have the handle bars turned and release the throttle too quickly.
It is a safety feature to prevent novice riders dropping the throttle in an emergency and losing steering control. We find that most experienced riders prefer it disconnected; it is also preferable to have it disconnected when towing tubes.
If you want to know how to disconnect it, see the below video. It’s a quick 2 minute job and this applies to all Kawasaki 4-stroke sit down JetSkis.
Hydro-Turf team rider, Mark Gomez submitted filmed runs to compete in the 800 and 1200cc international classes in the virtual British Freestyle event. The event was live on Facebook on July 10 and the recap is available on the British Freestyle Championship page. Check it out. It’s very well done, and action packed without a lot of down time or filler.
Competitors from around the world submitted clips of their rides in their respective classes. The rides were viewed and scrutinized by a panel of world class judges stationed around the world. Criteria for judging was based on degree of difficulty, variety, execution, and how many tricks were completed.
Gomez placed 1st in the 1200cc International Class on his Rickter Ninja Pro V2. He picked up an award for the Best Trick on a 1200cc. He won for pulling off his super 540. That is one crazy trick! He also won the Best Trick in the 800cc Open International Class for making a big Barrel Roll on his Lite Class Super Jet. He grabbed 2cd place in the 800cc International Class. He couldn’t have landed all his super high-flying maneuvers without his Hydro-Turf traction!
It looks like the guys had a great time making their videos. The event looks like it was a lot of fun, regardless of being virtual. “These are weird times without many events,” writes Gomez. He is super stoked to support events like these that make it possible for everyone to compete.
Until all nations get back to competing on a world track, we will take in all the virtual events we can get.
Check this out; on July 4th San Diego Fire Rescue Department’s (SDFR) lifeguards and the San Diego Police Department impounded more than 30 boats. Most of the impounded vessels were PWC.
According to SDFR, most of the taken watercraft were rented illegally within Mission Bay, making them fair game. A business must be licensed and be brick and mortar, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department’s social media pages. They even went as far as saying that an unlicensed rental place doesn’t have insurance.
Andy, the owner of Seaforth Boat Rentals in Mission Bay has a $5 million dollar insurance policy on his rental equipment. He claims that if there are any issues with his equipment, customers can call him. He has people on standby for emergencies and ways to make to make riding safe and enjoyable. He has several brick-and-mortar locations.
Andy also took a dig at jet ski rental operators who don’t have storefronts. He blamed a couple of jet ski related deaths on rentals from illegal operators. One local commented that the business owners with actual storefronts, have it in for the guys who don’t have physical business locations. That seems obvious with the comments that Andy made.
Furthermore, the police department announced that people under 40 operating a boat or PWC, must have a California Boater Card. Once again, statistics prove that PWC aren’t the dangerous and deadly vessels that many claim them to be: According to a U.S. Coast Guard report released on June 29, “there were 767 boating fatalities nationwide in 2020, a 25.1 percent increase from 2019.” Of the boating fatalities in 2020, 66 were attained to personal watercraft.
We at The Watercraft Journal have ventured out on limb more than once, particularly when it comes to predicting the moves within Kawasaki USA. Unlike Yamaha Motor Corp. and Sea-Doo, Kawasaki’s internal corporate culture is a little harder to pin down. Over the years, we’ve received a variety of leaked pictures, memos and legal documents that have ranged the spectrum. The truth is often found somewhere in between, and we’ve had to navigate stormy waters with caution before.
In 2013, we received reliable intelligence that the 2014 model year would unveil “a whole lot of changes” as well as “a model [we’ve] been waiting for.” This – as one might expect – sent us reeling. Soon came articles boasting that a 300-horsepower STX-R was forthcoming; that Kawasaki was going after Yamaha’s FZR SHO and Sea-Doo’s RXP-X 260 musclecraft; that 2014 would ignite a new era of performance PWC. In all, we were preparing for a rekindled horsepower arms race.
What came was a mixed bag: a series of necessary upgrades and updates to the Eaton TVS supercharged 1,498cc four-cylinder 4-stroke (primarily increased volume of the cooling circuits and oil galley, a second set of under-piston oiling jets, a larger oil cooler, etc.) resulting in a 10-horsepower increase. The mysterious model “we had been waiting for” was not a supercharged STX, but an Ultra 310R with moto-style steering, “sporty” seat and green sponsons.
Five years later, a pair of spy shots of Kawasaki’s redesigned 2020 STX 160 spurred a veritable avalanche of leaks and rumors. An application to California’s CARB revealed not one, but three new tiers of STX. Perusing Kawasaki’s existing US patents revealed schematics for a thumb-operated brake/reverse system along with a folding rear seat, which later materialized on the production 2020 STX 160 models. But what about the brake system? Where did that go?
Earlier this year, chatter of a redesigned Ultra for 2022 began to buzz. Inquiries bore fruit in the form of a few questionable images and some rather intriguing – albeit mixed – predictions. The Ultra (like the STX in 2020) would get a new deck, resulting in a recontoured 3-person saddle, hood, fairings and steering neck. Borrowing from the STX, the new Ultra would receive a similar waterproof phone case and its clear plastic lid and the flip up-style rear passenger seat.
