Boats

Sea-Doo RXP-X 260

The RXP is an ultraquick PWC that stops as well as it goes.

By Jeff Hemmel

Updated: February 10, 2012

Plenty of performance PWCs hit the magic 65 mph mark. With the retooled RXP-X 260, Sea-Doo placed equal focus on the craft’s behavior en route to that speed. It sports a central running pad, dropped and lowered from the chines. Soft and rounded, those chines give the RXP-X 260 a pronounced inside lean when cornering. Aggressive adjustable sponsons, sporting 90-degree winglets, lock it into position on the carve. The end result is arguably the tightest-cornering production watercraft I’ve ever ridden.

Most PWCs feature a flatter turning style, forcing you to use plenty of upper body strength to push the craft to its potential. To combat this trait, Sea-Doo’s design team ingeniously paired the RXP-X 260’s inside-lean design with a unique seat shape. Rather than the typical broad profile, which forces a rider’s legs wide, it sports an hourglass figure. The slim midsection is topped with padded thigh bolsters forward, which extend over the upper leg and allow the driver to grasp the seat with his or her knees. I slid into position, dove into a corner and held myself with my stronger leg muscles, freeing my upper body from strain.

Canted footwells provide leverage to keep those knees wedged firmly in place. I cranked a 180-degree turn in a confident, spray-producing whip, and exited the corner almost as fast as I entered. Who cares about straightaway speed? All I wanted to do was turn and burn.

The RXP-X 260 may be an e-ticket ride, but it’s still a Sea-Doo. That means it’s muscular, but with manners. An intelligent brake and reverse (iBR) system allows the craft to start in neutral at the dock and then be shifted into forward or reverse via intuitive handlebar controls. That same system also stops the craft in roughly half the distance of a conventional model, engaging a computer-controlled, modified reverse bucket to redirect forward thrust. In fact, though we couldn’t test for it, Sea-Doo claims that, from 50 mph, no other watercraft can stop in as short a distance, thanks to iBR. Electronic throttle modes allow the user to choose a gentler, or more radical, acceleration profile. Sea-Doo’s intelligent throttle control (iTC) system even provides a special key that you can insert when you want a novice rider to take the controls. The key limits the speed of the RXP-X 260, allowing beginners to acclimate to the power and handling and safely build confidence and proficiency.

Performance numbers? I zoomed to a thrilling 67.1 mph with Sea-Doo’s familiar 1.5-liter engine and thoroughly enjoyed the ultraquick, two-second 0 to 30 mph acceleration runs, thanks to this power plant’s potent supercharger/intercooler combo.

Comparable model: Yamaha FZR