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Class Legality

IHRA · runabout

Runabout Lites

IHRA 2026, AA. A closed-list class. The craft must stay stock except where the rules allow otherwise, so anything unlisted is not permitted.

  • 1Not legal
  • 11OEM part required
  • 28Not permitted, not listed in the rules
  • 22Legal, with conditions
  • 7Legal

Read out of the published IHRA rulebook on 2026-09-11, so confirm anything that decides a purchase. The full note is at the foot of the page.

Running the class

Eligible craft
Sea-Doo Spark in all years and models, Yamaha EX in all years and models, and the 2025 and later Yamaha JetBlaster DLX and DLX 3-Up.
Displacement limit
No capacity figure. Eligibility is entirely by model list, and the list carries three named exclusions. AA.2.1 permits the engine to be bored and ties boring and stroke modifications to the displacement restrictions, which this section states nowhere as a figure (AA.1).
Licence or tier
Not stated. The section names junior competition as an intended use.
Minimum weight
Not stated.

Read from the same class section as the part answers. The rider side of the sport, tiers, ages, licences and what gets inspected, is set out across the bodies at Racing.

Open questions on this class (2)

Places where the rulebook contradicts itself, or where a figure could not be settled. Nothing in this list is decided, and it sits here rather than in a footnote because it is what you would want before spending money.

  • AA.2.1 permits boring and stroke modification "within the displacement restrictions" and the class states no displacement restriction. The permitted bore is therefore bounded by a figure the section does not contain.
  • AA.2.5 states the head gasket tolerance in inches, no thinner than 0.002 in and no thicker than 0.06 in, where the Lites classes in the ski division state the same kind of rule in contradictory millimetres. The inch figures here are internally consistent and the millimetre ones elsewhere are not.

Sections this rulebook does not contain for this class

Confirmed absent by a targeted read rather than merely unnoticed. In a closed-list class an absent article is why a part reads as not permitted; in an open class it is why one reads as open.

  • No displacement ceiling.
  • No maximum hull width.
  • No hull-substitution or top deck rule. The hull article, AA.5, covers only ventilation and seat.
  • No forced induction article.

What the rules say (69 parts)

7 permitted outright, 22 permitted with stated conditions, 1 refused by a rule we can quote, 11 held to the original part by a rule we can quote and 28 refused by our reading of the class rather than by a quoted rule. Grouped where the same rule gives the same answer, so two "Not legal" groups can sit side by side under different rules.

What each answer below means

Not legal
This comes off. The rules refuse it in this class.
OEM part required
This comes off. Only the part the manufacturer fitted is allowed here.
Not permitted, not listed in the rules
Treat it as coming off. The class requires the craft to stay stock except where the rules allow otherwise, and this part is not on the list, so this is our reading rather than a rule we can quote at you.
Legal, with conditions
Keep it, but measure it: the rules permit this part only inside stated limits.
Legal
Keep it. The rules permit this part in this class.

Read the refusals as a list of work. Anything below marked Not legal, OEM part required, or Not permitted has to come off the machine, or go back to the standard part, before it races in this class.

Not legal1 part

Bolts, nuts and washers may not be substituted with titanium unless originally equipped. Locking mechanisms are allowed. J.7

OEM part required1 part

The original carburetor body must stay, with only the jets, needle valves and springs replaceable, the choke removable and an aftermarket primer allowed. AA.3.2

OEM part required1 part

The original ECU must stay and may only be reprogrammed, on its original connectors, with no sensor added, so an aftermarket or standalone box is not legal here. AA.4.1

OEM part required1 part

The original seat base must stay in use. The cover may be replaced, but seat height may change by no more than 12.7 mm either way and the cover may add no more than 12.7 mm. AA.5.2

OEM part required1 part

Must remain OEM. Aftermarket water strainers or filters permitted. Intercooler assembly and fittings OEM. No additional fittings. Electronic valve or water injection prohibited unless OEM. AA.2.4

OEM part required1 part

The hull may be repaired but not otherwise modified, and a repair may not move it more than 2 mm (0.08 in) from its original configuration. J.1, J.13

Not permitted, not listed in the rules27 parts

On a closed list an unlisted modification is not permitted. A.2.2, J.1

Not permitted, not listed in the rules1 part

AA.2.6 lists no aftermarket manifold or head pipe and allows only removal of the exhaust restrictor plate, with the original outlet diameter unaltered. A.2.2, J.1, AA.2.6

Legal, with conditions1 part

The exhaust restrictor plate may be removed provided the original outlet diameter is unaltered. This is the only exhaust change the class permits. AA.2.6

