2012 RXP-X - The Bad & The Ugly

[RXPX]

There are many threads and posts already available that sing the praises of the new 2012 RXP-X and I agree with all the hype, it is a truly amazing ski.

I wanted to provide what few criticisms I do have with my new Doo for the people looking for the other side of the story:

1 ) Steering misaligned straight out of the crate - jet nozzle pointing to right when handlebars are straight. Many others have exactly the same problem. This is an easy warranty fix at 10hr service mark but its crazy that Seadoo isn't making dealers double check the alignment before letting people drive away with them. In extreme cases this could even be dangerous for inexperienced riders. If you buy one, make them check it before you drive away, it takes 5 seconds.

2 ) Dash controls difficult - The dash menus are hard to navigate through and not customizeable as I would like (why should half my display always be devoted to the compass display if I don't even need or use it?). Also you can't cycle through important functions like engine temp, speed, fuel consumption, revs without permanently setting it to your display. I should add that I do love having statistics like engine temp and fuel consumption available, I just wish they were easier to navigate and I could see more of them at once if I want to. I'd love to have a digital reading of eng temp, minutes to fuel empty, speed and revs all on my screen at once.

3 ) Pessimistic fuel guage - I'm all for keeping a little bit of fuel in reserve but this is ridiculous. It has a 60L fuel tank and starts beeping a low fuel warning when it still has almost 25L left. Then it will tell you there is zero fuel and 0 minutes to empty when there is still around 15L left. This is just annoying and takes away from my enjoyment because I'm worried about the stupid fuel light being on. I don't want any low fuel warnings till there is only 10L left and it should only show "empty" when there are 5L or less. The other day I was out, got the low fuel warning, then about 40 minutes later it had no bars of fuel left and 0 minutes till empty. I continued to ride for another hour and a half, got home, flushed the ski and then filled the ski with fuel and it still only took 53L.

4 ) Lack of fully automatic bilge pump - anyone can flip their ski and get a hull full of water, it is a huge design flaw that you need to run the engine to remove water from the hull, especially when a hull full of salt water can cause extreme damage to your engine. Wake up seadoo, it would cost you under $100 per ski to include a 750GPH fully automatic bilge that could work just as well when the engine is off (I'll be putting mine in shortly). And the bilge outlet should be visible from the riding position so you can see when water is coming out of your hull. Its just downright dangerous selling jetskis without auto bilges pre-installed.

5 ) Air breather vents on either side of handlebars can spit salt water directly onto engine - only under extreme use (like mine ) when your ski gets splashed alot during wave jumping. Not major so long as you maintain your ski properly and wash well after use. Still, they should have used some kind of piping or tubing that directs any water well away from anything important.

6 ) Hitting side ways chop with the front of the hull - the T3 is awesome and very hard to criticize with a straight face. It almost never thuds or slaps the water except if you bounce into sideways chop while leaning towards it and the wave slaps the side of the front of the hull. Only happened to me so far around 5 times in 13.5 hrs but it does happen every now and again and it gives you a fairly violent slap/thud.

7 ) ECU modes - ECO, Normal and sport modes are great though it can be difficult to switch between them on the fly. I looked stupid when a 2010 TX tried to race me on the weekend and I got stuck in ECO mode with a top speed of around 80kph. Also normal mode doesn't give you nearly enough low-down power when you ask for it. If I pull the throttle wide open I don't want a slow and sluggish rev up with zero boost. You have to wake it up with some quick revs and keep them above 4000 RPM to get instant power, this means I have to always be in sport mode when I'm out jumping waves. Once again this is not major but I think they should make performance in normal mode more closely related to how wide you pull the throttle open. Full throttle should definitely be close to full power at any speed or revs.

8 ) Front storage - Much more water resistant than previous models but there is no removable storage bucket anymore and the plastic interior is a bit fragile and very annoying to take apart if you need to get at the battery or fuses. You wouldn't want to keep anything heavy in there because it would bounce around and quickly snap the flimsy plastic wall that separates the front storage from the engine bay. This makes the unusually large storage area fairly useless unless you need to transport a lot of soft, light items like 15 beach towels for example. Don't know why you would ever need to do that

9 ) Takes to long to turn on - my 08 can read my D.E.S.S key immediately and turn on in a fraction of a second, why the hell can't my 2012? I have to push the button to turn the dash on, wait a second, put the key in, wait another second for the double beep to say its recognized the key, then turn it on finally. On the weekend I fell off in the surf, climbed back on and almost got taken out by a monster wave because I couldn't get the ski started quickly enough to get out of the way.

This is in no way a bashing of this jetski, I love it and its the best stock ski I have ever ridden by far. This is just so you know about some of its less praiseworthy quirks before you buy one (and you will )

Hope you guys appreciate the insight, this took me ages to write up.

