JET SKI

Jet Ski is the brand name of personal watercraft (PWC) manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The name, however, has become a genericized trademark for any type of personal watercraft. Jet Ski (or JetSki, often shortened to "Ski") can also refer to versions of PWCs with pivoting handlepoles known as "stand-ups." Sit Down PWCs are also called "Jet Skis."
HISTORY:
"Jet Ski" became foremost the colloquial term for stand-up personal watercraft, because in 1973 Kawasaki was responsible for a limited production of stand-up models as designed by the recognized inventor of Jet Skis, Clayton Jacobson II. In 1976, Kawasaki began of the JS400-A. JS400s came with 400 cc two-stroke engines and hulls based upon the previous limited release models. It became the harbinger of the success Jet Skis would see in the Jetters market up through the 1990s. In 1986 Kawasaki broadened the world of Jet Skis by introducing a two person model with lean-in "sport" style handling and a 650 cc engine, dubbed the X-2. Then in 1989, they introduced their first two passenger "sit-down" model, the Tandem Sport/Dual-Jetters (TS/DJ) with a step-through seating area.
The four-stroke engines have come on since 2003; with the help of superchargers and the like the engines can produce up to 260 horsepower (190 kW) as seen in the newly released Kawasaki Ultra 250Xand Sea-doo RXP, RXT and RXP-X.
As the riding of personal watercraft evolved through the 1990s, other companies like Yamaha, Bombardier and Polaris joined the sport to make it into a worldwide sport in both racing and freestyle.