Category Archives: NEWS (ENG)

NEWS (ENG)

During our stay in Havasu after the World Finals we had the opportunity to visit the premises of Jettrim. The posters hanging off the factory’s walls are amazing. The pictured one was given to Gary Hart (owner of Jettrim) by Victor “The Slasher” Sheldon who was racing for Butch’s Jet Ski Shop on a Yamaha back in 1992. Victor was one of the pioneers of Freeride and he had also brought to the sport Supercross Star, Jeremy McGrath.

For 2010 and the next two successive years, Arai and the Isle of Man TT organization have chosen a new sponsoring concept: Arai will introduce three limited special Isle of Man TT edition helmets in 2010, 2011 and 2012 respectively. Each run of Aldo Drudi designed TT Series will be limited to strictly 500 helmets only and the Isle of Man TT organization will receive a commission for every helmet sold. Arai Helmet has for many years been a proud supporter and sponsor of the Isle of Man TT races. Year upon year Arai course banners and sign posts have decked the world famous track and again this year, as in previous years, Arai will be present on the Isle of Man, supporting the organisation of the Isle of Man TT races. The first 2010 TT Series will be priced at 899euros, including the free display set and will be exclusively distributed by Arai in Europe. The Isle of Man TT marshals will also use the 2010 TT Series Arai helmet for high visibility and to promote to the public. There has always been a strong bond between Arai and the Isle of Man TT races. Many competitors and visitors prefer Arai helmets and for many years, Arai has sponsored the event. It was therefore not a big surprise when the introduction of the limited edition ‘’Isle of Man Centennial’’ model in 2007 proved to be a huge success. Over time, Arai has amassed extensive knowledge when it comes to producing limited edition helmets and models like the Joey Dunlop Replica and the Haga Monza underline that success.

Yamaha’s new natural aspirated 1800cc four-stroke powered WaveRunner will hit the showrooms in February according to the information that we recently received from the company. The price has not been announced yet however, the company scopes to keep it in a tempting level.

Frenchman Jean Baptiste Botti clinched his first ever IJSBA Pro Ski World Title in Havasu on a standard S4 kit-ed with a 180 kit. How did he do it? He managed to set it up in such a way in order to ride it at full throttle and get the title. Read all about his race craft since we tested it exclusively on Monday after the World Finals. The report is published under the Race Tests section.

This year the spectators in Havasu had the unique opportunity to admire some of the finest and more prestigious Jet Skies ever produced and ridden in recreational or race format. The Vintage Museum was an outstanding idea and we believe that it was the most interesting attraction at the famous Performance Alley. Gary Hart of Jettrim informed us that he expects to make it even better and bigger next year. For sure there are people out there who still own some of this unique first generation pwc’s whether there are Kawasaki’s Sea Doo’s or Yamaha’s or of any other manufacturer. It will be nice to see some more of them next year.

We have already published in the past that the new Ultra 300X features exactly the same hull its predecessors 250X and 260X. Even the pump intake features the same shape and volume which work well in 2007 with the 155mm pump. According to the information that we received exclusively from Kawasaki USA the hull has be made with much greater care and is overall lighter than it was in the past (it weighs around 30 lbs lighter), though it has been reinforced in particular places in the bow area. Also, the deck is the same except they increased the thickness in a couple of locations to make it stronger.

Impeller pitch is always a puzzle since everyone measures it slightly differently, though Joe Heim (Kawasaki Jet Ski Research and Development Dep.) informed us that the pitch of Kawasaki Ultra 300X’s new impeller is close to 14/20. Kawasaki did not try to slow down the boat with the impeller because they use the governor to do that. Heim stated that in Europe the new boat with no governor it should go 71+mph. If someone finds an impeller that provides better top speed it would probably won’t hook up so well.