Of course, the biggest news was the addition of the long-awaited brake-and-reverse system. Per the patent and similar to those brake-and-reverse systems from Sea-Doo and Yamaha (iBR and RiDE, respectively), Kawasaki’s system will deploy at ignition, placing the JetSki in “neutral.” And likewise, a flick of the throttle will disengage the reverse bucket and “shift” the JetSki into “Forward,” as will quickly depressing the right hand side thumb trigger return the JetSki to neutral.
Deploying the brake will be done via the thumb trigger. Mechanically, the thumb trigger will override the throttle and engage the actuator that deploys the brake/reverse bucket. Closer inspection of the patent implies that depressing the thumb trigger from a standstill will throttle the JetSki in reverse (identical to RiDE); but then again, this action may very well be amended or updated when this feature reaches the public.
Obviously, inclusion of this new braking system will require a slight rearranging of the current control modules on the handlebars. Expect new placements for the Cruise Assist, trim control, and Eco mode buttons. Expected to remain are 310-horsepower supercharged-and-intercooled 1.5L powertrain, 160mm axial-flow pump and world championship-winning hull. Equally, so to will the massive 20.6-gallon fuel cell and 56-gallons of storage continue as-is, as will the 5-place adjustable steering system and “Immobilizer” keyed security system.
The coup de grâce of our torrent of added information directed us towards the current ZX-10R and ZX-10RR for aesthetic cues. “Take a long hard look at the ZX-10R and RR,” one message hinted. And with the Ninja fresh in our minds, the final hint hit hardest: the new Ultra is expected to receive the Ninja’s TFT color dashboard. The digital dash features a high contrast, easy-to-read layout, various display layouts and coloring options and Bluetooth connectivity.
This final function implies a possible linking of the rider’s phone or Bluetooth device with Kawasaki’s industry-first onboard sound system, Jetsounds (did you forget Kawasaki was first to have a PWC speaker system? We bet you did) via the dash. If this option is available, it will place Kawasaki on par with the dashboard on the Sea-Doo GTX Limited and Fish Pro. Again, this is purely speculative, but a very viable potentiality.
Again, none of this information has been confirmed by Kawasaki to The Watercraft Journal nor do we expect to receive such confirmation until the official press releases are issued sometime in early October. As for The Watercraft Journal, we don’t expect to even lay our hands on the redesigned Ultra until 2022, possibly late January at the earliest – but more likely sometime in mid-to-late February. Until then, keep your fingers crossed that all of this comes to pass, as we’re certain it’ll propel Kawasaki’s curb appeal ten fold.
The marketing team from Sea-Doo sends out a monthly newsletter to subscribers and it always contains some good stuff. The July correspondence included a piece on things to do on your Sea-Doo. It is appropiately titled Sea-Doo “To Doo” List. The list was put together to inspire us to get out more and explore by taking our watercraft on adventures to remote locations.
Sea-Doo Ambassador, Nick Taylor and friends guide us through a fun weekend in Florida on their Sea-Doo’s. The list covers a lot of fun activities and Taylor is a likeable host. Each topic is accompanied by a short clip featuring the group enjoying Sea-Doo Life.
Fishing is at the top and with LinQ accessories, you can easily load up and go fishing. You don’t even need a Fish Pro because with the versatile line of Sea-Doo accessories, any Sea-Doo model can be outfitted for fishing. Your Sea-Doo watercraft will get you into those out of the way fishing holes too.
Camping is second on the list. With the deep and sizeable hatches, you can load up all the camping gear you need for a weekend under the stars. The LinQ cooler will hold enough food and drinks to get you through the weekend. Take it easy and unwind next to the campfire.
Watersports with Sea-Doo will get you stoked. Break out the tube and wake skate for a fun day on the water. Sea-Doo makes it fun and easy with the Wake and Wake Pro models and accessories. You’ll have a blast pulling each other through the water and it’s the perfect way to end a weekend of Sea-Doo life!
Brisbane Kawasaki launched a very clean and user-friendly Shopify e-commerce site to showcase their line of Kspeed products. The site is fast and nicely organized. A filter setting was added to allow the user numerous options, like sorting by year and model, and best-selling products to name a few. A dropdown is located on the left side for quick links to products, videos, your account, and home.
The layout is set up to make it super easy to find products with a quick and painless checkout process. We like the way that Brisbane Kawasaki laid out all the products with clear and concise pictures with easy-to-read product descriptions. The video page features quite a few Kawasaki “how to” videos. The layout is straightforward; simply scroll down and click what you want to watch.
The homepage is set up nicely as well. It is organized with a bright slideshow at the top that showcases different Kawasaki JetSkis. Click the “Tell Me More” banner and it takes to you that machine’s page where you can read about it and order one if you like. Below the slide show, are various items and details about Brisbane Kawasaki. We really like the new layout, and we think you will like it too. It’s bright and extremely easy to navigate.
Check it out and buy some Kspeed products or any of their wide range of other accessories, such as tubes for towing, PFDs, and apparel. Everything is easy to find within the new layout and it’s a breeze to order from the United States and around the world. The new dropdown menu for choosing your currency and the simplicity of the Shopify order form makes purchasing a seamless process.
