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9/19/2002 0 Comments

MacClugage Wins Long Beach To Catalina Jet Ski race

Chris MacClugage, a Kawasaki factory racer, dominated the 2002 season by winning both the Open and Pro class titles at the IJSBA Offshore National Championships. The race, also known as the Long Beach-2-Catalina, took place on August 24th, and MacClugage finished with a winning time of 1:11:16. Despite losing precious time when he couldn't locate the checkpoint and refueling barge in Catalina, he still finished four minutes ahead of Yamaha pilot Mark Dobson. The defending champion, Polaris pilot Billy Womack, who holds the race record at 1:09:26 and has the most Long Beach-2-Catalina titles to his name, experienced an unexpected breakdown just past the halfway point of the race, thus ending his impressive winning streak.

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9/9/2002 0 Comments

Kawasaki's New 800 Jet Ski

Kawasaki surprised the personal watercraft (PWC) industry in July by introducing a new stand-up Jet Ski, the 800 SX-R. This is the company's first completely new model in ten years and promises to satisfy both novice and experienced riders. The new craft is longer and wider than its predecessor, the SXi stand-up, providing increased stability and foot room in the tray area. The hull design has been improved to address previous issues with porpoising and nose-heavy handling. The power end of the equation features an increase in bore size to 82mm, port timing adjustments, and a larger exhaust and muffler, resulting in near-80 horsepower. Kawasaki is expecting high sales figures for the 800 SX-R due to the lack of recent innovations in the stand-up market. In addition, the price of the craft has been reduced from $5,999 to $5,499. Kawasaki also recently unveiled its long-awaited four-stroke STX-12F model at its dealer meeting in mid-September. Utilizing Kawasaki's proven STX hull design and a four-cylinder, four-stroke engine adapted from the Ninja ZX-12R motorcycle, the STX-12F is expected to make waves in the industry.

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