2008 Sea-Doo RXT-X Review

A smooth handling powerhouse that’s ready to race

All that’s missing is a number plate. The Sea-Doo RXT-X is about as close as a manufacturer can come to selling a full-on racing watercraft to the public, at least if the price includes a warranty.

The numbers tell part of the story. A claimed 255 horsepower. Zero-to-30 mph in 1.5 seconds. A legit top speed of 68.3 mph with a full tank of fuel and an experienced, 165-pound rider on board. This is performance that will top any other stock three-seater on the water this season.

But what you can’t see in the specs and the test data is the handling, which I think is even more impressive than the all-out performance of this thoroughbred. The RXT-X is simply intuitive. It responds instantly and precisely to rider input. All you need to do is squeeze the throttle and steer. No need to lean just the right way, no handling trick to figure out. There is no hesitation. No sliding, no skidding. As long as you are able to hang on, the RXT-X will carve a turn at any speed. The wide, riser-mounted handlebars put the rider in a perfect position, sitting or standing, to take full advantage of the capabilities of this machine.

Sitting or standing, the RXT-X ergonomics, shaped seat and sticky foot mats put the rider in a confident position for high-speed performance action.

The power of the 1.5-liter Rotax triple startled me when I first hopped on board the RXT-X. After idling through a short no-wake, I grabbed a finger-full of throttle and was almost pitched off the back of the seat. This new version of the Rotax mill used in almost every Sea-Doo model has been tweaked up from 215 hp to 255 hp with 25 percent more supercharger boost, a larger intercooler, high-flow fuel injectors and forged pistons. Premium unleaded is mandatory. Closed cooling remains a standard feature (the heat exchanger is built into the ride plate), which is especially handy if you ride in salt water, but also allows the engine temperature to be more precisely controlled.

The RXT-X has a three-person rating…just warn your passengers before you punch the throttle.

PWC builders have reached the limit of the US Coast Guard’s tolerance for top speed, and so Sea-Doo has turned its attention to acceleration, which I really think is more fun than just going fast anyway.  The RXT-X uses the ride plate from the two-seater RXP, which moves the pump aft about 18 inches. This means the water intake tract to the pump is also about 18 inches longer, which helps pack more solid water to the impeller. A new top-loader intake grate loads the impeller evenly, further enhancing acceleration. It also produces enough drag to chip 2 to 3 mph off the potential top speed of the RXT-X. Yes, this boat could be even faster with a different grate. Hint, hint.

Programmable VTS trim lets the rider go from a pre-set down trim to pre-set up trim at the touch of a toggle switch.

Boy-racer touches include the tapered aluminum handlebars – 1.5 inches wider than standard Sea-Doo bars – and the machined aluminum bar riser. The riser is adjustable at two points, so you can find your perfect height and angle, but that takes tools. The bars can not be adjusted on the fly. The machined-from-billet finger throttle pulls through a braided steel cable housing.

Another race-inspired feature is the programmable VTS (Variable Trim System), which allows the rider to pre-set the lower and upper trim points. Punch the VTS toggle switch down, and the electric system goes immediately to your pre-set. Punch it up and you get the upper pre-set. The idea is that you can trim from hole-shot to top speed with a flick of the thumb, and without have to look down at a trim gauge, which is a good idea when you are going 65 mph. You can also turn the pre-sets off and simply trim manually for water conditions.

So, what of the compromises? The ride is pretty stiff in choppy water, and the handling that feels so precise when playing on the neighbor’s slalom course buoys makes this boat a little twitchy when the water is rough. Every steering input counts. There’s no boarding step, the glove box is small, and the 15.9-gallon (60 liter) fuel tank is barely adequate for a boat that burns 11.6 gph at 50 mph, and 20.9 gph at WOT. There’s also the $13,299 price tag, which puts the RXT-X at the top of the performance three-seater heap.

But you’ve got to pay to play, right? This is a boat for riders who demand all-out performance. The price tag, the fuel economy and the puny glove box are all irrelevant. If being first across the lake it what matters, this is your machine.