I Bought a Rare 1970's Jet Powered Water Bike (Suzuki WetBike) 

You find some of the coolest and weird things keep it up!

I have to say this is one of the coolest things I've ever seen and I have been a boat builder for 20 plus years.

Vinny always brings a smile to my face, especially when he is in the driver's seat

Joe your content lately has been awesome hope you and jade are well dude.

is there anything you can't fix man your getting good brother you are really an amazing mechanic awesome job !

I had a 79 when I was a kid and they are an absolute blast to run. You just have to get used to being top heavy. You may want to drill an 1/8" hole thru one or both of the studs that the seat latch snaps over and install a hair pin in their to prevent the seat from coming off when you high side it. You definitely want the kill to work because you will not have time to shut it down when you get dumped. The first time you try to ride you don't want to slowly pull up to plane as you will go over the side, pin it full throttle and it will jump to a plane then just get use to the way it turns and rides as it is top heavy, then in a few hours you'll get used to it. There is nothing more fun than making a full throttle tight turn hanging off the side dragging a knee in the water. This also causes the aforementioned high side, you'll get a warning of it as you can feel the rear ski starting to slide, but when it happens it's instant and you'll end up 20-30 feet away from the ski, hence you need the seat fix and the kill lanyard or you will fill the engine compartment full of water or watch the ski leave you behind. The Suzuki dealers back then used to have speed parts for them. If you can try to find a jet scoop for under the rear ski which pushes water directly into the intake and also give better grip when doing hard turns. If taken care of the wet bike is bullet proof and will give you many years of fun. Edit: when getting on it in the water use the jet nozzle as a step and keep centered on the bike as you scoot up it.

That is in amazing shape for the year!! Especially being a water machine!! You definitely got a steel on this one!! Really 😎

I hope your camera girl is feeling better! That thing is super neat, I definitely remember seeing those back in the 80s and 90s.. not so much any more, it looks like it's going to be a peach to ride!! Thanks for taking the long drives to give great content like this Joe, you are the man!

I actually remember seeing these as a kid at lake of the Ozarks until stand up skis started taking over & then the newer sit downs took over. Kinda cool to have watched the the different stages of pwc's through the years.

So cool! Not Only did James Bond 007 Ride one in "The Spy Who Loved Me" But Jon and Ponch in "Chips" Rode them also! I seen one in the flesh as a younger fellow on Devils Lake once. never rode one only ever ridden a Modren jet Ski! But they look like fun1 great Video Joe! you do find the coolest things! 45 yrs young the wet bike is!

Get well soon Jade! Love the channel!

Dude your killing it with the weird water toys content. Glad i found this channel

You are definitely one of the top youtubers for finding these cool older machines. Definitely get that lanyard changed though so if you fall off it dont take off on ya, that would be bad lol Can't wait to see it on the water 👍

That one man jet boat was my favorite video... I have felt empty lately. This filled that void. Thank you.

Phenomenal, you are making some amazing finds, watersports classics. Series title - Evolution of the jet ski

I want to THANK YOU for putting these 2 videos up! I had one of these in the 80s and was thinking about getting another. Your video brought back every PIA issue I had (except the blown impeller case) and cured me once and for all! 😂😂

Another video, thank you! No one puts out more quality videos than you.

I was working on my bike yesterday and having to remove and install the carb over and over for jet testing and crap. At one moment I said "What a pain in the ass!" then I thought 5 minutes to remove the entire fuel system..... compared to my Ford Diesel Superduty would be a all day thing!!!! That puts things in perspective for me. Great drive you have my friend

Awesome content Joe, so many cool and rare machines we usually never see, love learning about these things.

Joe, it's hard not to be envious of all the fun your having with the Vintage mechanicals you bring back to life and all that Sparks everyone's interest most importantly yours, all really enjoyable, Thanks Joe.

Its notoriously hard to ride and your going to run it without the kill switch! Great idea

Interesting finds atm Joe,love it!👍👁👁🙏🦾🦾🦾

My neighbor bought 2 non running wetbikes and turned them into 1 running wetbike. We had never seen one operated before and had no idea what to expect. For the first attempt he wore work boots, a life jacket, and a motorcycle helmet which made him look like the Great Gazoo (young people may need to look that up). Once he figured out how to ride it, only the life jacket was required. They can be awkward to start off. We are both over 6' and found that we could not sit still on the bike in the water. We were top heavy and would roll over right away. We were unable to get stable enough to start in the seat. We had to start from behind, one foot in the end of the jet so that the nose and front ski are pointed upwards, then push forward as far as possible gunning the throttle at the same time, holding the front ski straight while attempting to lean out over the handle bars. It took multiple attempts to master it, but we eventually got the hang of it. Once it gets up to speed, it levels out and the ride is amazing. It is like riding a motorcycle across the top of the water, much more exciting than a seadoo type. Beware, waves or wakes can put you in a speed wobble, just like a motorcycle, that can throw you off the wetbike. That is when I also learned that getting back on the bike is trickier in deep water when you can't touch the bottom. You are younger and in better shape than we were, so maybe you will have an easier time getting up, but, whatever it takes, it is worth it.

