Stickers

I put an awesome new sticker on my jet ski. There is a brand out there called “Salt Life.”
I think it means that the person that owns the sticker is part of the ocean, but I am not sure. Well I lover going to the ocean and therefore I bought the sticker. I put it on the back of my jet ski, and I bought one for my jeep, they look great.

This weekend!!

This weekend I am going fishing at John Lloyd State Park. My jet ski is on a single trailer because my dads friend is borrowing my other jet ski. Several of my friends an I lifted my jet ski and put it on the floor. We are going to put my buddies canoe on it so we can go fishing in the mangrove trails, I am so excited.

Thinking about the Keys

I would really like to go saltwater fishing this weekend. I'm thinking about going to the keys with a couple buddies. Maybe even taking the skis to go offshore and fish. I don't know what i want to do though. If I went to the keys I'm sure i would have a great time. While writing this posting I decided I am going to do it because it wounds great. Thanks bloggerrr!

Bartenders Bash

Last Tuesday was Bartenders Bash in the Keys. Its a party for all the bartenders that want to come. Unfortunaly for me its 18 years old and up so I wasn't aloud to go. Last year my dad went and said it was amazing, naked girls everywhere and a lot of free beer. One day I will be old enoguh to attend this amazing even with my father.

Racing a Toyota Tacoma

My friend Tyler has a really fast Toyota Tacoma with a 3” lift and 33” BF Goodrich tires, he has an air intake and a supercharger. I think my jet ski would beat it from 0-60. One of these days I’m going to take my jet ski to Markham park and race his truck because the canal is right next to the freeway. I’m going to laugh so hard when my jet ski beats his beloved truck.

Vintage Class

In the world of Jet Ski racing there are several different classes: stock, vintage, limited, and unlimited. My jet ski is old, it’s a ’98 but the cutoff to vintage class is ’97 and older. I was very angry because that’s the only class I have a chance of winning a lot of races. I can’t run stock because my jet ski is far from being stock. I would have no chance in limited and unlimited because all of their jet skis are ridiculously fast. I hope that eventually the rules will change to include ‘98s.

GPR Conversion

A GPR conversion is when you take a Yamaha hull and put a Sea doo motor in it. The Sea doo motor is a lot faster and can be more heavily modified, but the Yamaha hull is a lot quicker in the water. It is becoming more common to see people doing these conversions. A couple of my friends have done the conversion and finished today. They are going to go test it out at Markham park today and I plan to be there.

Record breaking Ski!!!

Last weekend at the Riva Hydro Drags a team from Puerto Rico shipped in a Jet Ski worth over $100,000 that broke the world record for fastest speed caught on radar. The Jet Ski clocked in at an astonishing 100.5 mph. It was a GPR with a heavily modified Sea doo RXP motor. The headers alone were worth $12,000. However in a head to head race with Americas fastest Jet Ski owned by JD1, the Americans won by just half a boat keeping the title in the U.S.

My dad wants to go to the keys.

The keys are one of my favorite places to ride because the waters are so nice. If I go with him this weekend I am definitely going fishing with my friends that live down there. Every time we go to the keys I forget to bring my fishing pole, but I will for sure remember this time. Fishing off a jet ski is kind of hard, but its something worth trying.

i'm not racing this weekend.

To my devastation I was not aloud to race this weekend. My jet ski wasn’t going to be in the vintage class like I had hoped for. The cut off was for 1997 jet skis and older, I have a 1998. The Riva Hydro drags were going to be a lot of fun, but now I can’t race because I would definitely loose to the new supercharges jet skis. Oh well I guess I’ll just go out and party this weekend.

I was in a magazine!

Last week my dad came to me with the great news that his friends had found one of my racing pictures in the latest issue of “Ride” magazine. The article was about a race I did last year. It was a picture of me at the drag races doing superman on my dads jet ski going 73mph+ I though it was pretty cool to be in a magazine and have your friends see you.

Hydro Drags

The second annual Hydro drag races are coming around in a few weeks, I can’t wait to compete. Last year I rode my dads jet ski and won 3rd place in the stock class (I was cheated out of 1st). This year I get to race my jet ski in the vintage class, I am ecstatic. My ski is really fast for the class and if I can get my starts just right I have a very good chance of winning first place.

I might go to the Keys this weekend.