Legal, with conditions1 part

Only the jets, needle valves and springs replaceable, the choke removable and an aftermarket primer allowed, and nothing else on the carburetor may be changed. AA.3.2

Legal, with conditions1 part

Every engine must run a flame arrester meeting USCG, UL-1111 or SAE J-1928 rather than the OEM one, and where a ribbon is the OEM arrester it may be removed if airflow does not increase and the air filter still suppresses flame. AA.3.1, AA.3.2

Legal, with conditions1 part

The ducting between the flame arrester and the throttle body may be modified or aftermarket, or only as far as the airflow sensor where one is fitted, and nothing downstream of the sensor may change. No cold air system is named, so the allowance stops at that ducting. AA.3.1

Legal, with conditions1 part

Reprogramming the original unit is the permitted route, on its original connectors, with no sensor added. AA.4.1

Legal, with conditions1 part

Gauges may be modified or removed provided no hazard is created and any resulting hole is sealed. Section J permits modification and removal and never addresses adding an aftermarket instrument. J.15

Legal, with conditions1 part

Replacement wiring is allowed as a maintenance part under J.7, and AA.4.1 keeps the ECU on its original connectors with no added input or output; J.7 opens no harness redesign and no ECU. J.7, AA.4.1

Legal, with conditions1 part

Must retain compression ratio, dome profile, skirt length and material type. Bead blast only, with no steel wool or Scotch-Brite. AA.2.1

Legal, with conditions1 part

Repairs are allowed for a crack or puncture, but only one damaged area affecting one cylinder bank. No other modification. J.11

Legal, with conditions1 part

May be modified or replaced with an aftermarket part. The original diameter must be maintained in Stock class, and the rulebook never defines which classes that is. J.18.2

Legal, with conditions1 part

May be replaced within OEM specifications. J.18.3

Legal, with conditions1 part

Aftermarket or modified, full-length type with at least one bar parallel to the driveshaft, dropping no more than 12.00mm (0.47 in) below the flat plane of the pump intake. J.18.1

Legal, with conditions1 part

Aftermarket or modified. An extension may not exceed the width of the original plate, and on a ski may not extend more than 100 mm (3.94 in). J.18.1

Legal, with conditions1 part

Replacement trim plates may be used provided they mimic the handling characteristics of the stock plates. J.18.2

Legal, with conditions1 part

Braking devices may be disabled for safety, and reverse buckets and trim motors may be removed or modified to disable them, provided no hazard is created. J.18.4

Legal, with conditions1 part

Aftermarket, modified, repositioned or removed. Up to two, each no longer than 36 in (91.45 cm), protruding no more than 3.94 in (100 mm) horizontally, at least 6 mm thick with radiused leading edges, and not attached to a planing surface. J.16

Legal, with conditions1 part

Seat height may change by no more than 12.7 mm and the cover may be no thicker than 12.7 mm. AA.5.2

Legal, with conditions1 part

Replacement bumpers and side rails may be used provided they create no hazard. A permanently affixed nose bumper remains required. J.13, I.17

Legal, with conditions1 part

May be added to adjust handling. Constant mass only, and no other part may be modified to carry it. J.19

Legal1 part

J.7, in the general rules for every class, names hoses and clamps as replaceable with aftermarket options, which overrides the closed-list default and covers an aftermarket fuel hose. Fittings are not named on their own. J.7

Legal1 part

May be replaced, as may starters and oil injection systems, with the oil injection system removable or disconnectable. J.8

Legal1 part

Grips, throttle and cables may be modified or aftermarket. The bar must be padded at the mounting bracket or the crossbar padded. J.17.1

Legal1 part

Steering shaft, holder, handlebar holder and cables may be aftermarket, and quick-turn modifications are allowed. J.17.2

Legal1 part

The bilge pump may be modified or disconnected and aftermarket bilge draining systems are permitted, provided they create no hazard. J.10

IHRA 2026, AA, read from the rulebook on 2026-09-11. Read the rule yourself. Every IHRA class · where the rulebooks differ · how this site reads a rulebook.

This is one class. Every part below also has a page of its own showing where it stands across every class this body runs, and legality by part is the index of them.

What we corrected here, and when

  • High-pressure fuel line and fittings. Corrected 2026-10-02: the Runabout Lites row read the closed-list default and refused a fuel hose, which J.7 allows in every class; until 2026-10-31 this line wrongly excepted the drag section, where J.7 applies too.
Cite this page

“Runabout Lites, IHRA class rules”, BaddJet archive, https://baddjetarchive.com/legality/ihra/runabout-lites/

Add the date you read it.

69 parts read · 7 permitted, 22 with conditions · 2026 rulebook

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