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JS550

JS550

Overview


The 550 is a personal watercraft made by Kawasaki
Kawasaki Heavy Industries
is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shozo Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa....

. It was first built in 1982 and has been very popular. The 550 shares many of the same parts with the JS440 and JS300 including the fiberglass hull, hood and handle pole. This craft played a huge role in the popularity of personal watercraft. It was arguably the most popular watercraft throughout the 1980s and early 90s.
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Encyclopedia
style="font-size: larger;" | 1982 JS550

Common Name(s): JS550; 550
Manufacture: Kawasaki
Kawasaki Heavy Industries
is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shozo Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa....
Engine Type: Two Stroke
Engine Common Name: Piston Port 550
Years Into Production: 1982-1990
Horsepower: 41
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several non-SI units of power. It was originally defined to allow the output of steam engines to be measured and compared with the power output of draft horses. The horsepower was widely adopted to measure the output of piston engines, turbines, electric motors and other...
Displacement: 530 cc
Engine displacement
Engine displacement is the volume swept by all the pistons inside the cylinders of an internal combustion engine in a single movement from top dead centre to bottom dead centre . It is commonly specified in cubic centimeters , litres , or cubic inches...
Type of Lubrication: Pre Mixed Oil & Gas
Mixing Ratio: 40:1
Spark Plug: BR8ES
Spark plug
A spark plug is an electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of some internal combustion engines and ignites compressed fuels such as, aerosol gasoline, Ethanol, and Liquefied petroleum gas by means of an electric spark...
Length: 214cm
Width: 62cm
Height: 64cm
Weight: 114kg


The 550 is a personal watercraft made by Kawasaki
Kawasaki Heavy Industries
is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shozo Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa....

. It was first built in 1982 and has been very popular. The 550 shares many of the same parts with the JS440 and JS300 including the fiberglass hull, hood and handle pole. This craft played a huge role in the popularity of personal watercraft. It was arguably the most popular watercraft throughout the 1980s and early 90s. The 550 was a very popular choice for racing. The 550 underwent very few changes over its production history. The 550 slowly lost popularity when the larger, more stable and more powerful stand-ups began appearing like the Kawasaki 650SX, 750SX and Yamaha Superjet
Superjet
The Superjet is a personal watercraft made by Yamaha Motor Corporation. The Superjet is a "stand-up" PWC. Credit for its design is given to Clayton Jacobsen II...

. Many consider the era of the 550 the heyday of personal watercraft racing.

1982-1985 Known as JS550A

  • Motor: Black Piston Port 550
  • Single ring piston
  • Carb: single 38mm Mikuni BN
  • Front left side exhaust outlet
  • Finger throttle
  • Aluminum pump inlet wear ring (only 82-83)

1986-1990(mid) Known as JS550B

  • Motor: Black Piston Port 550
  • Single ring piston
  • Carb: single 44mm Mikuni BN
  • Front right side exhaust outlet
  • Thumb throttle
  • JETPOWER exhaust
  • Stainless pump inlet wear ring

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