Many of you racers, fans, and friends might have wondered just how Jettribe Core Watercraft Company got started. Well, let us tell you about our journey through the years and how we made our mark on the watercraft industry. In 1990, Tony Vo, President of Jettribe started cruising around on a Yamaha Waverunner III but quickly got bored and decided that a change needed to be made. In 1992, Tony went down and bought his very first stand-up, a Kawasaki 750 SX stand up.
A year later Tony began his racing career in Region 1 and sort of…well…got his butt kicked. But the next year Tony was back at it and met some really great racers who helped Tony train. Not only did Tony’s racing skills improve but his ski’s performance also improved greatly as well. The 1992 750 SX limited race ski was pretty quick in its days and took a hand full of checkered flags; back then there were about 50 riders in the class that Tony raced in so it was no small task to compete! Tony’s ski was no sleeper, it has a factory pipe, MSD ignition, Ocean Pro ride plate, R&D scoop grate, quick steer, aluminum handle pole, milled head, 44 mm Mikuni carb with single K&N flame arrestor, lightened fly wheel, Solas 14/19 impeller, Jet Armor bumper kit, and Sano pad mats.
During this time Tony fell in love with the watercraft industry and his life and lifestyle would change from that point on.
After Tony’s dream of starting up Jettribe began to turn into a reality, Tony had little time to ride his prized ski less and less. With his business becoming more and more successful Tony had to retire from racing and, fourteen years later, Tony still has the 750 sx but it has not been running in six years!
With the help of Louis Milone and Team Mean the ski was shipped from Southern California to Florida so that it could be resurrected. Words cannot describe the admiration and appreciation we have for Louis and Team Mean. Louis pays such close attention to detail and has ensured that the ski will stay in the Jettribe Family forever.
Here are some tips from Louis on maintaining a ski, whether it is a racing ski or just used for recreation:
“Mix fuel 93 octane (anything but Shell) 36 to 1 with Klotz r50 oil. I only like Klotz and that is what it [Tony’s ski] is tuned for. Start it 1 or 2 times a week or so, whether you use it or not, run it for 1 minute blipping the throttle a few times, then shut it off. This will keep the fuel from coagulating in the carb, which is the worst thing for it. If you use it in salt water flush it really good, hose out the hull, and run the bilge to pump out the washed salt water.
I recommend a ‘salt away kit’ and flush with that, I like to fill it with ½ salt away and ½ with dawn dish washing liquid (that’s the way I do it) then leave the hood off until it dries out every time. I also get a regular industrial spray bottle for cleaners and stuff, and I buy at Home Depot a gallon jug of WD40. Put 5 or 6 inches of WD in the spray bottle and the ½ inch of Klotz in there, shake it up good, and spray the entire engine, pump, intake grate, ride plate, etc, with it every time you ride. Nothing will ever corrode if you do this. The WD evaporates and leaves a nice thin film of anti-corrosive 2 stroke oil all over everything.
Again, I like my stuff to look nice and be serviceable forever. This is just maintenance and if you want it to run forever you have to do it.”
A huge thanks goes out to Louis and Team Mean for putting so much work into the Jettribe ski. Words cannot express how grateful we are to have such an experienced and dedicated professional work so hard on something that means so much to us. We are so excited to know that we will have our ski, which is a piece of Jettribe history, in the family forever!
Well after some hard work and late nights of going through the boat from top to bottom and end to end, we received word from Louis that the ski was finally finished! As Louis put it, “It came out great, sounds great, and starts great.” The ski was scheduled for a test run with Louis and Jeremy out at Lake IDA in Delray. After the test run was over it received some “Tai’d Up” graphics courtesy of Wilson Tai. After its new makeover, the ski was put onto the Jettribe trailer to be shipped out to the Alabama race.
Louis and his crew truly went to great lengths to restore this member of our family. The guys went through everything (and when they say everything, they mean it)! They went through the pump, the ride plate, the grate, all the hoses, all the couplers, all the clamps, put in new throttle and steering cables, rebuilt carbs, replaced all the leaking gaskets in the exhaust, replaced all the green wires in the harness, put in new fuel hoses and filters, converted it to the SXR style fuel pickups, put in new primer valve and hoses, and the list goes on. This ski is like new and we can’t wait to take it out for a ride!
Thanks again to Louis and Team Mean for doing such a huge favor for us and for taking care of our baby! Jettribe only expects the best of the best work to be done on such a prized possession and Louis exceeded our expectations by far. We couldn’t have asked for a more professional or thorough team to restore the Jettribe ski.
