It’s a bit of a “no brainer” for those of us with experience that a personal watercraft cannot go if there’s no thrust pushing out of the nozzle; but to the neophyte the idea of applying throttle when trying to avoid an obstacle or collision can be counter intuitive to say the least. That was the thinking behind Kawasaki’s automated Off-Throttle Steering (OTS) system.
This feature has the tendency to catch some riders by surprise. As they quickly release the throttle, the ECU will apply a little extra thrust to keep the JetSki in motion. Of course, a sharp-and-short blip of the throttle will deactivate this, but again, this tip is for the newcomers. Nevertheless, the OTS activates to help the rider steer clear of an obstacle and you cannot steer without thrust.
So what are you supposed to do if you’re a more experienced rider and do not want OTS kicking on every time you chop the throttle, there’s a very easy and non-invasive way to deactivate it without your ECU throwing a code – and the Kawi gurus at Brisbane Kawasaki and Kspeed put it all into a quick video posted to their Facebook page earlier this week. Watch:
