Buying a new jet ski is an awesome experience, but your sales person may have told you (or not) about breaking in your new jet ski engine.
What does that mean?
I know many of you are eager to get on the water and start having fun on your PWC, but there are a few things you should keep in mind to make sure your jet ski engine functions properly.
Let’s go over how to break in a jet ski engine from the Sea-Doo point out view. While we will focus more on Sea-Doo, these tips are common for Yamaha and Kawasaki watercraft.
Why Do You Have To Break The Engine In?
The reason why you need to break the engine in is that it’s brand new. The engine hasn’t seen much action and every component is not seated in just yet.
During the break in period, parts of the engine get “set-in” and things get worn into the correct tolerances.
While all engines need to be broken in, jet skis need a special procedure because they’re high-performance engines. The higher the horsepower, the more forced the break-in is for watercraft (and cars). Your jet ski may not reach it’s full power until the computer lets it free from its break in period.
Your owner’s manual gives the exact procedure, but in this post I’ll go over the general best practices from my many years of helping new jet ski owners.
How Long Do You Break It In?
The first 5 hours of your new Sea-Doo Watercraft are the most critical.
Your break in period is within the first 5 hours. The first service or oil change is 50 hours or 1 year, whichever one comes first. Consult your local dealer or owner’s manual as the specs can change. Some manufacturers still require a 10-hour break in service, keep this in mind and ask your local dealer.
I do the first service between 10 and 20 hours to get the break in oil out. I don’t like waiting a whole year or 50 hours, that to me is too long for that oil to be in the engine.
After those first 5 hours, you can really play with the PWC, but in those first 5 hours, it’s important that you follow the best practices that I list below.
The Best Practices
If you have gotten this far, you might be terrified to break in your new watercraft.
Go ahead and relax, it’s actually quite simple, here is what you do.
- Vary your speed, don’t keep the engine at one speed for no more than 30 seconds.
- Avoid cruise control or the speed limiter mode.
- Avoid SKI-MODE if you have it.
- Avoid pulling tubes and tow sports.
- Stay in touring mode or the slower speed modes.
Most importantly, don’t keep the engine at one speed for too long. Going full throttle is fine, in fact, you should explore the full RPM range of your PWC.
Some watercraft will have a forced break in, you may not get full power until after 5 hours or the engine’s computer has determined it’s fine to do so. Jet ski engines are small and pack a lot of power, so break in is worried about more than say your car’s engine.
After you complete the break in, you’ll need to look into your first service. Your first service is the most important one you’ll do, it’s best to let the dealer do it for you. After that, you can follow the normal jet ski maintenance intervals as talked about here.
Use Slow Modes Or Slow Key?
Sea-Doo watercraft used to come with a learning key, and you can still get them for your watercraft. Kawasaki and Yamaha both have a speed limiting option that you can use too.
With these speed limiting options, should you use them in the first 5 hours for your break in procedure?
Honestly, it’s up to you.
You can use the normal keys and modes, the only thing that matters is not keeping your speed the same for too long. You should go fast every so often, short bursts are fine, the engine wants the full range of power to set everything.
No need to overthink it, just vary your speed every so often in the first 5 hours.
What Do You Mean Change Speed?
So let’s say, for example, you’re in touring mode, and you’re driving at 55 mph. From there, go to 40 mph. Then go to 50 mph. Maybe go to 30 mph. Or 31 or 46 or 59 mph. There is no wrong way to do it. Just change the speed every so often.
If you’re thinking too much about it, then you’re not having fun.
Just go easy and enjoy yourself, it’s hard to do it wrong.
And as always, consult your owner’s manual and your local dealer for more details on your exact watercraft.
High Horsepower
If you got a high HP Sea-Doo watercraft, then you get the pleasure of a forced break-in.
The engine will not get to full power until certain hours and conditions are met. It will slowly get faster and faster as you get more hours, but won’t get to full power or RPMs until the computer releases it when it’s happy.
