Kawasaki 1100 DI general questions.

[ragtopguy]

A friend dropped off an 1100 DI that seems to be giving him problems with the computer over heating.
Before I dive into the this I was curious if others have been down this road? I'm going to look at
the obvious- supply lines, ect. He was telling me that the computer issue is a common problem on
this boat.
I've had several 1100's over the years with pretty good times on the water, but this is my first DI and
trip down the computer side of PWC. He wants to sell it, but I can't seem to find them on eBay to get
a good estimate of what to pay for it. I do see that the computers are pretty spendy.

Just wanted to get some insight from the forum on this machine. The yays and nays and if I should
invest in this ski.

Thanks

[charlies]

Re: Kawasaki 1100 DI general questions.

Yes, they have quite an appetite for computers. I purchased and still own 2 of these skis and have purchased new computers or have had them repaired multiple times. The emm (computer) without an adequate supply of water to cool it will fail. The failing part seems to be the voltage regulators internal to the emm which are heat-sinked to a waterjacket (metal cooling plate). It does not take long for them to overheat and burn out. I hope this helps.

[ragtopguy]

Re: Kawasaki 1100 DI general questions.

Yes, they have quite an appetite for computers. I purchased and still own 2 of these skis and have purchased new computers or have had them repaired multiple times. The emm (computer) without an adequate supply of water to cool it will fail. The failing part seems to be the voltage regulators internal to the emm which are heat-sinked to a waterjacket (metal cooling plate). It does not take long for them to overheat and burn out. I hope this helps.

Thanks Charlies, good info.

I haven't traced the water supply to the emm. The owner of the ski says that the supply line clogs with
sand, i'm going to look into that today. Where are you getting your new emm's from? Have both your
failures resulted from cooling issues ?
Other than the emm problem are you happy with the skis? My old 1100's were always fighting me
with carb problems. Just weighing the options on purchasing the ski and investing in it further.

[charlies]

Re: Kawasaki 1100 DI general questions.

All failures were related to poor water flow. These are the first and only skis I have ever owned. I purchased them new. Both engines had to be rebuilt due to an oil hose falling off that goes to one of the cylinders. A major expense, and I rebuilt them myself, as I have former experience as a mechanic at a Chevrolet dealership. Right around 50 hours the large rubber hose that connects to the muffler got a hole burnt in it which caused the hull to fill with water and exhaust. This occurred nearly the same time on both skis. It was in the shop multiple times and they would simply replace the hose, only for it to burn with a hole. I later found out that fix was to enlarge (drill-out) a water passage. I contacted Kawasaki corporate for assistance and they were no help at all. I got to know the Kawasaki mechanic as a friend. He talked to some of the folks at Kawasaki Corporate service department that told them about the rubber hose burning out. That's when he learned about the hole needed to be enlarged. I don't know if Kawasaki Corporate has ever publicly addressed the issue. Which I feel is a disservice to the owners that invested in the Kawasaki brand.

I personally, from my experience, would look to other brands of watercraft. I would look at Yamaha, Honda or Sea Doo.

The computers are available new and rebuilt from Kawasaki. Be prepared to spend $800-1300 depending on which dealer you purchase it from. You will also need Kawasaki software and a cable to program your new/used computer. Failure to do so will likely damage your engine, although it will seem to run fine for a while after the computer is installed.

The place that repairs the computers is: DI fuel injection repair - DFI Technologies, Inc.

Note that they are very good but last time they were not able to repair my computer so I bought a new one from a Kawasaki dealer. (remember you'll need the software) You may opt to purchase a used computer on Ebay but you don't know how close the computer you are about buy was to overheating while it was in their ski . It's a crap shoot.

I've also replaced the stator in both skis due to water entering the stator compartment due to a faulty water seal. Water boxes were replaced on both skis as well when they rusted out with hole in the bottom.

I know that was a long answer. In short, I'm sorry to say, problematic!

The nice thing is I know the skis inside and out! The next time my computer goes, I'm going to attempt to fix it myself.

[ragtopguy]

Re: Kawasaki 1100 DI general questions.

[QUOTE=charlies;170173]All failures were related to poor water flow. These are the first and only skis I have ever owned. I purchased them new. Both engines had to be rebuilt due to an oil hose falling off that goes to one of the cylinders. A major expense, and I rebuilt them myself, as I have former experience as a mechanic at a Chevrolet dealership. Right around 50 hours the large rubber hose that connects to the muffler got a hole burnt in it which caused the hull to fill with water and exhaust. This occurred nearly the same time on both skis. It was in the shop multiple times and they would simply replace the hose, only for it to burn with a hole. I later found out that fix was to enlarge (drill-out) a water passage. I contacted Kawasaki corporate for assistance and they were no help at all. I got to know the Kawasaki mechanic as a friend. He talked to some of the folks at Kawasaki Corporate service department that told them about the rubber hose burning out. That's when he learned about the hole needed to be enlarged. I don't know if Kawasaki Corporate has ever publicly addressed the issue. Which I feel is a disservice to the owners that invested in the Kawasaki brand.

I personally, from my experience, would look to other brands of watercraft. I would look at Yamaha, Honda or Sea Doo.

The computers are available new and rebuilt from Kawasaki. Be prepared to spend $800-1300 depending on which dealer you purchase it from. You will also need Kawasaki software and a cable to program your new/used computer. Failure to do so will likely damage your engine, although it will seem to run fine for a while after the computer is installed.

The place that repairs the computers is: DI fuel injection repair - DFI Technologies, Inc.

Note that they are very good but last time they were not able to repair my computer so I bought a new one from a Kawasaki dealer. (remember you'll need the software) You may opt to purchase a used computer on Ebay but you don't know how close the computer you are about buy was to overheating while it was in their ski . It's a crap shoot.

I've also replaced the stator in both skis due to water entering the stator compartment due to a faulty water seal. Water boxes were replaced on both skis as well when they rusted out with hole in the bottom.

I know that was a long answer. In short, I'm sorry to say, problematic!

The nice thing is I know the skis inside and out! The next time my computer goes, I'm going to attempt to fix it myself.[/QUOTE



Your well in line with what I've learned so far in my research of the ski. I pulled off the EMM and took a look at it as well as calling
the owner. It turns out that that EMM was replaced last season. The only problem that I could see was a small amout of sand on the
discharge port leaving the unit to the pipe. It's reccomended in other forums that an exit port is drilled in the hull for the emm to
monitor proper water flow. I will do that if I decide to buy the ski. I'm a Seadoo guy and have beat the crap out of them and they still
ask for more, they are also very easy to work on. Some people call them Sea Don't but I have had great fun on them. I'm looking
for a 96 XP so in the meantime this might fill the void till the XP is in the yard.
I'm an aviation mechanic so working on them is pretty straight forward. I'm going to attach a hose to the emm to see what kind of
water flow I get. I don't have a warm fuzzy about the ski, but it appears that the owner does not want it either. It's going to have to
be a real good deal for me to purchase it. I had a flurry of problems with the former 1100's I had trying to keep the carbs tuned.
I'm going to address all the issues that you have had problems with and see how it goes. The company that repairs the EMM is only
about an hour from here so that's going help.
I appreciate you taking the time for the long response, it's been quite helpful. I'll let you know how it goes. This may turn out to be
a good ski for awhile.