[Atwood]

Hello, thanks for the add to the forum. I have an unusual request. Our local lake has a 25hp limit, unfortunately. We are currently forced to use the 1988 and 1989 Yamaha Waverunners, these being the only PWC's ever produced with a 25hp rating. As you can imagine parts are getting difficult to find and to be honest I'm tired of wrenching on them. When Sea-Doo introduced the Spark with a base model HP rating of 60 this is the nearest rating to 25hp since the early 90's. Is there a tuner out there or a "smart key" that can detune a Spark to 25hp? I grew up on this lake, we have a pontoon docked at the marina, and we enjoy the lake very much. The kids love playing on the Waverunners but I'm hoping there is a way to detune the Spark to be approved for use on the lake and get away from the old Waverunners. Thank you in advance.

 

[ChuckTheVoice]

Can be done with a tuner, Max RPM 3000rpm...

 

[SPARK15]

Agreed. You could make a custom tune. Although it will be verrrrrryyyyy slow and sluggisssssshhhhh.

 

[Tash Neame]

personally, I'd just go to another lake

 

[peeler01]

Our local lake has a 25hp limit, unfortunately. We are currently forced to use the 1988 and 1989 Yamaha Waverunners, these being the only PWC's ever produced with a 25hp rating. As you can imagine parts are getting difficult to find and to be honest I'm tired of wrenching on them. When Sea-Doo introduced the Spark with a base model HP rating of 60 this is the nearest rating to 25hp since the early 90's. Is there a tuner out there or a "smart key" that can detune a Spark to 25hp?

How do the authorities test the hp rating of the craft you're using? Even if you de-tuned your machine or limited the RPM's, the manufacturers specs would still indicate 60HP. Would they have to remove the engine and test it on a dyno? If they do have a HP measuring device, are they measuring it at the engine or the jet pump. The jet pump HP is generally considerably less than the engine itself.
Is this a normal way to regulate boat traffic anywhere? I've never heard of anything like this. Whoever is regulating that lake must have never heard of a speed limit.

Maybe just putting a wedge of some kind in the throttle lever so that you can't go past half throttle would limit the power output enough?

 

[Tash Neame]

having a speed restriction on the lake makes more sense than having a HP restriction

 

[Atwood]

Thank you all for the replies. I agree a speed limit would make mush more sense than a HP limitation and this has been argued for years. I have written an email to the governing body asking the very same question of how do we prove the HP is now at 25 if a machine is de-tuned. I would assume a certified tech could determine the HP and issue a certification.? This is a Conservancy District lake used to control flood water in conjunction with The Ohio Dept. of Natural Recourses. The conservancy district is slow to change and very set in their ways. HP restriction has been their traditional way of controlling the use of the lake. As far as going to another lake, I could, but this is home.

 

[Cormacs]

There are lots of lakes in this area with hp restrictions. Mainly lakes in provincial parks. I guess they like hp ratings instead of speed because you could still drive a boat like an idiot under a certain speed.


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[peeler01]

Did some research on this and waddya know, horsepower limits are common on lakes in a few states. Guess I learn something every day; I'm so glad I've never lived anywhere near a place with HP limits on the water. The only thing I'm still confused about is how these limits are enforced. It almost seems as if it's up to the enforcing officer to just use their judgement. If that's the case and you de-tune a Spark, the factory specs still indicate that it is 60HP or 90HP so you'd probably still get a ticket if the officer didn't like you.

 

[Tash Neame]

wow that's still weird to me lol.

we have speed limits here in Aus instead - eg, 4 knots within 50 metres of a person in the water, and lots of beaches have a limit of 4 knots within 200 metres of the shore etc.

 

[Atwood]

FYI ....Here is a response to an email I sent to V Tech. It looks as though this will be an easy "de-tune" now I only need to have it approved the the governing body of the lake.



Hello Scott.
"We are actually planning to release a tune for children in the future.
We can "Detune" your skis to 25Hp. How many Sparks are you planning to "detune" ? To do what you ask for you will need one Maptuner, and one License per ski/VIN-Number. The Maptuner is a hand held unit that you use to reprogram your skis with the new software. With the Maptuner you can also check fault codes and erase them, Erase earlier history for example.
Because this is a special request you can't order the things you need from the website yet. You will have to order it through me via E-Mail.I assume you haven’t buy these Sparks yet? s there only a 25HP limit? Or is it a speed limit or some similar limits?"



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Joakim Westerholm
V-tech Tuning
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it approved.

 

[Cormacs]

I'm sure if you had all your documentation with you that the ski was de-tuned you should be alright. It should be fairly obvious that the ski is only running 25 hp because it would be pretty slow.


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[Tash Neame]

I'm concerned about BRP's comment about a tune 'for children'

WTF?! who would stick a kid alone on a jet ski!

law here is you gotta be 16 to ride one alone.

 

[Cormacs]

I'm concerned about BRP's comment about a tune 'for children'

WTF?! who would stick a kid alone on a jet ski!

law here is you gotta be 16 to ride one alone.

BRP made a comment on this?


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[SPARK15]

I'm concerned about BRP's comment about a tune 'for children'

WTF?! who would stick a kid alone on a jet ski!

law here is you gotta be 16 to ride one alone.

I do and I don't see any difference from them riding a motox bike .
And it was VTECH who is making the kids tune not BRP.

 

[Tash Neame]

fair enough, I just know it's against the law for anyone to ride a jet ski alone under the age of 16 where I live (and you need a boat licence too) and therefore for insurance purposes I wouldn't let my 14 yr old nephew ride it (even though hes a very mature and trustworthy kid).

plus Marine & Harbours go past our spot on the river EVERY weekend and there's a high chance of us getting fined for it.

 

[Cormacs]

Where I am insurance isn't even required.


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