Based in Jupiter, Florida I cover riding, fixing, maintaining, and most importantly- enjoying Kawasaki Jet Skis - the most durable and reliable personal watercraft.
JD's WaterWorld is the World's #1 source for owner-produced reviews, tutorials, and real-life Kawasaki Jet Ski content!
I am not a paid corporate influencer, not a journalist, and not a shop or online store - I am simply a guy who loves being out on the water! I accept no commissions, and only endorse products I actually use myself.
For business correspondence, questions or comments please email me at jdswaterworld@gmail.com
Always consult the manufacturer for watercraft safety and maintenance information. Follow local laws and ordinances and abide by USCG regulations if operating in the USA.
Any opinions expressed by JD’s WaterWorld, LLC do not necessarily reflect those of sponsors or collaborators. All rights reserved.
Theoretically you could just take a stainless bolt the right size, put a fender washer on it, then epoxy in place same way...but I was curious to see the entire new bracket..stupid of Kawasaki not to make it of stainless steel- probably some bean counter cost cutting measure
@@JDsWaterWorld True. Really stupid. Combining rust free metals with plain metals always make the lesser metal degrade even faster. You will have to repeat this job soon I am afraid.😅 Love your videos. I just bought a 310X and I am planning to do most of the quality upgrades you showed us.
Do you have a video showing what you do to winterize your 310 here in Florida? I’m thinking it would be a different procedure than for someone living in the northern states. Thanks.
I do not have any winterizing videos as I never winterize any of my machines..make sure you remove all the fuel before storing ..nothing worse than stale old phase separated fuel
Both iridium and platinum start to rust in salt water after 25 hours I have found. The platinum you can stretch to about 35 hours it seems, so the platinum last a bit longer
Love all your vids BTW just to circle back to your ThrotlePS problem 5 months ago did U change or fixed was it really the problem? Seems lots of us have that same issue... was wondering cause before I stored my 310LX had the same hesitation on acceleration and low rpm at full speed, but when I restarted went A-1 then after 30 minutes problem started back again seems like an intermittent problem. So before taking things apart just wondered how it went for U.
You have to check the function of the TPS and throttle body actuator with the resistance and voltage tests using a multi meter and needle adapter..I swapped my throttle body out for another one. Hesitation could also be fuel pressure, belt slip, ignition/spark, pump bearing failure, or a combination of all..have to keep checking things until you find something that's out of spec
@@JDsWaterWorld 2022 310 LX ... I understand all the factors involved with hesitation my question was when u changed the throttle body did it fix your hesitation cause my jet ski is in storage now till spring but I beleive the throtle body is the culprit. So again after changing the throttle body was the problem solved? It's a $1000 part I have the extended warranty like you. Did you get it covered under warranty? THX for your precious time very apreciated.
Ok, so the throttle bodies from 2014 - 2021 were made by Mikuni in Japan and in 2022 they switched production to China. I got an older one made in Japan and swapped it in. Did you watch my 5 step diagnostic video? Have you ever greased the pivot bushing or changed the spark plugs? Are you making sure you have fresh fuel and your bilge is completely dry? Did you change the fuel filter? Not sure if your hours...Probably the most common cause of hesitation would be spark plugs are worn (25 hours is the typical life of PMR9B)
Nice JD,... My 2016 doesn't have the cover, but if it did... I'd be having my friend from the dock yard here to make me Marine grade stainless steel upgrades, I also have an excellent engineers shop here, a couple of wizards run it and take care of all my awkward snapped stud extractions, plus any skimming, rebores, or machining required. And the prices are too fair, I have to pay them more than they ask. £60 for the same fix I've seen everyone else pay $600 for, so I gave them £90. That was an fx engine mount stud that particular time. Thanks JD, I'll keep this in mind for if I ever get a newer 310r. Magic.. 😉👍
Good tutorials as always. So… I’m gonna have to take everything apart again because my fuel pump float is definitely stuck. I checked everything else and the fuel gauge still reads 1/4 tank all the time. Also on a side note JD, how did your guys fair in the hurricanes? Hope there was no damage
Damn that sucks..when i did my pump install I tested everything before I put it back together just to make sure..maybe the float got stuck on the filter or band or something? Thanks for asking man, luckily we were completely fine here!
@@JDsWaterWorld good to hear. About the fuel pump mod, I guess the lesson here is anyone can take something apart. What takes skill is putting it back together
@@JDsWaterWorld it’s all good. Like I said lesson learned on my part. I should’ve done what you did and made sure everything worked before rushing to the ramp to ride my ski
Hi again JD. I really want to try a Kawasaki before jumping to buy one. Most likely I would buy a 2025 Ultra 160LX for less maintenance, less fuel, less headaches. I only found a 2021 Ultra 310R available for rent. Is it the same exact hull as a 2025 Ultra 160LX?. Can I get a very close idea of everything about the 160 (except speed) with that 2021 310R? . Thank you.
So the Ultra line was redesigned in 2022 for the 310 and 2023 for the 160/ the 2021 is the previous gen with completely different handling and ergonomics...the hull though is the same.
