Sea-Doo 2012 Launch

If there’s one thing Bombardier Recreation Products (BRP) can’t be accused of it’s being ho-hum.

The innovative Canadian-based personal water craft  (PWC) and all-terrain vehicle (ATV) manufacturer never fails to excite.

So it was at the recent Club Can-Am (ATV) and Sea-Doo (PWC) 2012 launch in Brisbane and its backblocks.

"In the next three to five years, we are going to out-innovate our opposition, focus on greener products, and make our craft socially acceptable," Gregoire Dupont, General Manager of BRP Australia, told the assembled marine and motoring media before we cast off.

Dupont added that there will be renewed customer focus, that the company will help develop the local recreational power-sports community, and embark on some exciting initiatives online in 2012.

While the Can-Am (ATV) and Sea-Doo (PWC) 2012 launch brought two different recreational groups together, much of the ensuing fun, derived function and (engineering) foundation were shared across both platforms.

For example, all BRP terrestrial and aquatic craft are propelled by compact Austrian-built Rotax engines, a 1494cc 4-Tec model with closed-circuit cooling in the case of the Sea-Doos.

The engines are mostly controlled by trigger throttles on handlebars, with the rider straddling a ‘saddle’ seat on all but the new side-by-side Commander ATVs (electric versions coming soon). See sister website www.bikesales.com.au for ATV reviews.

Of course, we might biassed, but we reckon the Sea-Doo PWCs flaunt the greatest technological advancements across the BRP recreational product line-up.

The new-for-2012 chartreuse-coloured RXP-X 260 RS -- yes, 260 supercharged horses -- is a race-bred PWC based on the same hull employed by Sea-Doo watercraft rider James Bushell, double world champion in 2011.

Among the revolutionary features, the RXP has Ergolock -- a combination of narrow-racing seat, with thigh lock, adjustable footwells and handlebars -- so you can assume a low, motorbike-like riding profile and stay onboard. This is just as well.

The new T3 hull on the RXP-X 260 RS is short for tight turning. That it does. You’ll have to read our upcoming ‘test’ for the first-hand account of the performance, suffice to say the word 'snappy' springs to mind.

The new T3 hull brings the Sea-Doo hull range to three. There is a pre-existing bigger S3 'touring' hull and a small, light but more nimble GTi hull.

Also grouped in the Performance range, the new-for-2012 GTR 215 has the GTi hull with orange accents, a 215hp supercharged engine, but costs $3500 less than the RXP-X 260 RS.

Being more affordable, GTR 215 will compete with Yamaha’s popular VXR model we also drove for comparison reasons. More thrills, less bills.

Meantime, just about everything at Sea-Doo centres on iControl these days. The broad term encompasses all the company’s "intelligent" innovations across its 10-model line-up.

Foremost among them is iBR, short for Intelligent Brake and Reverse, an exclusive Sea-Doo feature designed to make riding PWCs safer.

iTC is short for Intelligent Throttle Control, referring to the fly-by-wire system that includes a Learning key (bundled with all models) to tame performance and beginners. 

The next thing to get your head around is iS/aS -- Intelligent Suspension (on the GTX LTD 260 model only), which is also Adjustable Suspension on the RXT-X aS 260 RS sister ship with S3 hull released last year.

The suspension, ensures a smooth ride in prevailing water conditions, although the Sea-Doo folk tell us the new T3 hull is just amazing in the rough. We’ll have to take their word for it as we drove it on a lake.

All Sea-Doos share a 21 to 32 function Digital Information Centre, read multifunction gauge, and all but the entry-level GTi 130 come with some form of Variable Trim System as standard.

Not one to rest on its laurels, BRP enjoys 50 per cent PWC market share but admits water-craft ownership is flat and, on a per head basis, actually declining worldwide.

But if innovation can fuel desire then the brand is surely in the box or, rather, rider’s seat in years to come. The RXP-X 260 RS really is an experience.

Retail price for the new RXP-X 260 RS is $19,990, while the GTR 215 is $16,490. Trailer and rego cost extra. See www.sea-doo.com/au/home.aspx.

Photographs accompanying this article were supplied by Craig Parry Photography.