[eissa]

+1 True

Great write up

[UNSANE]

Even though I ride an iS, I'm with you on Point 3. My bars show empty and my alarms go off when I still have 4-5 gal (16-20L) in the tank. I understand their thought process, but does the alarm really need to go off every minute or so???

[RXPX]

+1 True

Great write up

Thanks

Even though I ride an iS, I'm with you on Point 3. My bars show empty and my alarms go off when I still have 4-5 gal (16-20L) in the tank. I understand their thought process, but does the alarm really need to go off every minute or so???

Maybe they think we're too stupid to understand an 8 bar fuel gauge and require loud noises and red lights to protect us... from ourselves...

At very least you should be able to set the fuel reserve amount it through the settings menu. My settings menu is jam packed with a grand total of one option to choose from but they could probably squeeze another entry in there if they tried hard enough.

My 10hr service is booked for Tuesday, I'm going to see if they can do anything about it with their BUDS system, among other things like aligning my steering so it points straight.

I wonder if they'll make a semi-waterproof front storage bucket to fit the 2012 PX, I'd be keen on one of those.

[cle96354]

Even though I ride an iS, I'm with you on Point 3. My bars show empty and my alarms go off when I still have 4-5 gal (16-20L) in the tank. I understand their thought process, but does the alarm really need to go off every minute or so???

I had the same problem with my first Sea Doo (2008 RXPX). It would sound off the alarms with 7 gal remaining. A trip, under warranty, to the dealer and problem solved. From what I understand the unit that controls this is adjustable. I now have the 2012 RXPX and haven't run it down to the minimum yet to see if the alarms sound to early. I will update when I get there.

[Tiny]

Thanks for the write up but I am going to try and address a few of your issues for you.


#1--The steering SHOULD have been checked during the PDI!!! You need to look at your PDI sheet you signed during your delivery and see if the dealer marked it as adjust/verified....Then you have a complaint with your dealer...

#2--Fuel Gauge---Look at it this way, it could be like a Kawi 250/260/300....When their low fuel light comes on they still have 7 gallons of fuel!!!!! I know a guy who cut a tank open and tested it when the 250's first came out because he couldnt believe that he was out of fuel so fast....

#3--Maybe they will add a bilge pump next year..the only SD to ever come with a Rule bilge pump was the XPL....

#4--They already make a front storage bucket tray for you to add to your ski.....I have 4 of them in stock at the shop but I am not sure what the part number is as it is sunday and I am at home on the couch..LOL!!!

#5--Um yeah, the key thing....Its been that way since they came out with IBR....Not sure why they changed the way you have to start the skis, it can be a pain in the ass...I agree!!!!

[ange5583]

Thanks for the write up but I am going to try and address a few of your issues for you.


#1--The steering SHOULD have been checked during the PDI!!! You need to look at your PDI sheet you signed during your delivery and see if the dealer marked it as adjust/verified....Then you have a complaint with your dealer...

#2--Fuel Gauge---Look at it this way, it could be like a Kawi 250/260/300....When their low fuel light comes on they still have 7 gallons of fuel!!!!! I know a guy who cut a tank open and tested it when the 250's first came out because he couldnt believe that he was out of fuel so fast....

#3--Maybe they will add a bilge pump next year..the only SD to ever come with a Rule bilge pump was the XPL....

#4--They already make a front storage bucket tray for you to add to your ski.....I have 4 of them in stock at the shop but I am not sure what the part number is as it is sunday and I am at home on the couch..LOL!!!

#5--Um yeah, the key thing....Its been that way since they came out with IBR....Not sure why they changed the way you have to start the skis, it can be a pain in the ass...I agree!!!!

Look at it this way, throughout the years 250/260/300, have out perform your seadoo shit boxes any day of the week. And your new 2012 model designed to take on 300x still missed the mark. (Seadoo back to the drawing board)

[RXPX]

Look at it this way, throughout the years 250/260/300, have out perform your seadoo shit boxes any day of the week. And your new 2012 model designed to take on 300x still missed the mark. (Seadoo back to the drawing board)

Kawi 250/260/300 hey? Are they named after how many minutes they can go without a breakdown or how many minutes 3 tanks of fuel lasts or how many tons they weigh? I can never remember.

No offence but but I'd rather stress myself out and ruin my own finances without Kawis help. I'll keep Doo-ing it forever.

[ange5583]

Kawi 250/260/300 hey? Are they named after how many minutes they can go without a breakdown or how many minutes 3 tanks of fuel lasts or how many tons they weigh? I can never remember.

No offence but but I'd rather stress myself out and ruin my own finances without Kawis help. I'll keep Doo-ing it forever.

Yeah you could be right, I might need to replay Mark Hahn 300.

[jsiouan]

You could start by bringing one of those tanks to Hydrodrags. Funny I've never seen any video of that beast at that event.

Yeah you could be right, I might need to replay Mark Hahn 300.