2009 Sea-Doo RXT 215 Review

The beginning of the Muscle Craft

Sea-Doo has made strides to cover all budgets and every inch of the power spectrum for personal watercraft fanatics. Performance and value come with the ability to bring your friends out to enjoy the day.

Though the latest in PWC innovation is incredible (who would have ever thought we’d see braking and suspension on a cruiser?), let’s not forget where we came from and how these developments came to life in the RXT models.

Available for model year 2009 is Sea-Doo’s RXT 215. This craft has many great features that have been used to win offshore championships around the world. Setting the bar high has always been the tradition at Sea-Doo and with this model there is no slack. Bringing the muscle craft dynamic to the 3rd dimension is just as easy as adding a third passenger seating area and supplying the ride with towing capabilities. We’ll cover the basics and get right down to business with this bad boy of the water world.

With more than 200 ponies at the ready, the RXT 215 provides a damn good time on the water.

Power

This supercharged and intercooled engine offers exceptional performance and reasonable fuel economy.

A closed loop cooling system protects the engine from corrosive salt water.

Starting with the powerful engine in the RXT we already know that Sea-Doo has its 4-Tec four-stroke power propelling the torpedo forward. But if we look a bit deeper we find the supercharged and intercooled system is where the grunt is located in this PWC. This engine was the first to produce over 200 hp in the industry when it was introduced. Combining the supercharger that breathes down a 52mm throttle body with 1494cc makes for great power. The intercooler supplies more “free” ponies by just cooling the air charge going into the engine. This equals great performance and acceleration while managing to preserve fuel economy.

The cooling of this beast is a closed loop system. The closed loop allows PWC owners to operate their Personal watercraft in salt water without the worries of corrosion that is associated with this. The reasoning is that if a closed loop coolant filled system can be utilized, no contaminants can be brought into the engine. This eliminates risk from ride location and environments. Heat from the engine is dissipated by using the watercraft’s ride plate as a heat exchanger. With a modest compression ratio at 8.4:1 the RXT 215 functions well on premium fuels.

For 2009 Sea-Doo utilizes the Sea-Doo Direct drive propulsion system. With an aluminum single stage, axial flowing jet pump combined with the large hub and 10-vane stator there will no problem displacing water under the RXT. The aluminum stator vanes are developed to handle the awesome power without the risk of erosion. A simple forward, reverse and neutral gets the ride moving in any direction easy and fast. Having a stainless steel impeller also insures attention to detail.

Chassis

The modified-V composite hull is a proven race winner.

The hull is a modified-V composite design, which translates to sharper turning with a smoother and more comfortable ride. The hull is also strong, light and easy to maintain due to its FRP construction. We know that sooner or later or driving skills will lead us into the beach and having this forethought Sea-Doo wanted to make the strongest hull available.

The RXT 215 has seating for three and with a towing/ski eye built into the machine riding your favorite tube or ski is not a problem. The engineers over at Sea-Doo even offer an optional retractable ski pylon that gives the spotter a place to hold on. This RXT also comes with the patented OPAS system which stands for off power assisted steering. This allows the rider to have some control of the craft during off power or off-throttle situations. This is just a little more insurance for the beginning riders and even some of the veterans.

Additional Features

Among the other features on the RXT 215 is a digitally encoded security system that only allows the craft start when the correct key is present. In other words, there isn’t a possibility of another Sea-Doo owner taking your RXT 215 unless they have your specific key to the machine. With the electronics system comes a multi-function digital dash and information center. This little info center displays 18 different operating functions that help keep you informed during the ride.

Adjustable mirrors, docking loops are also included on the RXT 215, as is a very nice reboarding ladder for those times when your ego gets put in check by the awesome turning ability of this watercraft. There are also extra large storage compartments, a large grab handle for reboarding and a fuel tank with an extended range due to its 15.9-gallon capacity. All of the features are well thought out with the customer in mind. The colors for 2009 include a bright yellow/white arrangement and the ominous black and silver color scheme.

Ride Experience

With a full day of riding there were many segments to cover and getting to the muscle craft was really exciting. The RXT 215 power was very linear and having smooth acceleration kept us from being thrown off the rear of the machine. We noticed the handling is similar to its RXT-X and RXP-X brethren. With very precise cornering and an overall smooth feel it was certain that this PWC had its target audience by the ears.

Smooth, linear acceleration and precise handling are two hallmarks of the RXT 215.

The third seat offered up the ability to ride with a friend and tow a skier as well and I can tell you that water sports are a lot more fun when you can bring friends along. The cut and sewn seating on the RXT made for a comfortable ride and even seemed to soak up the small cracks against the wake that seem to happen on even the smoothest water.

Another rarely mentioned feature that we were able to use was the Compass on our digital dash. Getting out into the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico can get you turned around in a hurry and this is a nice security blanket for those moments in your ride.

Our overall assessment of the RXT 215 is that this is a great sporty fully powered PWC for the money. It has looks to kill and with the performance restricting “Learning key” you can even introduce beginning riders to the sport on a lower scale until they get the hang of things.

Related Reading
2009 Sea-Doo RXP 215 Review
2009 Sea-Doo RXT-X 255 Review
2009 Sea-Doo RXT iS 255 Review
2009 Sea-Doo Wake 155/Wake Pro 215 Review