X2 Head/Dual Cooling/Exhaust

[prix0r]

Hey all,
I'm new to this site and to jetskis for the most part, so forgive me if any of these questions are repeatitive of others or just dumb. I have acquired a 1986 Kawasaki X2 that is in really good condition considering that its older than I am. I have a lot of performance parts for it (intake grate, impeller, ride plate, reeds, dual Keihin CDKII carbs, and other misc. parts). I work at a shop called McBrann Cycles in Kansas City, MO (http://www.mcbranncycles.com).
I came across a performance head from Jetlyne called a 'ThermoHead' and what I was really wondering is if any of you have ever heard of this before and what kind of advantages I would get from it. I don't want this machine to become unreliable, so Im trying to stray from anything that would do that.
Also, this head has dual inlets on it, and I was wondering if anyone knew how I should plumb it. If I decide not to use that head, is it still possible to run dual cooling lines with the stock head? If so, how?
I am going to get a pipe from FactoryPipe also, so would I just tap another fitting into that if I were to run dual cooling?
Thanks for all your help,
Josh

[Bill O'Neal2]

Re: X2 Head/Dual Cooling/Exhaust

Bolt it on a see what it blows on the compression guage. If over 180 psi, you probably don't want to use it.

[prix0r]

Re: X2 Head/Dual Cooling/Exhaust

Bill, you seem to know your stuff. What I'm really wondering about is the dual cooling setup, and where to tap for the second line and where I should pull water from?

Thanks
Josh

[Bill O'Neal2]

Re: X2 Head/Dual Cooling/Exhaust

Typically, you will need to get water out, if you add water into the motor with a second waterline.

I haven't actually worked on one of those in over 10 years, so I may not be your best source for information. But, it really isn't all that difficult to find a place to tap in and out of a motor.

When I do it on one of my motors, I look for a place on the head opposite of where the other in line enters to keep equal heat dissipation in the head, then look at the base ( sides or back) of the clyinders for a place to tap a couple of smaller fittings to take water out of the motor and tee them together and out thru a thru-hull fitting.

This flow direction can be changed by putting the water into the clyinders first, then out of the head and out of the boat. Choose what works best for you.

[quickSX/XP]

Re: X2 Head/Dual Cooling/Exhaust

There are several ways to plumb a Kawi twin. The two fittings on the head are outlets. Your Kawi 650 sends water to the ex. manifold (inlet) then it goes to the cylinder and exits out of the head, then to the exhaust head pipe. You may want to think about tapping the pump with an extra fitting for a true dual cooling setup. Then you could run one hose from head to the headpipe and the other could be a bypass (dumps outside of the hull). Then I would tee off another bypass between the bottom head pipe fitting and the stinger if you intend on running a Factory Pipe which is the best pipe for the 650.
But if it is pump gas setup you dont have to go with dual cooling from the pump and you could still run the same setup above.
I have two mod 650SX(Factory Pipe and much more), I am running dual cooling on one. On the other I am still running a single inlet to the manifold w/two outlets on the head like the dual and it still works fine. However I did slightly drill out the fittings at the pump and ex. manifold (1/4" drill bit).
There isnt much that I have not done on 650. So feel free to ask more questions.

[prix0r]

Re: X2 Head/Dual Cooling/Exhaust

Thanks quickSX/XP and Bill. One last thing. Has anyone heard of or used this so called 'ThermoHead' from Jetlyne? Good? Bad? any input at all?
Thank you all
Josh

[quickSX/XP]

Re: X2 Head/Dual Cooling/Exhaust

I have seen them before on ebay... but I have never used that particular head before.