Gallery: Brian Baldwin’s #502 Nat’l Championship-Winning 2019 Yamaha FX SVHO (Video)

October 25, 2019

Touring Brian Baldwin’s Champion Powersports watercraft performance tuning and repair shop in Denver, North Carolina is a lot like looking inside of Brian’s brain. Among the countless trophies, placards and number plates lining the walls are vintage racing posters, helmets, banners and memorabilia dating back well beyond his nearly 25-years of racing.

Littering the floor are ancient 550 two-stroke engines, disassembled Rotax 3-cylinders and various Yamaha 4-strokes in different stages of repair. Customer’s Sea-Doos and WaveRunners fill trailers and carts waiting to be trouble-shot, as Brian’s own 9-second, blown Camaro sits on a two-post lift; evidence of his commitment to all things high performance.

Today, the 8-time World Champion promised me a few hours with his very special 2019 Yamaha FX SVHO WaveRunner. Built to meet the exacting scrutiny that comes with competing in P1 AquaX’s Pro Stock class, Brian’s Yamaha carried him to his 10th National Championship this year – as well becoming the reigning AquaX world champion and the highest ranked rider in the world.

Brian’s 5-years as a Factory Yamaha racer included helping develop both the current FX as well as the GP platforms. He explained, “We got one of the first GP1800s back in 2016. I raced it for two years; the thing won every race it entered – we did a lot of R&D [research and development – Ed.] work with RIVA. It’s just an awesome machine.”

He continued, “I was still racing the GP1800 when we got our hands on this new FX, and we developed a lot of parts for Yamaha and RIVA. It won four-out-of-five rounds on the Pro Watercross Tour this summer, and at the P1 [AquaX] if it wasn’t the winner it was on the podium every single round.”

As a RIVA Racing Team Rider, Brian was also instrumental in helping test and develop the many aftermarket parts used both on his #502 race boat, as well as those sold to the public through RIVA.

“A lot of R&D work when into developing the parts on this FX, and I think two of the biggest things were the sponsons and the ride plate. Working with RIVA and Yamaha…y’know, you try one thing, and you’re like, “Yeah, it’s OK,” and you try another thing, and you’re like, “It’s pretty good.” And y’know, when we finally nailed it it was a solid hit. It was absolutely amazing.

“So what we found with the stock FX ride plate was that it liked to push the nose too much. It really put a lot of downforce on the front of the ski, and the RIVA rideplate really gets the ski more on the back-part of the hull, and gives it a lot more top speed as well. [As] for the sponsons, the back of the FX felt kinda loose. We tried the GP sponsons and they felt better but just not the right fit for the FX. [RIVA] worked on the backing plate and the blade and really solved the looseness.

“[Using] the ride plate and sponsons together on the track makes this big ol’ ski feel like a little bitty ski. During a lot of races this year I didn’t get the holeshot, but with the handling package you could literally ride the thing wide open and slice and dice through the pack.”

Racing two series simultaneously, Brian competed in both the P1 Aqua X series as well as the Pro Watercross National Tour. He said, “One of the best parts of racing the Pro Watercross Tour this year was their partnership with VP race fuel. We were able to get 109-octane race fuel brought to every race. With that, combined with the tune (written by RIVA’s master tuner, Jesus Garcia) we were able to put into the ECU with the MaptunerX, we got a lot more performance.”

Despite Brian’s naturally effervescent way, he was also a bit reticent, wanting to keep many of his secrets close to the vest. While I couldn’t peek under the seat, Brian was willing to share a little of the modifications made to the Yamaha FX that lead to his success.

“This [particular] machine is setup for the Pro Stock class, which means we start with a stock machine and change the air cleaner (RIVA Yamaha FX SVHO 2019+ Power Filter Kit), change the valve spring retainers (RIVA Yamaha Valve Retainer Upgrade Kit), and the flash in the ECU with the MapTunerX (RIVA MaptunerX Yamaha 1.8L License) that Jesus wrote for us.

“And then we get to do all the handling stuff; the RIVA ride plate (RIVA Yamaha Performance Ride Plate), the RIVA intake grate (RIVA Yamaha Top-Loader Intake Grate and RIVA Yamaha Pump Seal Kit), the RIVA sponsons (RIVA Yamaha Pro-Series Sponsons) and the RIVA steering (RIVA Yamaha Pro-Series Steering System, RIVA Pro-Bar 30″ Runabout Bars and ODI Ruffian Lock-On Grips).”

