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22-02-2004, 06:12 AM

On 21 Feb 2004 10:36:42 -0800, (Jay) wrote:

I'm interested in learning more about zero-turn radius lawn mowers.
Anyone out there have experience you could share with me?

I own a midmount Grasshopper w 52" deck. I can't recall the exact
model number at the moment. It's intended for commercial users, but
I'm a homeowner with 4 Acres to mow and a fair number of bushes and
trees to dodge. It takes about 2.5 hours to mow 4 A, but that's with
obstructions. It would of course go quite a bit faster if I didn't
have to mow around the trees. I"ve occasionally scanned groups
populated by lawn care business people and opinions there are similar
to preferences for Fords vs Chevys. It seems like there's a lot of
personal preference. Another variable is what makes of mowers dealers
in those regions distribute. Grasshoppers and ExMarks are common in
some areas and Scags and Hustlers are common elsewhere. One common
theme about a year ago though was to avoid ones with a certain model
of Kawasaki engines. Since mine is a Briggs, I don't recall the model
number fo the Kawasaki enigne that had the problems, but the Kawasakis
died very prematurely, just out of warranty and the company initially
wasn't admitting a problem..

That said, I like my Grasshopper. About the only thing I don't care
for is the paint scheme - I'm not a fan of earth tones. I suspect
mine mower deck is a little louder than the competition. Very
maneuverable and as with all similar models, they are zero turn.
There is some technique to steering them. I found it easy to scuff up
the grass and tear out divots, particularly when the lawn is wet or
damp even with the relatively smooth turf tires.

It's difficult to know how much is dealer hype and what's truth, but
one dealer who sold both Grasshoppers and Bobcats felt that the
Bobcats steered better without tearing up the grass. It doesn't help
that most of my lot has a little slope. Another dealer felt that the
Grasshoppers gave a smoother ride than even the Ferris which had a
susupension. In the end I chose a Grasshopper because I'd seen them
around our area for about 20 years and they were about $1000 less
expensive than the comparable sized ExMark or Gravely. Bobcat, Scag,
Hustler and Ferris were also available, but I'd never heard of them
before.

It's hard to genuinely evaluate one of these mowers until you've
operated one for a season or two. I could probably do that better now
than when I bought mine two years ago. Nevertheless, try mowing with
each model under consideration, even those that are above your price
range so you have a basis for comparison. Evaluate each for
smoothness / lack of bumpiness during mowing, ease of keeping it
straight, ease of turning, appearance of the cut, loudness of the
machine, how much vibration you feel when you're mowing. My
preference is for a midmount rather than a front mount mower although
I'd probably eventually remember that I had a back end that could
swing and hit what's behind me. Another advantage of a midmount is
that the midmount mowers are shorter and thus don't take up as much
space in your garage.

I hope some of you others who have ZTR mowers respond to the thread.
I'm interested in hearing what you think of what you own.

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