It all started way back in 1993. You see, I finally kicked my wife out of the house for sleeping around (for a good time, call 555-5555) and I quickly realized that I did not earn enough income to pay for the house. So, along comes Shawn. I had known him for years, and I knew he could afford to help me too. And, he brought his toy, a Kawasaki 550sx.
Well, curiosity killed the Dan, and before long I had accompanied him to the lake, with a rental in tow. Truth of the matter was, I never had so much fun in my entire life! It was a blast. I was hooked.
The following weekend, I went skiing with some co-workers, and they owned a Polaris SL650. If they had a Sea-Doo, I probably would have bought one of those. But their SL650 was like night and day compared to the Kawasaki TS I had rented. It was a BLAST. The very next weekend, I was at my local dealership, Metro Motorsports, purchasing my first Jet Ski.
Now, I know I wanted lots of top speed, and I know I wanted the MFD, and I know I wanted quick trim. So the SL650 was not for me. Instead, I chose the bad boy at the time, the Sea Lion 750. Stock, it was good for 52mph (on a perfect day), which was the second fastest stock ski. (first being the Sea Doo XP at 52.7mph)
I followed the break in procedure to a T, then began to experiment. With experimentation, I discovered the SL750's one major flaw. In a 360 spin, the float in the gas tank had a tendency to get stuck at the bottom. In 1994 alone, Metro Motorsports:
Ok, gas guage is working fairly good. It's not very accurate, but at least it was working. As 1994 drew to a close, I stored the ski for winter.
February rolled in with beautiful mid 70 degree days, and the urge to go jet skiing started up again. We skiied approximately six times between then and April. This is where the nightmare began.
A relative of mine, whose name I won't disclose, asked to borrow my jet ski. Of course my natural instinct was: NO WAY! But he was cutting me a deal on computer memory, which at the time was very expensive, and I figured as long as I explained everything, he would be fine. I even offered to take him to the lake real quick to get him aquainted with the ski, but alas, I never did get around to it. Strike one for me.
By this time, I had modified the jet ski with flame arrestors, the waterbox, intake scoop, and ride plate. The longer ride plate made it real hard to insert the drain plug, and I had lent it out without putting it in place. Well, my relative is a reasonably intelligent person, he'll remember.
The call that night: "Yea, it runs, we just can't get the engine to turn over. I found a rock in the prop, but we pulled it out. We were just cruising along when it all of sudden stopped."
Ok, anything else? "Yea, we forgot to put the drain plug in, and it filled with water, right to the handlebars. But we drained it!"
I am shaking by now, all I want to do is see my jet ski. (I am at work) He brings it home, and tries to jump start it, thinking the battery is dead. No go. They pull the plugs, nothing in the way. It starts to look real bad.
I explain the situation to Metro Motorsports. Can't get the engine to turn over, possible water ingestion, etc etc etc. Metro: Sorry Mr. Evander, your warranty doesn't cover water damage. I said it could be due to water damage, but was not sure. The jet ski ran for six hours after the flooding incident.
They take the ski, and using a four foot bar, break the engine lock. They TELL me to lake test it first. They also refuse to tear down the top end to inspect for damage, saying its pre-mature and would cost me too much! Not knowing better, I follow their instructions, and lake test it. The power is off, the response is bad, its stalling everywhere. I take it back. Something is very wrong.
>Approximately three weeks later, they give me the bad news. Cylinder number one is fried, the rod was pulled out of the piston head. Chunks of metal had fallen into the engine and destroyed my crankshaft. (now that I think about it, those metal chunks had to be after they broke it clear, and I rode it stupidly following their advise. They cost me an additional $1200 by telling me to lake test it!) I was looking at thousands of dollars worth of repairs. When I tell my relative, he begins avoiding me, and I never did see even half of the money.
I tried to cut costs where I could. Substituting after market parts wherever it was possible. The engine also had to be bored out, I needed a new crank, and new connecting rods and pistons. The entire fix up cost over $2000. I would check back on a weekly basis:
My battery died during the course of the engine rebuild. They tried to charge me for it. I also replaced the plugs before that stupid lake test, but they charged me for a new set anyway. They tell me that I would have to break in the jet ski again. Not a problem, I am just happy to get it back. After a single ride, I check the engine bay. HORROR!
I went back, and had them fix this stuff,but they warn me that I am out of warranty. I wouldn't be if the ski hadn't been in the shop for almost THREE months! It takes them four days to fix these miscellaneous problems. They tell me they rigged the float so that it will register better.
I complete the break-in procedure, and give it full throttle. The speedo slowly climbs. 35, 40, 41. 41! Thats it! I feel like I am flying! The boring and the racing reeds give it tremendous power. NOTHING on the lake can touch me, but the speedo still reads 41. Whats going on here? To top it off, the gas guage doesn't work anymore. I begin to test the throttle range. Something is very wrong, there is a bad low end bog, it stalls at idle, and the engine feels very hot after being run. I bet those damn carbs aren't tuned.
I take it back in to Metro and explain the new host of problems. And why is my gas guage still bad? I now have to pay $70 for them to test it at the lake, and set the carbs the way they should have been set when I picked up the ski! Damn it, this shop is bleeding me dry! This time I have to leave the ski in the shop over the weekend, meaning I get to miss another day of skiing. By now, we are entering September, and the water is cooling.
When I pick up the ski, the mechanic informs me he saw 59mph on my speedo, and the gas guage is working fine. I take it to the lake. I never saw above 48, and the gas gauge still doesn't work.
This time they say I got the speedo line plugged with dirt, and they have replaced the sender in the gas tank again.
I take it out again, and I am still having the same problems! Next time, they replace the MFD. "This is the last time we replace anything under warranty," Metro tells me. Your warranty expired three months ago! I explain to them that I never had these problems before they touched my ski. They load me up quickly.
Final run of the season. And...NO! The damn speedometer still doesn't work. This time, there is a new Polaris mechanic. They charge me sixty bucks to fix the speedometer, and for the life of me, I still don't know what they did. I winterized the ski again.
I vowed I would never let Metro Motorsports work on my Jet Ski again. They cost me way too much money in poor diagnostics. Do you know who had to adjust my carbs, even after they lake tuned it? Yep, you guessed it. ME! Do you know who finally had to fix the speedometer? Yep, me again. And as far as I can tell, I know exactly why the ski over-heated. The engine water intake got clogged with small lake debris, a problem Polaris fixed in 1995 with a screen filter. I bet warranty would have covered that! (I found small pebbles in the pickup holes, located in the pump. however they insist that these were not the cause of the problem. It is their feeling that the water in the engine is what caused all the damage, even after properly draining the engine and flushing it. Even after it ran reliably for six hours!)
Yep, I played with the big boys, and then they screwed me for thousands of dollars. All I can tell you about this is CHECK AROUND when you have problems with your ski! I will tell you straight up, don't go to Metro Motorsports, they SUCK! Instead, take your ski to someone who knows what the hell they are doing, like Group K!
What lesson can you learn from this? Don't lend your ski out! No matter what someone offers you! (I recieved about $250 worth of memory for lending my ski out) And take your ski to a performance shop, rather than a run of the mill dealership. If you have any doubts, ask around. Racers, in particular, have a very strong affinity towards a certain shop. Mechanics at these smaller shops take more pride in their work, and they are less likely to screw you for that extra dollar. Someday, I hope for a Polaris employee to read this, follow up, and learn just what kind of injustice one of their customers suffered.
Signed:
InDebt4everDue2Metro
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