My friend Joe got a two night free stay at a hotel in the Key Largo. He also has a jet ski that he will be taking. My idea was to take mine down there and party it up all day. I invited my friend lance and these girls. I really hope it works out, whenever I plan out something this much fun something ruins it. I can’t wait for this weekend to come.

Kissimme was a sucess!

I had such a great time last weekend on the Kissimmee River. I was nailing all the turns at 60mph+ everyone was happy to be there and there was a good turnout. About 50 different people came from all over the place, one group of guys came from North Carolina, and another from South Carolina just to ride the river. At one point I went fishing by myself, it was a bad idea. I was quickly surrounded by alligators looking for their next meal, I got out of there as quickly as I could.

Can't wait for this weekend!

This weekend I'm going to the Kissimme river, it is one of my favorite places to ride. The Kissimme river is a 15-20ft wide river with incredible "twisties". Some of the turns are a full 180 degrees. I go through all of them at 60mph+ this is really a place for experienced riders. If you fall off at kissimme there are a lot of alligators, so your in trouble. I fell off once at 63mph there and I was really scared because I knew what was in the water with me (I was rescued quickly). However I am really excited, I'm going to fix the ski tommorow, and get my fishing pole.

I found the problem with my jet ski

Last week I posted that my beloved jet ski wouldn't start. Well i found the problem, the starter motor is brooken. I changed a couple power cables, to my despair I found it didn't work. Then my dad came and figured it out. The starter motor is very Expensive usually around $280. However I found a guy who would sell me a used one for $65 so I plan to buy that one. I tried to take off the old motor and I simply couldn't get it off, im going to take it to get fixed later this week. I want to have my jet ski in running condition for this weekend at Kissimme!

My jet ski won't start!

The other day I walked into my garage to start up my jet ski. It hadn't been run in about a month so I thought it was time to start it, as with all engines you need to run them every so often. Well, it wouldn't start, so I changed the positive battery cable leading from the solenoid to the engine. Now it won't even turn over, I have to debug this problem soon because I am going on a really awesome trip next weekend the second I get out of SAT's. I know most of you don't know what im talking about when I mention engine stuff. I just need to talk about something to get a good grade in Stoklosa's class.

Engine Swap

The other day my friend was driving down the highway minding his own business when a drunk driver crashed into him and sent him and his trailer (with his jet ski on it) flying. The ski was totaled, ironically most of the engine was fine. He has a Yamaha SHO which is a heavy jet ski with an extremely powerful motor. His idea was to take the motor and put it into a lighter hull to reach speeds of 80mph+ so he took the idea and ran with it. He bought an old Yamaha GPR hull and is in the process of swapping the engines. When it is done I think it is going to be a really awesome and fast jet ski to ride.

Freestyle

Freestyle jet skiing is extremley awesome. Usually it consists of stand up jet skis doing back flips, barrel rolls, or insane air of ocean waves. The athletes that participate in this kind of jet skiing are my heroes. Being 30ft in the air upside down on a jet ski must be the adrenaline rush of a life time. When I get enough money I plan to buy a stand up jet ski, and start learning how to do freestyle tricks. I am very excited to get involved with this area of competing. I've gone about 15-20ft above the water with my jet ski, I can't wait to go 30ft.

My favorite Place to Ride...The Keys

My favorite place to ride is the Florida Keys. The waters are so clear, and so blue. There are amazing places to go diving, and fishing. Racing there is a lot of fun. Although not many races are held there. The wildlife is rediculously amazing. You see dolphins all the time. Barracudas are all over the lighthouses, and jellyfish are everywhere. The water is usually a very nice temperature. The reefs are amazing, I love to go down to the reefs, and snorkel. The Christ of the Abyss is a statue of Jesus underwater which is pretty cool. If the ecnomy is still bad when I grow up, im moving to the keys and selling hats made out of palm tree leaves.

The Yamaha FX SHO

Yamaha came out with a new model last year, the FX SHO. This was a revolutionary model for Yamaha, its there first fast muscle boat. It has a 1.8 liter, supercharged, super high output Yamaha Marine Engine. It has the largest displacement ever put into a personal watercraft. The engine is 4-stroke, fuel injected, and it gets good gas mileage. Yamaha's have always been known as a reliable, gas efficient, and overall well built machines.
Several of my friends own the new Yamaha FX SHO, they like it a lot. The only problem i see with it, is that after 70 mph it starts to jump a little bit. Speed is not a problem with this huge engine. I would definitely recommend this jet ski for a fam9ly looking to have fun on the water.

