I just bought a 2002 1200 STX-R. What should I do first?

[beekermartin]

Does the gas gauge work? If so, you don't need a Reserve setting or a selector valve. Plug the On outlet, hook the hose directly to the Reserve outlet. When the gauge gets low, put gas in it.

The only problem with this is that you don't have an Off setting. You can buy an On-Off inline valve pretty cheap.

I currently have it setup exactly that way. The fuel gauge does work. I was thinking about leaving it that way for now but my OCD might not be able to live with it forever.

On a side note the day I thought I sucked up a rock, I can now confirm I did. Lol. I removed the old already slightly damaged stock impeller today to install the Solas impeller Impros repitched. The stock impeller was damaged before
but it is really damaged now. Unfortunately the wear ring also suffered some damage but it is fairly minor. Lesson learned. Shut off the motor when I am near any loose stones. I won't make that mistake again. I'll post some pics of the impeller when I get home.


All three blades are damaged but that is the worst one. I am surprised I was hitting almost 57 mph and it was running smoothly with that much damage. I can't wait to see how the newly pitched Solas impeller performs.

[turboman412]

Gas gauge in the stxr is more inaccurate then the ultra. I wouldnt run it without a reserve

[beekermartin]

Gas gauge in the stxr is more inaccurate then the ultra. I wouldnt run it without a reserve

I won't run it without the reserve for long. I will replace the petcock valve if I need to.

I took it for a short ride today with the Solas impeller Impros repitched for me. I hit just over 57 mph which was a disappointment. It seems faster and smoother but I didn't gain much top end. I was only hitting 7k rpms. I thought they would have pitched it to hit closer to the 7500 rpm cut off. One thing I did notice is when turning at a sharp angle while under a load I thought I could hear the impeller rubbing the housing. This could be my imagination but it definitely sounded like a metal to metal noise. In a straight line I never noticed it but when turning hard like doing a donut I could hear it. I didn't replace the bearings in the pump when I installed the Solas impeller. Maybe the rock did some damage to the bearings as well. I imagine that could cause some play that could allow the impeller to rub the housing.

I pulled the pump and nothing seems obvious but I am going to rebuild it anyways. I have the kit to do it so I mine as well.

What max rpm would be ideal? I know the rev limiter is 7500 so I assume running as close to that as possible would be ideal. I was hoping to hit 7400 but i only hit 7000.

Here is a shot of the plugs. There is a lot more carbon build up on cylinder 3 plug. There is some on cylinder 1 as well but cylinder 2 is the cleanest. Is that because I am running premix and the oil injection? Since cylinders 1 and 3 get extra oil from the balance shaft cavities I am figuring that is the reason.

[turboman412]

Mine hits max rpms at 7200 and had a gps top speed of 62-63 mph

[beekermartin]

Mine hits max rpms at 7200 and had a gps top speed of 62-63 mph

Maybe after I replace the pump bearings and I am not running premix I will pick up a few more mph? I don't know if running premix and the oil injection reduces performance at all.

[beekermartin]

Unfortunately I didn't have time at work this week to rebuild the pump. Odds are my next water test update will be next spring. Maybe I will get lucky and have one more water test this fall but that is unlikely at this point. I will continue to update this thread with any updates I might have but odds are that won't be until the spring.

Thank you to all of you that have helped me through this nightmare. Hopefully the next season will go smoothly and all my expense and hard work will pay off. Only time will tell...

[beekermartin]

I have been working on getting the ski onto the dolly I bought. It sits higher than my trailer so it had been a challenge by myself. Hopefully I'll have some help this weekend to figure it out.

Anyway I was crawling under it and noticed some damage to the hull fiberglass. I noticed it before but I took some pics this time. Maybe this is part of the reason my top speed isn't what it should be? Is this a big deal? Should I repair it? Is it something I can do myself or do I need to have a professional do it?

[steve45]

That's not your speed problem. It might slow you down 1/2 MPH.

I'd fix it, but that's just me. There are millions of the out there like that.

[beekermartin]

That's not your speed problem. It might slow you down 1/2 MPH.

I'd fix it, but that's just me. There are millions of the out there like that.

Any tips or links on how to repair it?

[steve45]

Any tips or links on how to repair it?

I'm not a fiberglass guy, but there are some on here. Not really hard, but time consuming.

There are lots of videos about it on YouTube. I've been watching a guy on Boatworks Today that seems pretty knowledgeable.