I'm considering the purchase of a Kawasaki 15F, seen lots of favorable reviews/comments, looked at one, sat on it - really, really impressed! Anyone have any experience on one of these bikes? Anything negative I should be aware of before I buy? Also, this is the first 4-stroke I've owned (or that I'm going to own), what is the maintenance like on them (winterizing, oil changes, plugs, etc.)?

Any advice and comments would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, in my opinion this boat is the best 4 stroke available on the market you get a little bit of everything, reverse, rear reboarding step, comfort, hydro-turf non slip mats, storage, good fuel economy the ride is very clean (smoke less and odor free) with good performance and top end speed (62mph) with incredible acceleration, currently no other stock 3 seater 4 stroke boat out there can match this boat price vs performance PERIOD!!! This boat the 15F, win last year Personal Watercraft Ilustraded PWC mag. "Watercraft of the year tittle". Plus was Personal Watercraft Ilustraded "Fierce 4 stroke shoot-out winner"
Quoted: "The battle came down to two craft, and we felt the Kawasaki STX-15F just edged out the Sea Doo GTX 4-TEC supercharged to be our shoot-out winner"

One of the guys that tested this boat on last year Watercraft World pwc magazine Drean Demo comparison shoot-out wrote the following, Quoted: "You could set the kids on the shore and play around with the musclecraft guys" said Kubacki, Quoted.

Another tester wrote, Quoted: "There's great value in this boat" said Smith "Aggressive riders that have a family will love this boat" Quoted:

p.s. the oil change is a brezze, i spent less than $30.00 when I changed mine last year at 50 hours. About the spark plugs, i replaced mines at 50 hours along with the oil change but I did it just "for pleassure" about winterized procedure sorry I can't help you here, i live in the caribbean P.R. and we have warm weather all year round.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Gpr/STX-15F/RXT,

Like GprSTX-15F wrote it is one of the best 4-strokes.The ski has a great holeshot and pretty good top end. It is turbine smooth power. The ski is also the lightest feeling 4-stroke on the market. I am very happy with mine!

Thanks for all of the info......I'd seen the Watercraft Illustrated article, but just wanted to get some actual owner/rider "real world" opinions. My biggest concern was that I'd heard it's not a comfortable watercraft for tall riders (I'm 6'6"). I own a Yamaha 1200XLT right now, and find that I like riding with the handlebars in the lowest position on that machine - when I sat on the 15F at the dealership, I found that I was immediately comfortable and familiar with the riding position.

I would still be interesting in hearing from anyone out there that has any info on winterizing (must be nice living in the Caribbean, GprSTX-15F!) and other regular maintenance. The service tech at the dealership said that the word is that once the 15F's leave the dealership, they never see them again - I'd like to know if that's accurate.

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Originally posted by stevenk2:
(must be nice living in the Caribbean, GprSTX-15F!).

Yes, it is.

The service tech at the dealership said that the word is that once the 15F's leave the dealership, they never see them again - I'd like to know if that's accurate.

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Yes, he is telling you the truth, the service manager from my local Kawi dealership also told me the same thing, all this kawi engines it dosen't matter if it is a 2 or 4 stroke are one of the most reliable engines ever made by any PWC manufacturer, period!!!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Gpr/STX-15F/RXT,

Maintenance is really easy, When I winterize my 4 strokes I take the plugs out spray a little fogging oil and spray everything else with a silicone based spray. Don't use WD-40 or any petroleum based sprays. You really don't even have to fog them. Don't forget fuel conditioner. My stx-15f is cool but i would like a little more stuff with it. I guess thats why its the least expensive of the big boy 4 strokes.

The winterizing sounds easy....do you have to worry about getting the cooling system 100% dry, especially if you store the watercraft outside through the winter? Also, you say you wished it came with more "stuff" - what exactly do you mean by that? More features, more accessories, or ?????

Steven, i forgot to tell you that the boat have absolutely (0) cavitation from the hole and the only difference between last year 04' and this year 05' model is the color. (Ofcourse is hard to make improvements in a already perfect package so, if you want to save some $$$$$ you can search for a left-over unit and spend the extra money in mods for the future. Pssss, there are alot of things (mods) in the making for this 15F boats this year, aside from the S/C package that Riva is working on, keep a close eye to the board i would be testing a N/A race package in my boat very soon.

like trim or reverse and maybe adjustable steering and different sponsons.

If you live wear water freezes then yes get as much water out as possible. Or you can run antifreeze through it.

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Originally posted by GprSTX-15F:
Steven, i forgot to tell you that the boat have absolutely (0) cavitation from the hole and the only difference between last year 04' and this year 05' model is the color. (Ofcourse is hard to make improvements in a already perfect package

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Not true. We have found several different part numbers on the '05 from last years model. The pump has been changed, as well as some other parts...

James Crone @ Performance Engineering

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Originally posted by James Crone:

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Originally posted by GprSTX-15F:
Steven, i forgot to tell you that the boat have absolutely (0) cavitation from the hole and the only difference between last year 04' and this year 05' model is the color. (Ofcourse is hard to make improvements in a already perfect package

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Not true. We have found several different part numbers on the '05 from last years model. The pump has been changed, as well as some other parts...

James Crone @ Performance Engineering

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Well James, maybe you know something that the editors of this two pwc. mags. don't know yet. My January 2005, edition Personal Watercraft Ilustrated mag. (2005 BUYER'S GUIDE) and the other pwc. mag. Watercraft World (PREMIER) 05 Buyer's Guide neither one say a word about this "suppose" changes and since the article say that they were given Quoted: "(FULL) details on all of this year's craft i take on there word. At least the "specs" for the 04' and 05' looks (EXACTLY) the same.

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Well James, maybe you know something that the editors of this two pwc. mags. don't know yet. My January 2005, edition Personal Watercraft Ilustrated mag. (2005 BUYER'S GUIDE) and the other pwc. mag. Watercraft World (PREMIER) 05 Buyer's Guide neither one say a word about this "suppose" changes and since the article say that they were given Quoted: "(FULL) details on all of this year's craft i take on there word. At least the "specs" for the 04' and 05' looks (EXACTLY) the same.

I don't know exactly what the physical changes are, but I do know that the 2005 STX-15F has four major components that have different part numbers than the 2004 model. The pump, injector pipe, ECU and cylinder head casting all have new part numbers. The cylinder subs up (the '04 cylinder is no longer available). This leads me to believe that they made some significant changes to the designs of these parts. I looked at the pump (but not closely) and it "appears" to be the same as the 2004 spec, but I'd need to remove the 2004 pump and compare them side by side to see if there is any real difference. The ECU is different because the '05 15Fs have a "learning mode" that cuts power by around 30%.

James Crone @ Performance Engineering

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