@@JDsWaterWorld sits well on top of the water.. the FX. I loved my 160cruiser. Good skis, reliable, good on fuel, I have my kawi now but I really can't knock the FX gets a big thumbs up from me. 👍
How the heck do you remove/install the waterbox band with the intercooler in the way. I somehow managed to get the band off by luck but now I'm having the hardest time getting it back on. Thanks
You can remove the intercooler mounting bolts, and the intake ducting, and move it around enough to get a pair of needle nose vice grips down there to latch it on. It's a challenge for sure...
@@JDsWaterWorld ended up moving the intercooler but still couldn’t get it on because my band clip got all bent from the pliers torquing it. Ended up hooking it with an S hook to lessen the distance and water box still feels solid
@@JDsWaterWorld I thought you may... Hey... It shows you care when you tune and maintain your ski brother... Maybe next year I'll switch out the ecu to open up potential. The air here is cold so I'll take advantage of that. 🙂 Have a good day JD. Appreciate your reply. 👍
No way JD! SeaDoo??? Well I guess you might ride one but I know you’d still never buy one. Also I did the KP fuel pump mod and now my fuel gauge is constantly reading 1/4 a tank lol. I keep a fuel log I really don’t mind since I have an idea of how much I burn. Maybe the float is stuck. Or maybe I f*cked up my fuel level sensor because I didn’t disconnect my battery the whole time I was doing the installation. Remember I’m on the STX so there’s no maintenance mode
@@JDsWaterWorld thanks for the reply JD. That's kind of disappointing only going from 4.4 MPGish to 5.5 MPGish. What would be in your opinion a good exploring around a river delta/big Bay Area with moderate chop. As it sits it seems regardless of the engine you only have 90-120 minutes of endurance.
Thanks for getting back to me JD, I probably worded that question a bit wrong. I wanted to know which year of 300 or 310 ultras had kawa had the least known problems and have been rectified. Looking at purchasing a kawa but not brand new. Thanks mate.
Nice video. I'm in the market for a brand new jet ski. One of the most important features for me is comfort riding in rough/choppy waters and I keep reading it about Kawasakis. However, I went to a dealer to see a 2025 160 Ultra LX and I found the storage very cumbersome and the guy was steering me away from it saying it was too slow and its reliability was not the best. Thoughts?. I would like to sea trial one and see for myself. Do you know any place that rents Kawasakis?
This is a perfect example of why a you shouldn't trust a word out of a $13/hr salesman's mouth lol. The Kawasaki 1,498 cc engine is the most proven and reliable platform on the market today, as is the Kawasaki jet pump and fiberglass and gelcoat hull. Now the storage- that's matter of personal preference- I personally don't mind the storage, but I have heard some people complain. In terms of speed, it's a n/a ski so your top speed will be in the Mid 50s stock. I have many videos, not specifically on the new Ultra 160, but on my 2021 Ultra 160- that discuss in depth why these skis are reliable and the most durable on the market. The Yamaha FX skis have a major issue with automotive paint and hull durability- and have been having lots of electronics issues the last few years- although the SMc FX hull itself on the Yamaha is a good design. The SeaDoo platform..well I wouldn't touch a SeaDoo with a 10 foot pole- but the each his own!
There's a few reasons for that, the first being that Kawasaki's dealership and service network for Jet Skis is not as robust as the SeaDoo and Yamaha networks. Secondly, you see a ton of Kia's and Chevys on the road, but not many Ferraris...that doesn't mean they are not good cars, just that they appeal to a smaller group of people who can afford them. The Kawis are a premium product, and Kawasaki does not offer a low-cost entry level rec lite ski, so they are missing out on a massive chunk of the market. It's the same here too, I am in the minority with my Kawasaki, but it's hands down the best riding ocean-going ski you can buy.
Cops here are not pulling jet skis over😂 nothing required, no regulation or legislation for them to care... So long as you don't damage or hurt anyone, it's a good day.
Hey there! So were these pretty much drop in besides having to bend the throttle bracket forward and ditching the air box support bracket? Well aware that some tuning is required as well, just want to be sure that no extra parts are needed before attempting to install my 96 1100 CDKii carbs into my 98 1100. Thanks so much!
Yes exactly, bending the throttle cable bracket and not securing the air box support bracket allows you to install these without any other mods. What I also learned is make sure to zip tie the throttle cable itself to the choke cable and route correctly so there is not extra slack- if you find some extra slack in the cable you can zip tie the throttle cable a bit tighter and route it a bit differently to tighten it yp
Lots of different things can cause surging rpm..if you tested fuel pressure and it's out of spec, your fuel pump is bad or filter clogged. If fuel pressure is good, probably the fuel pump itself is not the cause of the surge. The stock pumps are fairly anemic though, very small automotive style pump.
An advantage of the Kawasaki is the engine compartment is enclosed, when they held Seadoo on the side the water would be pouring in. To much water and no battery, no start😰
