Kawasaki Part# 92026-3748

Tools needed are 12” extension for a 3/8 ratchet with a 12mm socket, a 10 mm wrench and a stubby flat head screwdriver.

 

 First step is to pull your reverse lever to lower the rear bucket.

 

This allows access to the bilge siphon tubes at the top of the exit nozzle.

Use a stubby flat head screwdriver to aid in removing the tubes.

Return the reverse bucket back up once the tubes are removed.

Remove the 4 12mm bolts that secure the exit nozzle to the pump.

 

Turn steering to the left to allow easy access to the 10mm bolt

Remove the 10mm bolt that secures the steering cable to the steering nozzle.

 

Install Wedge

Reinstall the 4×12mm bolts securing the exit nozzle to the pump, be sure to use blue Loctite.

 

Reinstall the 10mm bolts securing the steering cable to the steering nozzle, be sure to use blue Loctite.

Once again lower the reverse bucket to gain access to the bilge siphon hoses and reinstall them.

  

The last part of installation is clean up and tell no one what you’ve done.

Total time of install was 10 min and a cost of $35 for a additional 1 to 1.5 MPH.

Special Thanks to JetSkiDave@hotmail.com

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mirrors are a useful and a beneficial part to SAFE riding. 

Riva  RK5-U250X-MB     $119.95

This modification is really only usefull to Closed Coarse and Super Coarse racers or if you dislike the mirrors.

Carbon Fiber block-off’s. These small pieces allow you to remove the stock mirrors on the 250. The removal was simple and took roughly 20 minutes. The block offs glue on with clear silicone. 

I also took the time to remove some stickers. Gone with the JetSki and the Supercharger stickers.

Here is the combo installed.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Arrived in yesterday from Jettrim. Had a local Apoulstry shop install it. Make sure they use stainless steel staples no exceptions.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Kawasaki Part# 92026-3748 

One of the cheapest mods I have found is this Pump Wedge.

This wedge will adjust the exit nozzle up some to allow the nose of the 250X to rise.

2 degree wedge availible at your local dealer.

Easy to install and can yield 1 to 1.5 mph. As the fuel level goes down the boat lifts more allowing the wedge to work better.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

CAUTION this Modification can VOID the manufactures warrantee.

Now that I’ve had a chance to break in the motor and obtain the base line for comparisons, Ill start with the Free Flow Exhaust from Riva. Retail price for the modification is $189.95 but you can get a good deal at  Riva.

  

At first it seems like a lot to do but it starts real simple. Once the seat base is off you have a good amount of space to work.  Do watch your for-arms on the screw heads. 

My First step was to protect my boat from myself. This painter’s tape helps protect from dropping tools and the rubbing from air hose but simple to peel off.

First to come out was the vapor can. Then several water lines. All of them were easy but for the one on the front bottom of Intercooler. After some bitching I figured out that it’s easier to get to if you unbolt the intercooler and shift it forward then tilt it back.

CAUTION when removing the bypass valve and over boost valve.

Be extremely careful when trying to take the hose off it or the plastic hosing will tear. See Photo. I opted to just remove the entire Valve from the intercooler after mine had ripped. Not too much of a deal since the Free Flow Intake will most likely not need these toobs. Im possitive the mini K&N filter will replace it. If Riva dont then I will. Why? These toobs route the hot air from the intercooler back into the air box making the intercooler work harder to cool this hot air that was heated even more by the S/C. “That was a SECRET tip”

Don’t do as I did and try to be the guy that wont ask for directions. Follow the Riva instructions closely.

http://69.28.79.48/Instructions/rk16090.pdf

You will have a bit of trouble in the rear part of pipe getting the clamp tightened down to your cut exhaust outlet. I used a 12″ long extension and socket to tighten the coupler but all the rest can be done with a screwdriver.

Cutting the exhaust tip can be done easily with a good haxsaw. I was not able to weld a bead or lip around the cut edge as Riva illustration says but the directions does not.

So I did as every thing in the instructions like Riva said but I also took out both breather tubes in the back along with the pulley belt cover. Why? I anticipate a pulley coming in real soon.

This belt cover is a safety feature and removing it is strongly discouraged. With that said, this option allows you to easily monitor the belt condition. This being important because once you begin to add performance parts the load to that belt will increase. Since the belt has been such a pain in the arse on the 15F SC boat, I figured I needed to monitor this one closely. ” That was a SECRET tip”

So I weighed the muffler and it comes in at 13 lbs. Mind you it had water in it as it would while riding. Why do I think this, well I blew out my motor at the boat ramp and once again before starting this modification. So if its there now then it will be in there while riding.

 

The new modification sounds ok. Has a more throaty quality to it but nothing too alarming just yet. Still its only in a garage and not WOT on the lake.

Total time was about 2.5 hrs. Some of that time was bitching at installing the hook pipe. Getting into the exhaust tip coupler was a pain. It does go in though and it snugs down nicely.

Some of this time was also spent taking photos and doing some exploring. Seems there is alot of tubes running up front to the air box witch has to absolutely come out. Its huge.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  

WARNING! We dont not condone or encorage this type of operation of any watercraft. All watercraft owners should refer to the owners manuel for proper break-in procedures. Testing was done by an experianced rider for review purposes only. Rapid unsafe manuevering could cause loss of control and bodily injury or DEATH. Remember to ride safe.

 

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

 So we all have been hearing mixed reviews and (my buddy told me) reports. So can I give a review from my twisted way of  thinking.

