Before my 2up IBR was first put in the water in early June I read many posts re the wear ring being damaged. I decided to try a solution, and I have to say that because my ski has only 8 hours up, I have not tried to run it at maximum speed, so I am not sure if this "fix" will affect top speed. I found a grille with squares half an inch by half an inch, the grille being something that is easily found at your local K Mart store! It's called a cake stand and it does the job perfectly, it's held in position by zip ties (10 of them), the length is 16 inches by 10 inches or metric 405mm by 253mm. The length is ok, the width is reduced so as to just cover the inlet grate, and the 2 ribs of the grate are what the zip ties are attached to. Last week I had the same thing happen as many others have when the wear ring is cracked...loss of power, maximum speed down to 10 kph about 6 mph. When I got the ski out of the water there was a plastic bag trapped on the grille preventing the full amount of water to be taken in and giving full power. When I got home and I took out the wear ring there was no damage, just scuffs and light grooves which I filled with carnauba wax until it was smooth again. Back on the water all was good. I need a few more hours and the first service before I will see what the top speed is with the grille fitted. Any questions or comments feel free.
Wear ring damage control?
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Hmmm. Good idea but be careful. Covering the intake doesn't just make you lose power when it gets blocked, your also losing coolant (seawater) that goes to exhaust header and exhaust to keep that cooled. Obviously you should get a temp alarm but do you want to chance it?
IMHO wear rings are the cheap replaceable item. I'd rather that get destroyed first.
my Note2 sent this...
IMHO wear rings are the cheap replaceable item. I'd rather that get destroyed first.
my Note2 sent this...
Good point, I'm keeping fingers crossed, there was no warning symbols on the dash panel....
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Heh. Long before I bought my ski I learned about issues with junk getting sucked in and breaking the wear ring and I was asking all over if there was some part / grill / grate that could be added to the intake grate to keep junk from getting sucked in there.
I was confused when you said cake stand. I think you meant cooling rack, well in the US cooling rack. I used to be a cake decorator so to me a cake stand is the thing that you put the cake on and spin it to decorate it. LOL!
It's the thicker metal right ( that you can't bend ) ? What did you use to cut it? Zip ties. Good idea. I use them for everything but never even thought of it to attach something like this to the ski.
I guess you are the guinea pig on this creation. Let us know if this works for you. Break her in over 10hrs so you can floor it!
I was confused when you said cake stand. I think you meant cooling rack, well in the US cooling rack. I used to be a cake decorator so to me a cake stand is the thing that you put the cake on and spin it to decorate it. LOL!
It's the thicker metal right ( that you can't bend ) ? What did you use to cut it? Zip ties. Good idea. I use them for everything but never even thought of it to attach something like this to the ski.
I guess you are the guinea pig on this creation. Let us know if this works for you. Break her in over 10hrs so you can floor it!
Yep a cooling rack is what it is!! They are cheap enough (2 for $7 Australian), and I've still got the second one as a spare. As for cutting I used tin snips, and also tried wire cutters ok. Don't use your nail scissors.....!! Yeah it's winter over here so time on the water is scarce, it may be 2 or 3 weeks depending on the weather before the 10 hours and first service plus handlebar recall are all done. I'll keep you posted.Heh. Long before I bought my ski I learned about issues with junk getting sucked in and breaking the wear ring and I was asking all over if there was some part / grill / grate that could be added to the intake grate to keep junk from getting sucked in there.
I was confused when you said cake stand. I think you meant cooling rack, well in the US cooling rack. I used to be a cake decorator so to me a cake stand is the thing that you put the cake on and spin it to decorate it. LOL!
It's the thicker metal right ( that you can't bend ) ? What did you use to cut it? Zip ties. Good idea. I use them for everything but never even thought of it to attach something like this to the ski.
I guess you are the guinea pig on this creation. Let us know if this works for you. Break her in over 10hrs so you can floor it!
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Cool. I can't really talk about telling you to get more hours on yours since I only have about 20 hrs on mine and still need to get my handle bars replaced. Its nice and warm in Miami but I've just been working a lot. Your ski is still a toddler since she hasn't even passed the 10 hr break in period hehhehe.
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I have this grate looking material that I bought to go over my pots when I plant wheat grass so the birds don't attack it. It's flexible so prob not as tough as the cooling rack you are using so not sure if it would be strong enough for the same type idea.
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I think my only concern with using this type of thing over the intake grate (aside from it possibly losing power and the things that sucktmoto mentioned) is seaweed and debris in the water catching on it and then influencing the intake to hold it there with the suction. The intake grate that comes on the Spark seems smooth and most things probably glide over it.
I don't know if I'd try this method out unless I was going out on the water with my snorkel loving friend who will dive down with goggles and check our grates lol.
I think my only concern with using this type of thing over the intake grate (aside from it possibly losing power and the things that sucktmoto mentioned) is seaweed and debris in the water catching on it and then influencing the intake to hold it there with the suction. The intake grate that comes on the Spark seems smooth and most things probably glide over it.
I don't know if I'd try this method out unless I was going out on the water with my snorkel loving friend who will dive down with goggles and check our grates lol.
