Road Trip - Heading to Lake Havasu for IJSBA Races

[XDCX]

Well I've decided it's time for another quick Road Trip - this time I'm headed to Lake Havasu for a couple of days.

Lake Havasu will be hosting the IJSBA (International Jet Sport Boating Association) World Finals - essentially it's a race event for the world's best "jet ski" riders.

For me, the primary attraction will be SeaDoo's display of their new 2012 RXP-X. It's been eight years since SeaDoo released a new two-seat muscle-craft and I'm really curious to see what their new ski looks like in person. Hell, I may even get a chance to ride one.

Here's a picture of the 2012 RXP-X:

[lsx only]

Very nice we have owned several sea doos and a few waverunners over the past years.Hope u have a blast at lake Havasu

[steve_biegler]

Have fun! I'm heading to the Kawasaki dealer show. Intro on monday, I'll let you know if there is anything new on the Jet Ski front.

[possum]

Road trips are great!!

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by steve_biegler

Have fun! I'm heading to the Kawasaki dealer show. Intro on monday, I'll let you know if there is anything new on the Jet Ski front.

I hope you have a great time at the Kawasaki Dealer Show.

I thought of you yesterday when I saw this ski - it was the third ski ever built back in 1973. This is the one that started it all.....

Concerning new skis, it will be interesting to see what Kawasaki offers. While the SeaDoo guys are excited about a new RXP-X after waiting for eight years, many are disappointed that the engine is a carryover from the previous generation.

Hopefully Kawasaki will keep the pressure up on all the other OEMs and keep coming out with new product.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by XDCX

Hell, I may even get a chance to ride one.

At the risk of sounding like a weenie, I had a chance to ride one but decided against it because it was windy and cold. Maybe tomorrow.

(Damn, I just re-read that and even I think I sound like a pussy.... For the record it's only 73 in Havasu right now - that's about 20 degrees cooler than usual.)

[steve_biegler]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drZXer4rlKI
When you have an extra 10 minutes watch this. Very cool if you like jet ski's

[steve_biegler]

Originally Posted by XDCX

At the risk of sounding like a weenie, I had a chance to ride one but decided against it because it was windy and cold. Maybe tomorrow.

(Damn, I just re-read that and even I think I sound like a pussy.... For the record it's only 73 in Havasu right now - that's about 20 degrees cooler than usual.)

SO...did ya grow a pair today?

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by steve_biegler

SO...did ya grow a pair today?

Yep.....

I had a fantastic time - I'll provide more details later today when I get caught up.

[steve_biegler]

Nothing new on the Kawasaki Jet Ski front. Very cool 4 seat Teryx and 210 HP ZX14R Ninja.....bone stock mid 9 sec 1/4 mile at almost 150mph. Now THATS fun.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by steve_biegler

Nothing new on the Kawasaki Jet Ski front. Very cool 4 seat Teryx and 210 HP ZX14R Ninja.....bone stock mid 9 sec 1/4 mile at almost 150mph. Now THATS fun.

Thanks for the update - I hope you had a great time at the dealer show.

Concerning Kawasaki and their skis, they still have the powerful ski at 300 HP so maybe they don't feel the need to push the market any further yet.

Concerning the Teryx four-seat ATV, that seems to be a growing market in Arizona. The Polaris version, the Ranger, can be made street legal and it's not uncommon to see them all over the place in Havasu and other resort-type towns. The irony is by the time they're fully equipped they are almost as much money as a Jeep Wrangler.

Concerning the Ninja, if I had an interest in motorcycles and had one of those I'd probably be dead by now. Guess it's a good thing I never got into motorcycles.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by XDCX

Yep.....

I had a fantastic time - I'll provide more details later today when I get caught up.

I've been meaning to update this thread with more details.....

Yes, even though it was still windy and somewhat cold I decided I couldn't pass up an opportunity to ride SeaDoo's 2012 RXP-X. It was awesome.

There was no long line, just a few people ahead of me at the registration table. I did notice that many of the people who took the RXP-Xs out for a test ride were professional racers who were competing at the IJSBA event - SeaDoo was the only OEM that offered test rides and I think it gave their new product a lot of great exposure to their customer base.

While I thought the registration process was fast and efficient I had to laugh when I compared it to the process GM had in place when I tested a Chevrolet Volt at Barrett-Jackson. With GM they scan your Driver's License and make you pass a Breathalyzer test before you're allowed to test a mild mannered Volt on a course that has a top speed of 25 MPH while an instructor sits to your right.

With SeaDoo, by contrast, there was no high tech scanner for my Driver's License, no Breathalyzer and my reward for passing the registration process was access to a 260 horsepower ski that could do 65+MPH and the only instructors were the ones still back on-shore.

Riding the 2012 RXP-X was a blast. It had been a little over two years since I'd been on my own 2006 RXP and I had forgotten about the g-forces the skis can develop on high speed turns - I almost pitched myself off the ski and into the lake on the first buoy.

The acceleration was great and the ski seemed to hook-up a lot better in the rough water than my old RXP. My only concern was the "off power steering system" took some getting used to - maybe it was just my inexperience since it had been two years since I'd been on a ski.

The other cool feature of the 2012 RXP-X is the braking feature. At first I wasn't convinced it was that effective but once I had a chance to test it out on a mid speed run I was impressed. I applied a heavy brake at about 40 MPH and the bow dipped slightly and I was greeted by a huge wall of water. I was drenched - but I was stopped.

Overall it was a fantastic experience. I'm still a little miffed at SeaDoo for some of their past quality/design issues and I'll never forget being stranded on Lake Mead when my 2006 RXP experienced a catastrophic failure but I'd still be a buyer for the 2012 RXP-X. The ski is that good.

[XDCX]

As before, what's a good Road Trip without a few tourist pictures.

These pictures were all taken from the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City:

I had a chance to check-out the water powered Jet Pack at the IJSBA races. It's powered by a 215 HP SeaDoo motor and has a 4" collapsible fire hose that supplies the Jet Pack.

The rep said they only have three units throughout the U.S. but they plan to build more and open a shop in Havasu where people can rent one and experience the Jet Pack first hand.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by XDCX

The rep said they only have three units throughout the U.S. but they plan to build more and open a shop in Havasu where people can rent one and experience the Jet Pack first hand.

I thought of this post when I saw this morning's Groupon offer:

It looks like it would be a lot of fun for $175.