Had one of these 40 or so years ago, fun as hell but hard to remount after a few cold snacks.

Man this sure is convenient! Reviving one of these this weekend. Definitely gonna die

Joe, don’t turn on the water until the engine is running and shut it off before you kill the engine. It’s the opposite of a boat motor when running all these jet skis you’ve been buying.

Looks like this one will be tons of fun

Awesome man!! Guess next is a jet mate ?

You definitely find some rare machines. You are also pretty handy with getting them unhinged everytime too

Love this channel I learn so much from you I csn get something junk and make it run. I love the variety of machines you work on

What an awesome score! You definitely find the coolest projects. But this one I’ve wanted for many years. They rarely come up for sale. Great content. I really enjoy your channel. 👍

They were so much fun to ride. We could ride it with a passenger, we even water-skied behind ours. Lots of fun in ruff water. You could jump it out of the water if you hit a big enough wave. I wish I still had it.

If you put the catch pan lower than the tank the pump would siphon the gas out without you having to pump it all out. But great video Joe! You get the best toys!😂

That machined float bowl was crazy! I’ve never seen one.

Buddy of mine bought one in 78. It was a pain on the ass to get up on at first, but it didn't beat you to death like a standup jet ski. I've seen people tow a skier with one, but we never had the combination of competent rider/skier to make that happen.

Yeah you sure get a hold of the oddities but is fun seein ya bring em to life and demonstrate them!!!

Loving the content these machines are truly unique

i love your recent water toys videos and if you want more rare finds look for a mercury water mouse. I just recently missed an opportunity to buy one. i seen it in the background of a photo of a seadoo for sale so i emailed asking about the mini boat in the background only to find out he sold it the day before.

Joe Awesome find! Mint condition and a great deal WOW! 👍👍👍 You conquering this will be a good video! Looks like it’s real unstable! 😃

One of my neighbors had something like a hyro cycle. It may have been home made ... it had a 90 hp johnson with a long bench seat and a steering wheel. It could pull a skier easily. Thanks for the great content. Keep it up

You really need to get a big barn or a big shed to put all this big toys in it

Super rare, I lived on a lake and have been boating for 40+ years I have only ever seen one on the water in person.

You can get that zoom oil from refrigeration/HVAC supply shops. They make rust buster and turbine oil as well, comes in the same exact bottles.

You always find the coolest things to work on.

I don't remember these at all. Really cool find, again. Love these videos

My dude is absolutely killing it

Super clean and good luck. Those things were like anchors.

The new and interesting content on this channel is 2nd to none. The guy needs his own clerk at the license bureau. Kudos

Just started watching and you’ve called it a ski several times when, in fact, it’s a hydrofoil. They were known to not have low speed stability, especially in 5mph “no-wake” zones.

The dang CBoys had a bike just like this not too long ago! Crazy how these pop up in some great RU-vidrs!

I’ve seen a few of those Wet Bikes back in the day. Never had the opportunity to ride one but, always wanted to. I’m not sure why they never really caught on maybe, because they were a little under powered. They sure looked like fun though. Great job on the repair and good luck ripping that thing around.

What I really like about this guy is no thousands of dollars worth of tools just kind of basic tool set and a small garage area to work in

Didn't even know these existed, another cool machine.

I found them easy to ride. It just took a few minutes to figure out how to get it up for the first time. The rougher the water the better. It was like riding a motocross bike on the water. We could pull a water-skier, no problem. I could cat walk it across the lake with no easy. We lived 20 minutes from the lake and spent every weekend out there. They were pretty expensive back in the day but we'll worth it. I wish I never sold it. Too bad they stopped making them.

I remember these. They are very difficult to ride, effective at keeping shallow thinkers off them and out of danger (unlike the newer sit-downs.) The early ones were too weak and the front ski was a bad design making them very challenging. The later ‘Tomcat’ had more power and a better pickle-fork design that was more reasonable. Still like riding a motorcycle with flat tires at best. It’s basically a 2-cup Suzuki outboard power head in there. Fit the strongest one you can, power is everything.

the best 420 content on youtube imo!!

Pretty cool to see you get one right after Cboys had them in a video!