 We started by topping her off with 92 octane till she spilled over. We then dropped her off in the lake and putted around for a few minutes. Stabbing it for about a second or so and then letting off. I was on the water for about 5 min and then brought her in. I then got on my wet suit and proceeded back out onto the water. I putted her out past the wake zone then started to hit it for 1 to 2 second blasts. Once I figured she was warmed up (about 2 minutes) I hit her wide open for 5 seconds, “Hitting 59 mph then letting off”. I did this about five times, and then I went for the BIG BURRITO. I went screaming across the lake for a 1/2 mile run. She topped out at 64.6. I did this 3 times and all three times she hit the same number. GPS and a Stalker Pro was in use to cross-reference my numbers.

At this point I went into maniac aggressive turning & maneuver mode. I was yanking the steering from right to left forcing the nose to dig in and then ripping it from side to side trying to get her to unhook. All that happened was a FULL FACE of water. This girl has got some curves to her.

I proceeded to maneuver her as if I was racing for the World Finals. My poor Ultra was taking a beating. I was in a complete daydream of being a champion, until I got another face full of water which snapped me back into reality. The reality that this boat rides nose down and nose submerged in aggressive turns. The hood is shaped in a way that the water shoots to your face so duck when turning hard, it might clear you. Though she can cut from a sweeping turn to an aggressive hook with a twitch of the bars, the only negative I found was the deep dip the hull makes to turn as if her weight has just figured out it was turning. This hard role slowed me down. I’m sure with the proper ride plate it will allow the nose to lift in a turn and avoid the dunk. A higher nose position on turn will avoid major slow down.

Playing with the reverse for 5 minutes was a lot of fun. Then it got old.

After about 20 minutes of this I was a bit cold and spent, so I took my wiping horse back to shore. I popped the seat and admired my new project. Ideas swirling in my head as to what I could buy for her. Got me so excited that I ran her without the seat just to hear her humming along. She’s so quiet that it was almost embarrassing (totally takes away from the “look at me I’m loud and fast”). So let me get this back on track. No seat and running across the 1/2 mile she ran a 65.5 mph. I was a bit concerned hearing this thing hit such a high pitch. Looking down I was wondering if a spark plug was going to shoot out at me. Regardless she ran fast and steady without a hick-up. Looking at my watch I noticed I had spent a Half hour goofing off on the lake. So in I went to gloat.

Called my buddy Rob who came on down to the lake to check things out. He brought his STXR for some tuning. Through him the lanyard and told him to have at it. So he jumped on it and she didn’t start. Uh oh. Oh ya the silly speed key in the glove box. He popped open the door and pushed the key. Veeerooom she started right up. Now I thought one had to remove the key but you don’t, just push it and it chirps to life. Nice.

So away Rob goes on the 250X with me chasing him down in a limited class race boat.  Rob could pull away at any time on the 250X. He toyed with me checking the mid range and top end speed. We did dead stop starts and running starts. Every time the Ultra did the same thing, pulled away quietly and peacefully.

 

I was blurred with envy and doubt so we traded boats and ran them again. At this point I asked, “run in front of me and Ill try and hit you.” He started slow but soon saw the size of this thing hunting him down and hit it. His quick and nimble boat (sponson, intake gate & ride plate) ran off away from me. It was clear what his boat is well set up for. I now had a comparison as to the turning and carving this boat could due. She hits hard turns with a lean over that handles well but slows you down. So since I couldn’t change paint with Rob I looked for other amusement.  You guessed it, back to drag racing my imagination.  So I ripped down the 1/2 mile strip again. Since this beast is so quiet and smooth I had time to look the ski over.

Mirrors what a waste you cant even see the stuff behind you, gauges are so far down I couldn’t really see them, hood is the size of a cars and tilt steering didn’t really amuse me that much. Oh well all that’s going to be coming off some day anyway. So as I dropped the throttle I heard Hydro in far distance reminding me about the off throttle delay in RPM’s. It was defiantly there.

Looking at my GPS it said 67.7? What we need to go do that one again. Reset this little GPS thingy. Wave at the hotly behind the Stalker Pro and off I go. Boom again it hits 67.7 on GPS and Radar. Nooooo it can’t be I still had a ¼ tank of gas. Pulled her in for a breather and smooch up to the girl running the Gun and Camera.

That’s when a nice gentleman arrived with a Camcorder? I sorta looked at him funny and he responded with “can I tape your runs”. Sure but who are you? He then told me he was on some of the forums and heard about the testing of the Ultra down at Underhill. He wanted to get it on tape. Thought sure this is a good thing since I’m down on fuel and the water was pretty smooth. Rob jumped on the Ski and ran a 68.1 the first couple of runs and finished it with a 68.6 on the GPS. Smoking for a boat that was RUMORED to only do 64 MPH.

 

Well as we packed it up we chatted about the boat. We agreed that its fast for its size, that it has a nice smooth ride with aggressive turning, that it got up and moved quickly all the way to the top and that it was great for a stocker out of the crate. We also agreed that it was big and could be felt on the role over style turning, that it needed a ride plate to allow the nose to lift, that the key was a waste of time and that the hood was just too big.

So here is the Technical stuff.

Elevation 108 Foot

Temperature 67 to 69 Degrees

Max RPM 7780 at 68.6mph Beeper had just started

Wind was aproximatly 3 to 5 mph

Light chop and cold water

I weigh roughly 185lbs and Rob weighs roughly 175lbs.

0 to 59 was around 6 seconds. Clock on GPS with speed right over it.

Hard riding on a full fuel till low fuel indicator came on 1 hr 56 min. Trip gauge

This unit is a great stock boat. Was easy and safe to ride. Extremely easy to turn with little or no force pulling you off the ski. Only force I felt was pushing me into the seat as the boat dipped/rolled to turn hard.  

Two person riding was simple and fun. Still easy to turn with bothe riders having comfort of the push into seat force.

Thanks for your time. Check back soon for we are now installing the free flow exhaust from Riva.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________