When pressed, Brian admitted, “As the ski is set up, with all of these mods and in optimal conditions, we get 83 miles per hour at 9,300rpm.” Although, he didn’t say whether that was on the race gas tune, or the pump gas tune, which we rode today. Now, I’ve ridden a handful of heavily modified watercraft that have hit faster top speeds, there have been very, very few that could corner as violently-precise as Brian’s FX.

This day, Brian had the adjustable RIVA sponsons set all-the-way down, to their most aggressive setting. This meant that, together with the top-loader intake grate, ride plate and billet CNC RIVA steering system, that traction and steering response was set to its maximum. And while this was familiar territory for Brian, it didn’t take long to learn that this was far more machine than I was used to handling.

With plenty of g-forces at play, I quickly decided to let Brian’s stirrup-like foot wedges do all of the work. Trying to use your arms to both hang on and snap off a full-throttle hairpin turn is as close to a Herculean act as it gets; the foot wedges serve to lock your feet into position, letting them keep your lower half from flinging off of the ski as the g-forces try to peel you from it.

Being slightly taller than Brian’s 5’11” height (6’2″) and outweighing him by considerably more, the mandatory riding position created by the foot wedges and steering put me nearly atop the seat’s hump, needing to lean far over to square up to the low-slung handle bars. Although a bit unnatural, keeping as low to the seat proved the best course of action while crisscrossing the isolated finger of Lake Norman that Brian had brought me to.

Although nowhere near the optimal conditions Brian had mentioned (namely being over 760-feet above sea level and my added weight), my handheld GPS recorded a top speed of 81.8mph. The factory touchscreen dashboard never read higher than 70mph though, with that number staying “pegged” throughout much of my test ride. “It’s one of those things you’ve got to override,” Brian noted later.

The 1.8-liter Yamaha SVHO’s stock-internals raced to nearly 9,300rpm, pushing as much boost as its factory HKS supercharger could make. Producing somewhere in the neighborhood of 350-horsepower on high octane race gas, the FX streaked across the water; rigidly tracking through the chop I myself was producing – never once bobbing, porpoising or veering out of control.

The combination of the RIVA top loader intake grate, ride plate and ECU tune wholly eliminated the tell-tale cavitation natural to showroom-stock Yamahas. In the corners, the FX bit the water furiously, leaning in deep, and peeling around the turn like a sport bike on w-rated track tires. As steady as a surgeon’s scalpel, Brian Baldwin’s #502 2019 Yamaha FX SVHO proved to be the very pinnacle of what a race-tuned Yamaha could be.

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Gallery: ’19 Sea-Doo Spark Trixx vs. ’19 Yamaha WaveRunner EXR Shootout

Joshua Dowling

October 16, 2019

While many personal watercraft enthusiasts are focused on the top-end models from Sea-Doo, Yamaha and Kawasaki, not everyone wants to start out on some of the fastest machines on the water. Which is where these two come in. While the Sea-Doo Spark Trixx and Yamaha WaveRunner EXR are not direct competitors, they are closely priced once a few options on the Sea-Doo are ticked – and both deliver a heap of fun for the money.

The Trixx arrived in late 2017 as a 2018 model year as an addition to the regular Spark range that came out in 2014. Clever adjustment of the jet pump at the press of a button and the addition of some rear foot wedges enabled the Trixx to easily perform the jet ski equivalent of a “wheelstand.”

Meanwhile, in late 2018 for the 2019 model year Yamaha added a model with a more powerful engine and a lighter hull to its EX range introduced in 2016. Yamaha called it EXR and added it to its performance line-up. While the Yamaha can’t perform a “wheelstand,” it likes to jump out of the water on take-off and can perform super-sharp U-turns.

The Spark Trixx costs from $7,599 as a two-seater and $8,199 as a three-seater ($8,749 when equipped with the BRP Audio-Portable System boombox), not including trailer and registration charges. The EXR (there is only a three-seater version) costs from $9,399, not including trailer and registration charges. While each has a seating capacity for up to two or three people, that’s a lot of weight for these small craft. We reckon they’re better off used solo or, at a pinch, two up. Here’s how they compare:

The Spark Trixx comes with the 90-horsepower version of Sea-Doo’s 899cc three-cylinder Rotax 4-stroke ACE 900 engine. The three-seater gets an attachment that lengthens the rear deck, comes with a slighter longer seat, and has a towing hook. The two-seater tested here has a shorter seat and no rear deck extension.

It becomes easier to climb aboard the Spark Trixx from the water once you master the one-sided folding knee-step, and how to best avoid the foot wedges. However, the Yamaha is the easier of the two in this regard thanks to its larger and flatter rear deck area.

Being one of the lightest watercraft on the market makes the Spark Trixx easy to maneuver. The dry weight difference on the Trixx variants is modest: 423-pounds for the two-seater and 438-pounds for the three-seater (versus 405 and 421-pounds for the regular Spark two- and three-seat models).

Service intervals for Sparks are 12 months or 100 hours but there’s no easy customer access to the engine bay; the top deck needs to be removed with tools for routine servicing. Popular accessories include a large portable and detachable Bluetooth audio speaker pod, a 7-gallon front storage bin, a rear re-boarding step, and a LinQ fitting to attach a soft dry-storage case onto the rear deck.

Another option worth considering is the security key which is paired electronically to your specific watercraft. On standard Spark models anyone with a Sea-doo lanyard can ride it away as it’s effectively “unlocked.”

The key to the Trixx’s capability is the extended range variable trim system, or VTS. The VTS switch on the left handlebar and the software behind it add 10 degrees of movement to the standard trim settings (17 degrees upward and 6 degrees downward). There are nine positions in total, including a clearly marked neutral setting, for flatter riding.

In “wheelie” mode it points the jet pump further upwards. With your feet on the wedges near the rear of the deck the Trixx can stand nearly vertical if you get the balance right. The up and down buttons can be a bit too sensitive and you end up developing patience while you tap them carefully so you don’t end up in the wrong mode.

The digital dash display shows the remaining fuel in the 8-gallon tank, your speed in MPH or KMH, and is a gateway to two driving modes: touring and sport. The sport mode doesn’t deliver more power but it does change throttle sensitivity and makes it feel more lively. The 50mph top speed is modest compared to the big boys (and a little under 5mph behind the EXR) but it’s extremely intuitive to maneuver, making it easy for novice riders to quickly build their confidence.

Room for improvement? The glovebox is too small to stow a large smartphone in a waterproof case (or a tube of sunscreen), so it’s worth adding the optional front storage bin. Just be aware it’s not waterproof, so carrying a phone or camera could still be tricky.

The EXR is powered by the same 1049cc three-cylinder from the rest of the EX range but it gets a power boost from 101HP to 110HP, due to engine calibration changes and a higher rev limit, from 7,300 to 8,000rpm. A jet pump extension and an added foil on the intake grate are designed to provide quicker throttle response.

The EXR also gains a lighter NanoXcel2 hull — which brings the overall weight of the craft down from 600-pounds to 540-pounds for an improved power-to-weight ratio. By comparison, the Spark Trixx has 90-horsepower and weighs 423-pounds (three seater is 438-pounds).

The EXR has more standard storage space than a standard Spark Trixx. The Yamaha EXR’s glovebox can accommodate a large phone, a wallet and a tube of sunscreen, though we also used it to stow a long tow sling during our test. You can even fit a large beach towel. There’s also a slim storage area under the nose cover, but it’s not waterproof. In total there is up to 7.7-gallons of storage space versus half a gallon in the Spark Trixx.

The EXR offers incredible precision and control at your fingertips, although it is easy to put yourself in the water if you lean too far over and haven’t grabbed enough throttle to get out of trouble. Fortunately, it’s reasonably harmless when you fall off at low speeds, which you will inevitably do as your bravado increases and you challenge yourself to take tighter turns.

Performance-wise, earlier testing showed a top speed of 54.6mph at 8,000rpm (nearly 5mph higher than the Sea-Doo Spark Trixx) and accelerates with enthusiasm thanks to its newfound power to weight ratio.

However, the Yamaha’s fuel tank is 13.2-gallons, which gives the EXR greater range than the Spark Trixx’s 30 litre tank. I ran out of energy before I could run the EXR empty. This is a lot of fuel capacity for a small ski – and it is very much welcome. The EXR hull is made from Yamaha’s lightweight NanoXcel2 material rather than the standard EX model’s stronger but heavier sheet molded compound (SMC).

No watercraft really like being beached (unless the keel has been fitted with a protective guard or coating such as those used by surf lifesavers) but it’s probably best to avoid or minimize riding the EXR onto sand. Yamaha recommends routine maintenance every 100 hours or 12 months. For those who want to service the craft themselves, access to the engine bay is limited but not impossible.

Both of these jet skis are an absolute blast and a great way to get into the sport. If you want to perform “wheelstands” and listen to music as you ride – or unclip the optional speaker system and listen to your tunes on the beach – the Sea-Doo Spark Trixx is a great choice. The Yamaha WaveRunner EXR, while a touch more expensive, delivers a different level of fun and superior top-endperformance. Budget and buyer tastes will ultimately be deciding factors, but you can’t go wrong with either of these watercraft.

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