Yamaha Cruiser launch

With motorised transport, every manufacturer - whether on land or water - will continue to strive for better models than the opposition.

There was no sign of monetary concern when Yamaha put on a lavish day to herald the arrival of their 2009 WaveRunner range early last Decembe. Invited guests included dealers and journalists from Australia and across the ditch in New Zealand, all converging on the Sydney International Regatta Centre near Penrith.

After a welcoming night at the nearby Panthers World of Entertainment, it was off to the venue that is usually reserved for craft powered by the arms of Olympic athletes. Yamaha scored a coup by securing part of the establishment for the day, with a welcoming speech and introduction held at the centre's Conference centre and cafe.

At the lakeside the fun began, with a rather bizarre back-to-the-'50s theme, including a Fonzie lookalike arriving with three babes in a Ford hotrod to put on a rock 'n' roll show.

This accompanied the on-water demonstration by the regular yamaha water people from the Jack Ellison H20 Entertainment Water Ski Show. It was a very dynamic show, as teh eager team put the Yamaha craft through their paces, including the stand-up Superjet using a ski jump as a launching ramp. Soon after, they demonstrated the power and versatility of the WaveRunners in their ease of towing skiers.

The display whetted the appetite for everyone present, demonstrating that the craft would be able to sustain more than the majority of the people on hand eager to sample the new PWCs.

There were three different areas for teh assembled throng to put the new Yamahas through their paces with a track set out via a number of buoys to cut a few laps, a drag strip to test top speed and the most popular attraction - a course set out with time recorded for a shootout later in the day - so boys being boys it was fiercely contested.

A few of us were even lucky enough to score a chopper ride that was on hand as part of the opening display.

All the new Yamaha models were on display plus a couple that will remain the same in 2009. In all, there were seven models to be tested and evaluated. Of these, four of them - the FZS, FZR, the pride of fleet FX Cruiser SHO and FX SHO - are supercharged.

Yamaha proved again that they are right up there with innovative new models, plus leaders in the fun stakes. Try one, you'll be excited too!