Hello,
Two years ago I was looking for Jet Ski for my family. I have two daughters 17 and 13 and a boy 14 years old. I went to a boat show at Racine in Wisconsin in order to talk with a person who owns, and still owns a Jet Ski. Also I was taking with Boat salesman for advice.

All of them say go to service and look at how many jet ski's you see at service. I don’t want to say anything about any other brand, but I didn’t see too many Kawasaki.

Maybe this was a good day for Kawasaki, but any way I bought s 15F last year. Now I have over 64 Mh on my machines and it is working fine with no problems. Motor always start on first touch. All of us are doing water skiing and my son is doing wakeboarding. This jet ski has enough power for any water sport activities and also it is good for cruising or have a fun on lake with a big wake.

Maybe it is little too heavy for jumping, but I am happy to have it.

Good machine overall (for the 30 hours I ridden it it darn well should be) but could use a trim feature. I miss wheelies. It jumps a wake or ocean wave very well and you can acquire some serious air. Handles like a lighter machine but has better stability in ocean conditions. Takes a pounding with the only thing coming loose so far on mine is the rubber under the first muffler. Fuel economy is poor burning about 10 GPH (WOT), however running at 45-50mph it is much lower. People will tell you how fuel efficent 4 stroke PWCs are and it is BS. If you intend to play you are going to pay for the fuel. Long rides require extra fuel to be stored in the forward storage area (3-4 gallons). Compared to say a 215hp Seadoo RXP it is 10mph slower, it burns less fuel, and it is more nimble doing spin outs. At 50mph cruising the fuel burn is close to but slightly better than the RXP as it is hardly working. A 40 mile radius seems a wise one when no refueling is available leaving ample reserve. The fuel indicator is inaccurate in rough seas showing a fuel low warning before it is actually to the 3-4 gallon remaining state.Finding calm water and waiting for a few minutes shows 4 bars instead of 1. Better this way than the reverse. The oil filter is hard to get at on the 15F and the oil needs to be sucked out through the dip stick. Storage area is very good and the flushing system works very well indeed. For the price difference between a similar performing Seadoo or Waverunner (all things averaged) this one is a better choice. Luggage tiedowns are handy and the aft tow hook pulls most anything you'd like from a 3 person tube to a water skier. As for maintenance costs expect little, you won't be held hostage by the seadoo computer BUDS when the seadoo computer memory shits the bed. You won't be dumping 2 stroke Yamaha power valves into pistons either. The lake will also have no oil/fuel slicks around your 4 stroke machine. Because the pump has no anode or corrosion protective coating as does Seadoo the machine requires careful flushing and should not be left in fresh water over the summer. Buying in the USA as a Canadian will save substantial money but unlike Seadoo, USA Kawasaki dealers are not restricted by the manufacturer not to sell to Canadians. Finally, I've beat the machine hard and never found water in the hull or air box, however residual salt water will find its way into the engine bay/hull so it should be rinsed off after ever use internally and drained out the back plugs then left to dry with the seats off if possible.

Upgrades/Accessories

Kawasaki cover. Better than after market units having a venturi suck down feature which prevents buffeting at highway speeds. It requires no straps to stay attached.

Pro's : Fast, agile, well built, great value.



Con's : Somewhat thirsty, a little nose heavy off plane with a full tank of gas.



Summary : We were initially planning on buying a used ski but could not find one in reasonable condition that was not going for close to new money. About 4 weeks before labor day I discovered a dealer out in Pennsylvania (We live in New Jersey) that had one cheap. I ended up paying $7300 dollars for an $8100 ski. So far we have been running it in Lake Hopatcong and have about 15 hours on it. While the only other ski I have ever ridden was an 80 horsepower Yamaha XL700, I am most impressed with this ski. The four stroke engine is quiet and clean. I was blown away by the performance of this ski, it is faster than it looks and will easily out run an equally new Ultra LX which is a bit of a pig in my opinion. Tops out at 64 on glass with my 160 lbs self on it in glassy conditions.Being mechanically savvy I have been able to do all of my own maintenance and it is not difficult. The shop manual is excellent and I highly recommend it. Word of caution: Follow the break in procedure religiously for maximum performance. My cousin has a 2006 STX-15 that has only 20 hours on it that he bought used. The original owner did not break in the engine properly and my ski will walk away from his despite him being five lbs lighter.

Pro's : Excellent price, very responsive, easy to manuever, handles rough conditions very well.



Con's : None so far.



Summary : I purchased a 2008 STX-15F after looking at the Ultra LX. The sales person convinced me that I wouldn't be disappointed and he was right. I was originally looking at the Ultra because of the hull design that would be more stable in rougher conditions. But after talking to the salesperson who convinced me that I wouldn't even be tell the difference in the ride between the STX and LX - I went with the cheaper STX. I've owned the STX for a few weeks now and have taken it in 2-4 off shore waves/chops and it handles in these conditions extremely well. It absolutely screams on flat water, and has a lot more power and speed that I will ever use. It's perfectly suited for my family with smaller children. We have a really nice Sea Ray boat but find ourselves taking the STX out a lot more on weekends - just because of gas prices and the ease of launching the jet ski and cleaning. The STX is well worth the money.