Opinions on a possible new ski

[JetPowered]

A friend recently picked up a 2003 Honda AquaTrax F-12X (turbo) that has 118 hours on it from it's original owner. With single ski trailer it was $3500. I had the chance to take it up to the lake this weekend and put about four hours on it. Feels solid, pulls firmly all the way up to 65. The reverse works fine, but might need a little adjustment. It's stiff to engage and it's a pull up handle on the hull, not a lever on the handlebars like some of the newer yamahas I've ridden.

Bilge looks very clean. Turbo has the lightest bit of rust in a few spots, but doesn't look like it was ever in salty or overly wet conditions. I meant to check the oil when it was warm and on the lake. I don't think I have the adapters to run it on water in my driveway.

Hull is largely free from major defects. Climbing underneath, there are what I would consider some typical beaching scratches in the bow area. There are about three atypical gouges down to the fiberglass that I found, some the size of a pencil, the other about one inch long. I think these would be easy enough to patch up.

What else should I be looking at inspecting? Does $3500 sound for a relatively low hour but older ski?

 

[JetPowered]

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[veedubtek]

I don't know any specifics to the Honda skis, but I've heard great things. And, at $3500 w/trailer for a clean 4 stroke ski, that strikes me as a pretty good deal.

 

[Ronnie]

Here in nor cal, honda’s Don’t come up for sale that often and usually start at $5k with a trailer. If it’s running right $3,500 is a good deal.

 

[JetPowered]

Finally got service records back from the dealer, looks like they did a "water evac" on it at 88 hours back in 2007, run 15 quarts of oil thru it to flush. Currently has 118 hours on it. Didn't see any other obvious signs of water log problems. I've read enough on these forums to see that water ingestion in to the engines is not necessary death for the engine if taken care of promptly. It does have 30 hours on it since this problem, but that was the end of the dealer servicing. I don't know the history after that.

Thoughts?

 

[Jgorm]

Remove some oil to examine and run a compression test.

 

[JetPowered]

Ran it to op temps on the hose. Other than being a little dirty the oil does not look frothy or thin and has normal smell. I might draw off a little more.

 

[JetPowered]

Oh and compression numbers looked ok after running them by the dealer.

 

[Ronnie]

I would buy it if I were in your position.

 

[boudin]

While it sounds like a clean ski, I would pass. The Honda's have been discontinued for a while now, and parts can be a challenge. The Yamaha VX110s are ultra-reliable, plentiful and cheap. You won't do 65 (more like low 50s). If you watch Craigslist, you can pick-up a newer Yamaha VX110 for that price w/trailer.

-Greg

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Get A Yamaha dolphins love Yamaha skies taken by my passenger yesterday .

 

[BigN8]

While it sounds like a clean ski, I would pass. The Honda's have been discontinued for a while now, and parts can be a challenge. The Yamaha VX110s are ultra-reliable, plentiful and cheap. You won't do 65 (more like low 50s). If you watch Craigslist, you can pick-up a newer Yamaha VX110 for that price w/trailer.

-Greg

Yep, what he said...

 

[BigN8]

I bought a 2013 Seadoo GTX 215 last year and put a couple hours on it. I'm about to sell it I think. You interested in buying mine? It's very fast and turns on rails. Also has stop and reverse on the handle bars.

 

[Surferd15]

