The PWC is evolving rapidly with the new Sea-Doo RXT and RXP 255 iS models introducing the industry’s first suspension and braking and a new production-ready design which looks capable of defining a whole new class of PWC. The Samba X5 looks like a stingray and is ridden in a motorcycle-like, crouch. Evolved over five years and four prototypes, it is so small and light, an 80 bhp motor can offer the power-to-weight and the same 65 mph top speed of the fastest 250 bhp sit-downs, with extreme agility, control and acrobatic capabilities far beyond those of a stand-up. Above all, the Samba X5 is easy-to-ride, and extreme tricking is relatively easily attainable for even beginners, such is the degree of “body english†control offered to the rider by the design which puts the centre of gravity of the whole package between the rider’s wrists and shoulders.
There’s something to be said for the frugal approach to engineering. The standard way of doing things has been forged over centuries of bountiful resources and it made sense to build things big and robust so they would last…Â Details & Pictures