It took me awhile to develop the light hand on the controls my Hustler Fastrak requires for any kind of decent safety. But after a few near tipovers, I've learned to be gentle. It just takes practice.Originally Posted by Gun Mutt
It took me awhile to develop the light hand on the controls my Hustler Fastrak requires for any kind of decent safety. But after a few near tipovers, I've learned to be gentle. It just takes practice.
It's not hard, you just need to practice.
#RESIST
Kicking This Thread; like to hear feedback on these zero turns after the past 2 years pros/cons please. My 18 year old Ventrac 3000 is quickly dying, our replacement will be a grass cutting machine only. Thanks
I have a Gravely 60" with Kawasaki motor. I don't recall the model # but it's the mid-tier version, between the "homeowner" model and the commercial unit. I love it. Takes about 40 minutes to cut 2 acres. My old 46" Husqvarna rider was fine, but it took over 2 hours for the same yard.
Cost $6000 but it will last me quite a long time with basic maintenance, which so far has only been annual oil changes. In 3 years it shows I've only got 75 hours on it. I haven't even sharpened the blades.
I haven't even used it myself this year. I refuse to give my son, 12, an allowance for doing nothing but I pay him to cut the grass.
Last edited by Darth_Uno; 09-10-2019 at 09:03 AM.
A friend of mine sold his. He liked to use his lawn-mowing time to ruminate on things. He found that the zero-turn mower took more concentration to run then did a regular old lawn tractor. The zero-turn did a better job, but it wasn’t enjoyable.
YMMV.
If we have to march off into the next world, let us walk there on the bodies of our enemies.
I got the advice of “fly that bitch like it’s Airwolf” and took it to heart
#RESIST
I bought a cub cadet riding mower 5 years ago. It has the sealed transmission that failed right after the warranty expired. I can still use it if I keep adding fluid to the transmission. It’s a pain in the ass. The hub seals failed and the cub cadet leaks . Cub cadet built their reputation on international harvester built tractors. Right now I am using a John Deere x720 that came with my current house. It’s a beast. It remarkable what it will cut. The cons for my John Deere- it is slow, it takes too long to cut the lawn. (2.7 acres) and it doesn’t cut as nice as a zero turn. All my neighbors have zero turns. I plan on getting a zero turn but I am keeping the John Deere
This point is something I would have never considered, but some of my best daydreaming and deep thinking has taken place while mowing the weeds down, thanks
My hand-me-down 20 yr old John Deere ran about 2 mph. It took 2 hours to cut 1.6 acres with a 36" deck. With my Z540M (48" deck) I am down to 47 minutes, with a best time of 44 minutes when I was racing around. I have no fast cars or motorcycles, this mower is my only v-twin... don't judge me.
And I need less weed wacking in general.
With respect to the mower, most folks agree that at the low/mid-range of mowers you want the Kawasaki v-twin engine. This drove me to a few specific models but having a local Deere dealer made me look in that direction. I found a lightly used (15.6 hours on the Hobbs) Z540M and it still has 3 more years of warranty. I came very close to running to Lowes for the Ariens 52" which was on sale. End of the day, the used mid-range Deere was within $100 of a new Ariens 52".
The 48" deck barely fit inside the 5x12 trailer. I drove a few hours into Virginia and knew it was going to be tight.
The "sealed" transmissions are maintenance free... although the manufacturers discuss oil service/changes in their manuals (Tuff Torq for me, Hydro Gear is another brand). Mobil 5w-50 is what I plan to use when I get to that point in hours.
There is big difference between the Kawasaki engine manual and John Deere manual with respect to maintenance like oil/filter intervals. Kawasaki is now recommending 40 weight (5w-40 is DELO XSP Synthetic is what I use since I am an oil snob) vice 30 weights for hot temps. John Deere still says 30 weights. I plan once a year engine oil/filter changes.
I took a bit of advise from a friend who mowed a lot of lawns: "If you're in it for the long haul, go commercial grade." Don't buy crap from the big boys. The thicker steel up front is worth it. I am very happy with my Hustler 56" Fastrak. It's the Korth of mowers. It can hit 11mph....which isn't a good idea. Plenty of fun and it gets the job done quickly.
REPETITION CREATES BELIEF
REPETITION BUILDS THE SEPARATE WORLDS WE LIVE AND DIE IN
NO EXCEPTIONS
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