Jet Ski Gear & Tips
Now that you got your new jet ski, you’re going to need a few items to keep you safe, legal and having fun!
I have a list of the must-have jet ski accessories here, along with other tips.
If this is your first jet ski, I have a post on how to dock them, and I suggest you get a solar battery charger if you want your jet ski battery to last for more than one season.
I just put in a remanufactured engine in my 2006 RXP sea doo. Do I need to break this engine in and when should be changing the oil on it?
Yes, you should break in a rebuilt engine just like you would with a new jet ski. I would change the oil after 10 hours on that model.
Hello, just picked up a 2021 Wake Pro 230. We have 12 hours on the ski now and followed all break in procedures. I am only getting 7,300 max RPM and speeds of 55 – 57 MPH. Nowhere near the 67 MPH advertised speed. Do you think this could be a case of the ski in rental mode? I feel like the engine should be running more at 8k RPM correct? Perhaps the super sharper isn’t kicking in?? Thoughts?
Cheers!
You should be getting closer to 8k rpm. It sounds like your supercharger is not kicking in if you stay around 7k. I’ve seen a few new units have the supercharger hose come loose so that could be a possibility.
Just picked up a brand new Rxp300 and am 3 hours into my break in period, avoided jumping waves as much as possible but it still happened sometimes, however upon impact of landing the engine would cut out, it would start again straight away on the button.
Wasn’t sure if this was to do with the break in period to stop you from wave jumping?
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks
It sounds like you have a loose connection somewhere. Maybe the battery connections are not tight, sometimes this will throw a check engine light too.
Hello Steve
I’m pickup my brand new 2020 sea food rxpx 300 this Monday and I was wondering should I do 5 or 10 hours for a break in & when using it in salty water what should I do to maintain it I notice a lot of people are always having issues, what’s a good routine for a new watercraft before during and after usage….
Should i change the oil and filters as soon as I finish the break in period ?
Thank you
Don’t keep it at one speed for too long, change speed every minute or two, and avoid towing anyone for the first 5 hours. Get the oil changed before 25 hours. When leaving salt water make sure to flush it with fresh water.
2020 90hp spark 2 up no IBR option, cant get into sport mode, 15 hours only 40mph, dealer says i didnt purchase IBR so no sport mode option, even though display shows Sport and Touring? They hooked up scanner and said not available on base model?
Make sure you have the 90HP Spark and not the 60HP as only the 90HP will have Sport mode as stated in the PDF from Sea-Doo… https://www.sea-doo.com/content/dam/global/en/sea-doo/MY20/Documents/spec-sheets/en_us/spec-sheets/BRP_Sea-Doo_MY20_SPARK_US.pdf
Steve,
I am picking up a 2020 Wake 170 this Friday. As mentioned above Sea-Doo recommends the 10 hour break-in period. After the first 5 hours would it be OK to tow as long as you avoided a 30 sec at the same speed. We are towing on a pond so there is lots of variation speed. Thanks
Yes, the first 5 hours are the most important. Adjust the speed often and don’t keep it at one speed for too long in those first 5 hours. This means avoid pulling tubes but after the first 5 hours, you can pull tubes.
Hey Steve , recently purchased a 2020 gti 130 and am breaking it in , manual says break in period is 10 hours , so no tubing or sport mode till at least 10?
Yes, you don’t want to keep it at one speed for too long which is what you do when you’re tubing. You need to change up the speed every minute and avoid pinning the throttle too much.
Hey mate I just bought a 2020 300 rxtx . After the 5 hour mark could I drive it however I wanna drive it at high speeds for a long time in sports mode etc
Yup, after taking it easy for the first 5 hours you can be more aggressive with it.
Hi Steven just picked up a 2019 spark trixx took it out on the the like for 2 hours and about 20 minutes kept it in touring kept on changing RPM’s never hit over 5000 RPM’s never went over 20 miles an hour was wondering if next time I take it out can hit full throttle and get up to around 7000 RPM’s want to know your advise as well as should I change the oil and filter after 10 hours bench mark?