Wanted to chime in on my Honda Experience. Bought a 2003 Honda F12x turbo for $200. Couldnt pass it up. Had a leaking exhaust manifold which most will get (strike 1). Buying new will cost you $700 to 900! Found a good used one for $250. Tested no leaks. Then had to remove the engine to get water out and replace the rusted starter bendix. Not a too bad of a job. Then the turbo was shot.(strike 2) New turbo $2500..you cant rebuild.got lucky and got a brand new one that was used in a marine school. $500. Did some cosmetic stuff new blacktip mats and seat cover and pump wedge. Then the reverse and steering nuts break...fix those $60. Take it out a few times best on gps was 61mph (they arent very fast). Then got the infamous code of death...Needs an ECM.(strike 3) New $1200....got a used one $450. Rode another 2 times and the new turbo went...parted that b*tch out!! New turbo went because there is an oil feed line that has a small screen and it got clogged. So lets recap. Honda issues not just with my ski: Exhaust manifolds, ECM issues and Turbo. 3 main expensive parts. But they are sooo reliable.....I bought the ski for $200. Would I buy another for that price hell no. Free..no thanks. There is also a recall on the GAS TANKS for leaking!!. Dealers do the work for free and have to remove the motor but and BUT they are finding worn motor mounts, swollen hoses bad clamps etc...added to your bill.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I like to buy a new ski ride the hell out of it , sell it and buy another one , Kawasaki was the worst experience I ever had, totally will never buy another.
Sea Doo was good with the 2 stroke engines but I do not like the 4 stroke models I owned 2 supercharged skies one was the Kawasucki , by far the worst experience I ever had from the lack of reliability to the nose heavy wet ride to the warranty or lack there of and the corrosion of the metal on the engine even with anodes added like all my skies have.
This was the MOST UNRELIABLE NEW SKI I HAVE EVER OWNED even up against used skies of other makes like sea doo. Gas consumption was horrid as well.
My experience with Sea Doo is their hulls are rock solid their 4 stroke engines are ok . They have a lot of issues like motor mount failures that lead to other issues and when water gets in the hull you end up with a lot of electrical issues but I had so many issues with the pumps cavitating and blowing bearings so often that I carried a spare pump on my van still have it actually, so I refuse to ever consider another Sea Doo it's all about reliability ! Yamaha takes the lead but I will never buy a supercharged Yamaha again, my experience with the low quality bolts corroding in my venue made more work for me , I do a list of things to a ski before it ever hits the water, changing crappy bolts is one of the things I always do. If Yamaha had a more solid hull It would be a total winner. I also mingle with a number of ski owners and I get feedback on their skies and their problems with those skies. I ride the hell out of a ski so if it can handle what I put it through it should handle what the average person needs from it with ease.

As for the Honda skies I never had any interest in those and never rode one. But since they discontinued those a long time ago I figure they know the shortcomings better than any one so if they don't want to sell them I don't want to own one.
My time on the water is very valuable to me and if a ski fails I get messed up or worse so I trust my life to my skis, honestly if they fail I can get seriously hurt. And the head nurse at the nursing home won't let me out any more!

 

[Ronnie]

@Surferd15 , I have never read about Honda aquatrax being a lemon but I realize there must be some out there. They don’t come up for sale here much and when they do they are usually priced close $4k. I’ve never ridden one but want to. I read that you are in $1,460, I would have offered the seller $400 just to lock in the deal I initially as it would have gone fast here in Ncal but may have thrown in the towel before replacing the turbo. Still if you ever want to sell it, please let me know I might be down for a road trip if the price is right.

@Cobra Jet Steering LLC , I agree with you on the reliability of a non super charged Yamaha wave runner. I bought a used fx 140 in December. For about the same price I could have got a 2005 supercharged Seadoo but could test ride it and didn’t want to take the chance the supercharger was shot even if the compression check on the trailer came back ok. I read that I can check the supercharger without riding the ski but it would require some disassembly which neither I nor the seller was comfortable with so we never made a deal but I think I will always regret not jumping on that because the performance difference was considerable. A younger version of me would have been all over the Seadoo but the older version is wiser, going for reliability over performance plus I’m just tired of wrenching on skis, numerous used two stroke Seadoos taught me that lesson.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Well acceleration is faster but top end is controlled by the U S Coastguard Unofficially but a well known fact. So who cares, I can say that when I had 2 supercharged skies I had to restart the gas pump because it reached 99 dollars when filling up both skies and the 4 gas cans I bring with me, Now I only spend about 40 or 50 dollars a day on fuel and I can drive standing on the seat no hands too, ok so that last part has nothing to do with a super charger but what the heck!

 

[Surferd15]

@Ronnie sorry man that thing is long gone. Those were just the main parts. I didnt add up all the other crap. Rumor is that Honda is coming back. Remember this post.

 

[JetPowered]

Well, may fortune favor the foolish. It's mine now. It's going up to the lake this weekend

@Surferd15 , how many hours were on your Honda when you got it? I holing out hope that this was a well maintained unit, but I may dump it if it starts to screw up.

 

[Surferd15]

@JetPowered hard to remember it wasnt alot. Think 60 hrs.