Yamaha exciter are they reliable?

[Johncharr]

I'm new to boating I want a 17ft boat that will fit in my garage. the yamaha exciter 1999 I'm interested in but my concerns are. parts are they hard to find when the engine goes out for that particular model? is it reliable I'm only taking it in fresh water... also how many hours are to many?

Am I making a good choice or my first boat 1999 yamaha exciter 270
I wanted the yamaha ls2000 it's to bit for my garge I really also don't wanna pay 4 storage that's why I want the exciter... seadoo speedster I hear the mercury engineare horrible to stay away from seadoos that yamahas are wayy better. my budget 2500-6000

Concern about parts I live in los angeles ca.

 

[Bruce]

Welcome Aboard!

Rebuilt engines are less than $2,000. Used engines can be sourced from waverunners. There are so many of these engines and jet pumps out there that parts are widely available either as OEM or upgraded components. The 2 stroke engines are likely to need work around 400 hours while a newer boat with 4 stroke engines could run for thousands of hours before needing work. But 400 is a lot of hours for a boat. Most are used 50 hours or less per year.

Non mechanical parts of the boat can become difficult to replace. For example at one time no cleanout plugs were available for pre '99 models but I believe those are in production again. The windshields for LS2000 models are out of production so owners who need one are left searching for used parts.

Where will you boat? A LS2000 or Exciter would not want to venture into the Pacific on anything but the smoothest days.

 

[DCB-270]

Very fun and fast boat. Cheap to rebuild and not hard to do yourself with a little mechanic skill. Not good on rough water.

 

[Mainah]

Both the rotax 2 stroke and the mercury eninges in the early seadoos are awful compared to the Yamaha. I owned two early Seadoos and will never own another. Even with the Yamaha 2 strokes I recommend compression checking regularly as it is much cheaper to catch things early and do a top end rebuild as opposed to a whole engine. Compression check all cyclinders before you buy used as well. Not only should they read within 10 percent of speck they should also all be within 5 psi of each other on a given block but sperate blocks can vary more.

Clogged oil lines are a common culprit causing engines problems so replacing them is one of the first things I would do if I bought an exciter or ls 2000.

Ditto on the rough water comments from above. I once took a 14' twin engine seadoo speedster down the coast and back 30 miles each way. Even with fairly calm seas we spent a lot of time bouncing. Once was enough.

Sure was fun pulling up to a restaurant in that thing wearing bathing suits for wine and cheese on a Sunday though. We got a lot of looks.

 

[VONCE]

I had a 95 SeaDoo speedster for a little over a year. It had twin Rotax engines. Between broken oil lines (which turned into a top-end rebuild), jet pump bearing replacement, impeller wear rings, broken throttle cables, etc, I spent a lot more time working on it than I spent enjoying it.

 

[4x15mph]

The exciter or LS2000 are great options if you plan and expect to work/update the boat. This is not a boat that I would want to store somewhere away from home since you will want to improve on little things and you will likely enjoy every minute of it if you are mechanical or want to be. There are still parts for these boats and worse case, new engines can be bought for $1000-$1500. I would look at the LS2000 with a trailer that has a foldable tongue since many people fit these in their garages. You will like the 7 seats (5 comfortably) and ability to enjoy the watersports (wakeboard, ski, etc), fish, etc. These are fast boats and very fun. I have had mine for 4 seasons and the kids love it. I have run several other boats by them and we still land back on the fact that this boat does what we need it to in our bays and lakes.

Good luck and I would be happy to answer any questions around boats that you are looking at. There are several things to look at:
- Compression
- Condition of the boat
- trailer condition
- I could go on and on.....

 

[DCB-270]

The oil lines are the biggest issue with these boats. Many including myself switched to pre mix. If its running its getting oil.

 

[Brad_Ct]

I have had my '97 220 for three years now and have not had to do a thing to it other than normal maintenance (fuel filters and spark plugs) since I repaired a few things after I bought it. It was a very low hour boat that had been stored inside all it's life so the interior and hull was very near to perfect. It did have a seized engine though due to someone trying to run it on the hose without the engine running. I paid 3K for the boat, 800.00 for a engine off of Ebay, and probably another 600.00 in misc. things like oil lines, bilge pump, blower, ect.. Love the boat, tunes of fun and very fast.