For the first 5 hours, you don’t want to keep the throttle at one speed for too long. This means you can go full throttle but after minute go to a different speed. You don’t want to pin the throttle and keep it there while traveling across the lake, change the throttle’s position every so often in the first 5 hours and you should be fine. You want to change the oil before the 25-hour mark. If you ride rough changing at the 10-hour mark will be fine. The quicker you get the storage oil changed the better, just don’t do it before the 10-hour mark.
Thank you Steve was wondering after the first 5 hours is ok to put it in sport mode or keep it in touring till 10 hour mark? And will prob ride it pretty rough so I guess will change the oil after 10 hour mark thank you again.
Sport mode is fine after 5 hours.
Hi Steven,
I put 3 hours on my new ski yesterday. I mixed up the speeds the whole time changing every 10-15seconds however, in the second hour I did give it a bit of a play around jumping in and out of sport mode. I then read you recommend only using touring mode for the first 5 hours. I never went full throttle however still gave it a bit of stick.
Hope I haven’t caused any issues for the long run of my engine.
Thankyou for your above information.
You’ll be fine, you just don’t want to pin the throttle continuously for a long time. The fact that you kept moving the throttle is perfect.
That puts my mind a bit more at ease. By the way the ski is a GTR230.
Thank you for your reply.
My 2019 Seadoo GTR won’t go over 61MPH and it now has 11hrs on it. Any recommendations?
Something doesn’t sound right, what’s the max RPMs it’s hitting? Things that come to mind is the supercharger is not kicking in so a hose could have come loose. Maybe you have a rental or learning key but that speed is usually too high for those. You could have sucked something up – there are many possibilities and the best option would be to take it to the dealership since it’s so new.
Just purchased a used 2017 gtr230, 12 hours on it. Feels like the supercharger isn’t working. Only going 48mph. Super charger kicked in a couple of times and got to 68mph but now nothing.
That is for sure not normal. It could be the supercharger but it also could be many other things like bad gas, ignition coils not inserter properly, and many more. You should be close to 7.5k to 8k RPMs at full throttle, if you’re not it needs to be taken into the shop.
Yes, it’s a totally different machine. Very pleased with it now. I put 10 hrs on mine in rental mode, because the dealer told me it would unlock on its own. I think some of the higher performance models do that.
My 2018 GTI 155 had that same issue and the dealer realized that it was in rental mode and they had to uncheck that box with the laptop. Apparently it was part of the setup process and they did not know this.
Awesome. Wish BPR would inform dealers, so they could inform us! When I called they were so sure I was using the rental key ?.
I had a heart attack bringing home a 130hp 40mph sea doo lol!!! Have you ripped it yet w the proper settings? I haven’t yet. I can’t wait. It feels like a Cadillac compared to my 3 up spark.
Had it out today on Lake Geneva. 51 in chop. Night and day difference. It also unlocked eco mode. So all is good now! I’m very happy w this GTI.
Is it okay to tow a skier during the break in period?
I would give it at least 5 hours before you pull anyone.
You only talked about the 50 hours / one year service above. Do you recommend a service after the 5 hours break in?
Some manufacturers like Yamaha recommend around 10 hours for the first service. Sea-Doo has gotten less picky and allowing 50 hours or the first year. I personally do the first service around 20 to 25 hours no matter what for my Sea-Doo and then a service once a year after that. The first 5 hours is meant to take it easy with the engine, avoid keeping it at one speed for too long.
Just bought a RXT 300 and I want to take it on a 19 mile trip in the ocean. Can I do it right away?
I personally would try to put at least 5 hours on the machine and then get the break in service done before the trip.