My New Jet Ski

My dad came to me with the great news that my friend is selling his 1996 Sea Do XP for only $500. That is an incredible deal, the ski is in a pretty good condition. There are a few problems, the carbeurators are gummed up and need to be rebuilt, the trailor has electrical prblems, and it needs minor body work. My plan is to fix all the problems, then seel it for atleast $2000. I will get to ride one of my favorite models for a couple months, and in the end make about $1600. I can't wait to pick it up this week and get started on the repairs.

New Seadoo Suspention

The new Seadoo luxury performance model had a revolutionary new idea on how riding a Jet Ski can be easier. As you can tell riding through 2-3 ft chop is not fun, Sea doo has developed a suspension for Jet Skis.This intelligent Suspension allows the hull to move independently of the upper deck, isolating the rider and passenger from the impact of rough water with 6'' of suspension travel. So you can ride with greater comfort and control, and longer, through all types of conditions. The suspension comes factory-set for luxury cruising on the GTX Limited iS and readily adapts to fit changing conditions, number of passengers or personal preference. Choose one of nine settings or set it to auto calibration. And do it all on the move, using the rocker switch on the handlebar. In my opinion having this on a Jet Ski is rediculous, but it is an innovative idea.

Mudbug Nationals Rally

Mudbug Nationals are Jet Ski races held once a year in Morgan City, Louisiana. Hundreds of extremely modified Jet Skis from around the world come to participate in the activities and the races. Amazing Skis come from all over the world, it is truely and amazing site to be seen. I went last year and had a phenominal time. Its a very small city, with a small population. When everybody shows up the whole town is one big party. Everywhere you go on the water is Jet Skis racing. I plan to go next year to, the only problem is the drive. It took about 16 hours to get

Jet Ski Racing can be an Expensive Hobby

The main cost in racing Jet Skis is of course, the Jet Ski itself. For example mine cost $3,000 and my dad's cost $11,800. After all the modifications and parts I have bought for my Jet Ski the grand total comes out to be about $7,000. This cost deters most people from wanting to race Jet Skis. There is also the huge cost of operation, I have to run premium gas in both my dads and mine. Gas mileage is not good either I estimate I get around 4 mpg, I'll go through a 22 gallon tank in about a day. Since my moto is a 2- stroke, which is fundamentally different than all new motors out there, I have to premix my gas with special marine oil, witch is $40 a gallon.

I trailer my Skis wherever I go, that means gas for the tow vehicle, and towing a 2500 lb trailer definitely affects gas mileage. Then there are race registration fees. The fees vary from race to race. Accessories can get very pricy to, my life jacket cost $80. There are numerous other fees that also come with riding in Florida like the following: restaurant meals, hotel rooms, bar tabs, broken parts, and of course speeding tickets, which come standard when purchasing a really fast personnel watercraft. I'm really glad my dad pays everything for me. :)

Kawasakis New Model

Kawasaki is a leader in the PWC (personal water craft) industry. They recently came out with a new upgraded 3 passenger model. It called the Ultra 260x, the old model was the Ultra 250x. The 260 stands for 260 horsepower. It is an inline, supercharged, 4 cylinder engine with a lot of horsepower. The new ski weighs a little over a thousand pounds and has the same deep V hull that made it famous. I own the old version of the bike and i have to say, it is one fast jet ski. With a few modifications, such as: wedge, ride plate, and the blow off valve it is a crazy ski to ride. The new colors also have everyone all wound up, it comes in a Kawasaki signature green and black design. This is one sharp ski!

Here is the link to the site where you can see pictures of this incredible ski- http://www.kawasaki.com/Products/Product-Specifications.aspx?scid=23&id=349

1st annual ride

This January the South Florida Riders had there 1st annual jet ski club ride in the Florida keys. The club started out in that very spot a year ago on January 17, 2008. Ever since then we have been on dozen of trips all around the Southeast. The club is aquireing new members every month. It has become famous all over the world, and a prominent name amoung the jet ski racing industry. Here is the link to the website where all the pictures are http://www.soflariders.net/1stanniversary.html .

Jet Skis

My name is Tommy Gregory and i am completely enthralled in modifying and racing jet skis. My father is the president of the South Florida Riders. It is a club for fellow jet skiers, we have gatherings once or twice a month. We ride all over South Florida, from up in the alligator infested rivers of Orlando, to the beautiful waters of the Florida Keys.