Aquaman has scored another Jet Ski...your on a roll with the nautical theme👍

Looking forward to the test ride. Great video

I remember riding one like that back in the 70s. Had to hold on to handle bars while laying stomach on seat to hold vehicle upright. After giving it the juice and it drags you, you hop up onto the seat. Don't think you can start like a modern PWC. Think it was a different brand but looks same style. Can't wait to see you try to ride it. Should be worth a laugh or two!

Dude. You are gonna need a warehouse / museum soon. What a frickin collection

You're amassing quite the fleet there, Joe!😎👍

It looks mint with the trailer 😮 he practically gave it to you 😁

On two strokes check the laminations on the stator/ignition coil. If it looks suspect it can be the cause of the bogging. Water in the fuel? We got 40 gallons of 50:1 premix at the pump. After 12 hours of being on the water in the big boat and looking at the gas cans? Each one had three inches of water settled on the bottom. Dad was not a happy camper.

👍keep the great videos coming, much love from the uk 🇬🇧.

thats the cleanest one i ever seen..nice find

Vinny for the win! Great video Joe.

Fella your killing it with the unusual water toys content. Happy I tracked down this channel

Hi dude u got a cool narrating voice. It’s what I like besides boat content. Cheers from NZ.

Had one when I lived on Lake Shasta in California mid 80's. Loved it!

Finnally got my phone back and ready for more great content

Make sure you release the front suspension lock. Before you ride it. Its almost impossible to get it on plane if you dont.one of my crew had one we meet Lake Houston. They bet me I couldn't get it up on my first try. Almost did the front suspension wasn't unlocked . They unlocked it was a blast to ride. You'll enjoy it a lot.

Awesome. Only time I recall seeing anything like it is in one of the police academy movies

I remember one from one of the Police Academy movies in that huge water chase scene. Very cool stuff man.

They used to race those things outside of Redbud Il. they always looked so cumbersome to ride.

Never forget watching those things when I was a kid in the 80's. Lol they looked wild

A freind of mine had one in the early to mid 1980s it was a little tricky for me anyway to stay on while trying to get it up on plane but once you did it was fun to ride what a good time it was.

King of the toys bro! Respect 👊🏿

You know what's super RARE you speaking truth!

Brilliant find joe this thing will be a challenge to handle tell jade she wasted the video lol we all wanted to see it on the water only kidding mate hope she feels better soon take care and look forward to the plunge haha 👍👌🔧🔧🔧❤️

Cool! I have a 50hp Wetbike engine, impeller and throttle that were in great shape last they ran. They've been sitting since the late 90's if anyone is interested.

I remember seeing the Bond movie in the theater... at the time these things looked like something from the future. Yours appears to be in very good condition. Curious to see how you make out on your first ride. You are definitely on a roll buying odd old toys....anything built in the 70s with a motor keeps my attention.

so lucky! congrats, I want to do water wheelies

I'm beginning to see a water theem here lol.... love the odd stuff you find.... amazing how you get some of this stuff to run

My dad has a Wetbike, and he loves it!

Had one back in the day, a bit of advice it's best to take off on full throttle till you get balance.

Love your videos.. I bet you and Andrew Camarata would make a great pair for a shop!

Since you like to find these old rare oddities watercraft There was this one that I remember from 1985 That I can't seem to find on the internet I remember these from when we used to take our summer trips to Chincoteague Island VA It was an oversized motorized surfboard that you sat down on no seat had a large fin sticking straight up in the air that move from side to side The engine area took up the most room Given you very little room to sit in the front

Oh boy! You stole it! Whoa! So cool. I saw the Bond movie when it came out.

I was just doing a job at the Bass Lake town garage in Hayward Wisconsin last week and they had a wet bike sitting in the shed near where I was working

i never had a chance to have one of these back when they were a thing and i was young but in the mid 90's i finally was able to get my hands on one and as hard as it was to master driving it was sooo fun. I took mine out on the Ohio river. I dont remember the ski being that wide though i believe mine was a bit slimmer but could be wrong my memory not what it once was lol

Another cool find. 👍

Quite a find and quite a deal!!!

Hopefully, you get the Tether Kill fixed. If the throttle sticks WFO try to get it on video. Can't wait to see you on the lake with the Hydrofoil. I think you can get Vinnie's approval if you watch some 007 movies with him !

omg my carb anxiety liked subscribed and notified

That tach is out of a snowmobile. The warmer light is for when the heated grips on the sled are turned on.

Joe..... left us hanging young man... lol.. j/k... Hope jade feels better.... 🎉

It looks brand new. Man watta deal👍👍

Only if you lived in Ny. ,I have a kinetic honda.i want to get on the road again. You alway have great finds👌🏽🏆

Wow, what a classic, but where do I put my tacklebox and beer? 😂