That might do the trick...as you can imagine there's quite some force of water going into the grate both from the impeller as well as forward motion through the water and I would say that if anyone else tries my idea a metal grille will be more able to stand those forces? Each time I've put the ski back on the trailer there have been a couple of pieces of weed/grass/tree root caught on the edges of the grille, but not enough to block it except for the plastic bag that is.
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Cool. Take a pic! Did you smooth or coat the edges where you cut it? Is it rusting there?
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heh, nothing bigger anyway
I think im going to try it when i go riding with my snorkel friend so he can keep checking the grate. Especially since all that is involved with putting it on or taking it off iis some zip ties.
I think im going to try it when i go riding with my snorkel friend so he can keep checking the grate. Especially since all that is involved with putting it on or taking it off iis some zip ties.
No smoothing or coating as yet. Where I cut the metal it is showing some rust, even though I hose with fresh water after each run. For longer life it would be a good idea to rustproof the cuts. Another idea I had for the carnauba wax was to apply it to the inside surface of the IBR "bucket", as I noticed some saltwater corrosion spots forming on the aluminium surface. Seems to be working ok. If and when you remove the IBR bucket be aware there are stainless steel sleeves that can fall out. There are three, one for each side bolt and one for the bolt and nut holding the control arm to the bucket. Straight: if you've worked on a scooter before you should have no problem replacing or checking the wear ring with suitable tools.
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Thanks! I'll watch out for the sleeves. I'm sure my first time taking things apart I'll be expecting springs, this and that to pop out and get lost so I'm going to be super careful. Before I put my ski in the water for the first time I sprayed the inside with fluid film as well as the intake grate and IBR bucket and after each ride I flush everything with salt away so I haven't noticed any rust or corrosion yet but I'll be on the look out for it.
Hi to everyone following this thread... today I had the Spark on the water for a couple of hours (weather has been unhelpful, its early spring downunder) and found when I put the ski on the trailer the grille had gone!! With 10 hours up, the zip ties have not been man enough to hold the grille in position any longer. Now I'll go to plan "B", which I really intended to do originally and that is to secure the grille with stainless steel wire. I'll update when I've got some time on the ski with this new attachment method for the grille and taken it up to top speed to see if there is any loss of performance. Watch this space...
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Wow. How thick were the ties? and how many did use? I'd use ones like " --------- " thick.
I hope the ties didn't get sucked in and cause and damage.
Too bad there is too much power under the ski for a go pro camera to see how an " additional grate " deals with pressure and debris.
I was at the store today and saw this and it made me wonder if it would still protect more than just the stock grate, but offer more water flow than a grid since it only has bars going in one direction.
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I hope the ties didn't get sucked in and cause and damage.
Too bad there is too much power under the ski for a go pro camera to see how an " additional grate " deals with pressure and debris.
I was at the store today and saw this and it made me wonder if it would still protect more than just the stock grate, but offer more water flow than a grid since it only has bars going in one direction.
There were 12 ties holding the grille, just the usual type available at any store. The more I think about it, I realise the water force must be huge going into the intake grate if it propels the ski and driver plus passenger(s) all weighing 400kgs or more at up to 50mph. I know its possible to get zip ties that have a metal strip inside for heavy duty situations where the plastic ties are not strong enough. Over here they are available at electrical stores supplying trades doing installation work. I will check some out today, otherwise I'll use the stainless wire that I have. Regarding the GoPro, I have one and was considering mounting it with a bracket attached to the place where the boarding step is, but decided not to do it because of the risk of losing a $450 camera! BTW there was no damage when the ties let go, and the grille itself is too big to get inside the grate, I tried always to see if that may happen. Also looked at the straight type grille (not square pattern), but thought the squares would be more suitable. Interesting to see that Seadoo have announced a Search and Rescue ski that has a straight type grille to reduce the chance of debris entering the impeller.
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About 2 yrs before I bought my ski when I heard about junk getting sucked up and causing damage, all I could think was " don't they make something to go over the intake to block this junk? "
Interesting they have it for the search and rescue.
Take pics of your new set up. I'm interested to see!
Interesting they have it for the search and rescue.
Take pics of your new set up. I'm interested to see!
No worries, I'll post some pics soon as I install the replacement grille....just as well there were two in the pack!!About 2 yrs before I bought my ski when I heard about junk getting sucked up and causing damage, all I could think was " don't they make something to go over the intake to block this junk? "
Interesting they have it for the search and rescue.
Take pics of your new set up. I'm interested to see!
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Haha good deal
An update: had the Spark out today with the replacement grille secured with stainless steel wire and all is good. Also with 10 hours up I opened it up to check top speed to see if the grille is slowing it down much...well surprise it went to 76kmh, almost 80kmh which is 50mph. I'm happy with that because I won't be flat out all that often! Also checked the fuel consumption (full to full tank divided by hours) and converting litres to US gallons its using 1.54 gph, though 95% of the time its been on half throttle maximum, sometimes less than that due to speed zones where I ride. Tried to upload pics, I'm doing something wrong somehow, will consult with the expert, my daughter! I'm also going to check at a catering supplies shop to see if there are stainless steel grilles available, I'm not impressed with the quality of the cooling tray...made in China...cheap and nasty, but at least it proves the idea works ok.
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