1995 Seadoo 720 XP: Chris Fischetti Replica Build

1995 Seadoo 720 XP: Chris Fischetti Replica Build

Builds

By Scott Fowler

WHERE IT ALL STARTED

Hi Cam! Great to be a part of the VJS movement!

As you know, I started with Vintage Kawasaki stuff back in early 2005. I worked with Gary Hart's Jettrim vintage museum in 2011 and 2012 and was the source for Ty McFarland to get his purple/pink Scott Watkins 1990 Tour ski, which is now beautifully restored. You and I even have crossed paths previously, I think we traded a Westcoast 650 dual-total loss system for a couple MRD fuel injection systems, what was that, like, 2010? That's almost vintage in itself!

MY FIRST SKI

Seadoo was different for me. Being an automotive technician by trade, they used a very 'modular' concept when it came to their wiring harness, connectors, etc that I was all very familiar with. It grew on me - it just made sense.

To quote Vanilla Ice, ‘Let’s get to the butter’

1995 SEADOO XP

1995 was the year for runabouts. A downfall as far as standup jetski racing, but for Seadoo and their sales, it was never hotter!

Think of how many 1995 Seadoo XP's you still see out there for sale today. There were literally hundreds of thousands of them built that year, and there are still tens of thousands still on the water today. It was this hay-day that was one step up from the neon red and candy blues of PJS. The bright yellows and purples (Mauve, according to Seadoo official parts colors) of the time.

So after racing another few years, collecting vintage Seadoos, gear, parts, accessories, and other misc. swag, I thought, lets do a retro build.

The machine here, was purchased locally from the local classifieds - this ski was originally fitted with a pair of 44mm Novi carbs, which the owner had nothing but problems trying to tune, so, I purchased the purple intake manifold off him long before I even planned to build it.

AN INTRIGUING HISTORY

The machine was acquired. Working for Seadoo, I ran the HIN through the dealer network and found it was originally registered in South Carolina. For fun, I ran the owners name through Facebook and Google - something I always do because, who wouldn't want to hear there their machine was now living years down the road?? I got a bunch of hits on Google. Turns out, the owner was at one point, South Carolina's most wanted fugitive - wanted on numerous fraud charges, etc. The news articles matched his name and address. WOW!

Enough of that, time to build some eye-candy!

720 XP SUPERSTOCK

Countless hours were spent searching ebay, Facebook marketplace, PWC forums, etc. for the pile of period-correct purple anodized parts. It never stopped. It was a 24/7 addiction. Find the next rarest, purplest part, which is tricky - purple anodizing is the first to fade in the sun, and these parts have all had the chance to sit in the sun over the last 25 years!

The engine came to me from a fellow racer in the states - he posted it as a used 720 engine that 'had alot of pep!'. I bought it, not knowing what I was really getting into, and it was shipped over the border in a plastic tote. It arrived sometime during the snow-seasons here in Ontario. Looking it over in the garage, I found something engraved, but difficult to read - between the cylinders. SRE?? The carb guys??

They were known more for their annular discharge carburetors - similar to blackjacks and Redtops. This explains why the engine had the pep! Better do this one some justice! A complete tear down and inspection was performed, crank seals replaced, and it was found to have 1.00mm oversized pistons in it. If this engine squeaks, it's time for a re-sleeve and say goodbye to that port work.

Along the way of parts-collecting, it was decided to make this a true 'runner'. It has been setup with the intent to run VP C-12 racing fuel. 31cc cylinder head domes puts it roughly at 215psi compression. Total loss ignition system gives it almost instant acceleration. The PTO flywheel will be left at full weight as it acts as a large heat sink to reduce the heat on the rear crank bearings.

The latest idea is to remove all of the OEM decals (forgive me!), and to do a Chris Fischetti replica-style sticker job from that era with Westcoast Racing.