I recently bought a 2018 Wake 155. The dealer didn’t mention anything about a break in period so I completely ignored it for the first 3 or 4 hours. We did a decent amount of skiing behind it in that period at continuous speeds. Since then, I’ve noticed that the jet ski doesn’t hit the advertised top speed of 55 mph, and instead only gets to 53 and maybe 54 mph. Do you think that this slightly lower than advertised speed is due to the ignored break in, or is it just a normal top speed variation for a jet ski? I’d also like to know what, if any, problems I may encounter down the road due to ignoring the first 3-4 hours of the break in period and. Thanks.
50 MPH to 55MPH is normal for that watercraft. Just make sure to get the first service done and winterize it if it gets cold where you live.
My 2- 2018 GTI 130 seem to have a break-in program… I’ve used them both for over 6 hours and they still will not reach over 5500 rpms (42 MPH) and slow out of the hole, and no difference between sport and touring mode. Do you think Sea-Doo is forcing the break-in 10 hour program on us now??
Something doesn’t seem right with this. Are you sure its the 130HP model and not the 90HP model? 42mph is about the top speed of the 90HP engine and the 130 and 90 both look the same. The RPMs don’t seem right either, it could be possible the dealership programmed the keys wrong. It might be best to take it to the dealership to see what they say especially if there is no difference in sport or touring mode. If it’s really sluggish, feels like it’s not catching when coming out of the hull then that is a damaged wear ring.
I have the gti 130 and I can’t seem to pass 42 mph as well. Maybe it needs to reach 10 hrs?
42mph is about what you would get from a GTI 90, both the 130 and 90 look the same so make sure you don’t have the 90hp GTI. Another issue could be the normal key is set to the learning key. The learning key can be programmed for speeds between 32mph to 50mph and you might be stuck on that setting. When you first put the key on it will tell you on the dash what key you have. Make sure you’re not using the wrong key.
I just bought a 2019 and am having that 42 mph issue. Any ideas? (It’s the correct key)
When you take the seat off does your engine look like this? https://www.steveninsales.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IMG_6779.jpg
Figured it out!!! Main key was set to rental key, limiting the 130hp to 90hp. Also wouldn’t let me into eco mode. About 15 min at dealer they had it reprogrammed and now it displays proper key as well as eco mode.
Looks like this (took it this AM)
https://netorg4670961-my.sharepoint.com/:i:/g/personal/jordan_mytravelvibe_com/Ea0tT3KRe2FGgUIjz-yUSbYBtAiOa4NchAyYWKj4gfJFmw?e=3PdZnv
That’s a fiberglass GTI for sure, you should be doing over 42mph. If you’re using the correct key and it’s programmed correclty you should be closer to 52mph. What’s the max RPM you can reach?
ok thank you very much!! you where very helpful.
what would you recommend for 2018 wake 155
First 5 hours vary your speed, don’t keep it at one speed for too long. You should avoid towing someone for those first 5 hours because that is all you do in pull sports is keep at one speed. After that go have some fun and make sure to follow your service schedule in your owners manual.
what happen if you didn’t properly breaking the ski?
Every jet ski will be different in the way you break it in. The break-in procedure is more important the more HP and the more moving parts you have. An improper break-in could damage the engine in the long run or cause other issues down the line. The good news is that many of the modern watercraft you get these days have a forced break-in mode to help you break it in and also they can take some abuse. The best thing to do is change up your speed often and DO NOT keep the watercraft at one speed for a long time when in the break-in mode.
Ty
I am at 2 hours. Yesterday I couldn’t go over 6mph. To 9mph .part of the break in process?
You should be going much faster than that during the break-in period. Most watercraft, except the performance ones, are not limited to top speed during the break-in period. The goal of the break-in period is not going too fast but keeping it at one speed for too long. You want to go 30mph for a few minutes then change it to 50mph for a few minutes, then change it to 35mph, and so on. Just don’t keep it at one speed, this means avoid pull sports and cruising for too long before the 5 hours are up.
We are having the same problem. Wouldn’t go over 8mph without it shaking. Does it have anything to do with the modes?
It sounds more like you sucked something up or something is wrong with your pump.