4 replies to this topic

[Beprepared]

I got my 1996 sportster yesterday. I can't find a manual for it anywhere, and there are several things I can't figure out

first, there are several switches on the dash that I am clueless about.

Second, i don't seem to have a grate over the intake. Should there be one?

third, it seems to have some funny handling quirks. The acceleration isn't consistent. The boat seems to respond much better to slow acceleration.
if i push the throttle all the way forward, it seems to accelerate more slowly than if i slowly increase the throttle


i'd appreciate ANY advice you can offer. This is my first boat, and i have a lot to learn.

[benjo75]

Hello Beprepared. Welcome to this forum. I just bought an 04 Sportster and have posted several questions on here and haven't received a single response yet.

I don't know a lot about these boats. I own several Jet Skis and ran river boats for many years, so I'm familiar with the basic principle of jets(having knocked several off and torn up my share in the river).

You definately need a grate over your intake. You could suck up something big enough to really do some damage without one.

Mine has three knobs on the left dash. The top one is the front and rear lights(navigate and anchor).
Down and to the left is the Bilge Pump. To the right of that is the blower(for clearing gas fumes from the engine compartment).

As far as the acceleration, I'm having some issues myself. If your impeller and liner are worn or are not fitting properly, it will "spin out" so to speak when accelerated hard. Then you have to take off easy.

I just changed the plugs and fuel filter in mine and am about to go try it out in a few minutes. Mine doesn't seem to have an inbetween with the throttle. Its either idling or wide open.

[John in Valley Forge]

I have a '98 sportster that I got earlier in the month.
How are your dash switches laid out? Mine are in two rows, on on top of the other and go:
Bilge Fan.........Bilge Pump...........Horn
Interior lights.......Nav Lights.......blank switch.

As far as accelerating at full throttle, I agree, full throttle does not make you go faster from a stop. Much better to slowly increase throttle. I can get up to plane speed (for mine about 20 mph) much easier by slowly increasing.

I suspect that "flooring" it just send extra gas that the engine just don't need and cant use. We are talking about a 15 year old motor here. No matter how good the previous owners maintenance was, they are old and are not likely to give the same outout as a brand new one.

[kseroski70]

Welcome aboard.

The operator's manual as well as the shop guide are available to download from this forum under the manuals tab. But based on the operators manual, I think they might be (6) lights, (7) bilge and (8) blower [see attachment].

Being only an owner for 8 months of a new boat, I am not going to be of much help in detail. But the common troubleshooting steps seem to be:
- check for error codes on the display
- change plugs, fuel, air filters
- loose or damaged hoses (a hose coming loose was actually a problem on my new boat)
- be wary of old gas, especially anything with ethanol as it attracts water and will loosen and build-up in tank and lines and send into the engine. It also separates into layers.
- damage or wear to impeller and rings
- compression tests

Beyond that, you might want to have a mechanic look at it.

You should absolutely have an intake grate. There has been a lot of different threads about intake grates, but this one might be helpful. And Motoplexparts.com may have your part. There are several parts dealers listed under the links tab. There was a thread a couple of weeks ago, and I will try to find it, which had a company that had new and rebuild engines, and other parts.

Hope this points you in the right direction.

[kawikid]

Well. Looking for a little help. I run a small repair shop and we do a lot of seadoo jet boat repair. working on a 1997 sportster and want to put the stock bilge pump sensor back in for my customer . Can't find where it mounted and the bracket is not avaiable. Can make the bracket. Anyone have this model that can help with sensor location help??