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Hello all,

I'm interested in a Zero Turn Mower and have eyeballed Bad Boy Commercial ZT line of mowers. I didn't see a Bad Boy forum in the brand specific area - is there one I'm just missing? For that matter, anyone have any thoughts on the Bad Boy Commercial ZT mowers?

Thanks,
Mike

Welcome aboard southerniltractor i know think i have ever heard of that brand of mower ,who is the maker of those? Hope to see more of you:laughing:

Thanks for the welcome!

Bad Boy's website is below. I've never used a Zero Turn, but I've got about 4 acres to mow and the old Craftsman worn out.

2011 Commercial ZT | Bad Boy Mowers

im still waiting for the Murray forum!:laughing:....good luck!

I did look at Bad Boy, hate the name but the mowers certainly look to be well built. The models at Tractor Supply had pumps/motors on the website you can see zt3100 and higher drives, engines I think run the gamat from the Kohler Courage at the TC stores to BS but you can get the Vanguard and the model that Deere uses with the Cyclone air filter, and oil cooler, I think?
The weight is there, the finish is nice, people seem to like them, but man that name-cannot seem to get past it.

No personal experience with a Bad Boy. Looked at the link and a couple of things i did like:
1. The hydrostatic drive they showed has an external filter and can be serviced.
2. Hydro unit has a charge pump and that is a plus.
3. They let me download a service manual without even wanting my e-mail address. It's hard to get manuals from anyone.
4. Both Kohler and Briggs make good engines

Hope this helps:smile:

A few more questions from a ZT rookie...

What are considered "Good" pumps and drives for these machines? Anything to look for?

Thanks,
Mike

Things I look for in a hydrostatic or zero turn drives:
1. Externally serviceable. Both fluid/oil and screw on filter.
2. Cast iron housing.
3. Cooling fan/metal fins/oil cooler
4. Reputable manufacturer.

I would not recommend a specific drive because there are a lot of good drives and I don't want to respond to all the conflicting post. Hope these points help.

I wouldn't buy one, the one i have lost 2 bolts out of the exhaust, all the head bolts came loose, has a blown head gasket & the valve cover leaks. From some of the repair shops i've spoken to said its pretty common on the left side of the motor. It also some issue where it only run for maybe 15 to 20 minutes, then it dies. A nice aluminum pie pan catches the dripping oil. Other than that wonderful machine !

southerniltractor said:

A few more questions from a ZT rookie...

What are considered "Good" pumps and drives for these machines? Anything to look for?

Thanks,
Mike

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None come to mind. Belts are way cheaper when the drive system fails. It's not if it will fail but when. Hydros can be/are $$$ to repair.

mudflap said:

A nice aluminum pie pan catches the dripping oil. Other than that wonderful machine !

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On a multi thousand dollar lawn mower?

What do you do for fuel leaks? Cool Whip container? LOL You guys are awesome!!

10 year old post back to life! Best necrothread ever! Well, not really, but I guess it deserves dishonorable mention.

Am finishing my first season with my badboy and not had a single problem great mower in my opinion. Badboy sells a lot of mowers and has a quality product. Most of the people on this sight only like what they own or sell and have nothing good to say about other brands.

Ron3 said:

Am finishing my first season with my badboy and not had a single problem great mower in my opinion. Badboy sells a lot of mowers and has a quality product. Most of the people on this sight only like what they own or sell and have nothing good to say about other brands.

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I really don’t have anything negative to say about Bad Boy mowers. I haven’t tried one. My neighbor has a ZT Avenger and he’s had good luck out of it. He mows his yard with it, an elderly lady’s yard across the street and at least one other yard. It leaves a nice cut.

Never owned or used one. I do see a lot of help request posts on here about them FWIW.

slomo said:

Never owned or used one. I do see a lot of help request posts on here about them FWIW.

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You should see all the 'help requests' on the John Deere forums. And the Kubota forums. Comes with popularity. I think it's great because then we have folks to assist each other.

I will say this about badboy comparably speaking you could do a lot worst, and most owners are satisfied with them.

All of the gals call me "bad boy".......

I bought a 54" Badboy Magnum from Orschlen store. It has the Kohler 7000 series engine. I went through the check list in the manual and found my rear wheels were not torque correctly and found a vacuum hose not connected to the air cleaner base. SO look your mower over good. My mower you can't mow very fast or it will leave two strips down the center if the grass is tall. Not real happy about that. Good heavy mower otherwise.

Well it is what it is, I never torqued a mower lug (just good and tight and move on) nut, and things like the breather tube popping lose happen, also most consumer rated mowers I doubt will mow very well at top speed. These things happen to all brands I would think. My advise is just fix the little things. Enjoy you have a very good mower.

They are built by people and we all know that people are "perfect", right?

They quality checks at the ends of each assembly line, are also run by people. That checklist, is what they use (check shaft keys, etc). Have been through the factory a few times, great folks and If I lived closer to Batesville I'd look at trying to find employment there. One of the biggest employers in that small town.

mudflap said:

I wouldn't buy one, the one i have lost 2 bolts out of the exhaust, all the head bolts came loose, has a blown head gasket & the valve cover leaks. From some of the repair shops i've spoken to said its pretty common on the left side of the motor. It also some issue where it only run for maybe 15 to 20 minutes, then it dies. A nice aluminum pie pan catches the dripping oil. Other than that wonderful machine !

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Sounds like you have an engine problem Badboy does not make engines, but most engine manufactures have a 3 year warranty !!

ken2 said:

I bought a 54" Bad boy Magnum from Orschlen store. It has the Kohler 7000 series engine. I went through the check list in the manual and found my rear wheels were not torque correctly and found a vacuum hose not connected to the air cleaner base. SO look your mower over good. My mower you can't mow very fast or it will leave two strips down the center if the grass is tall. Not real happy about that. Good heavy mower otherwise.

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What is top no load speed of the engine. Should be around 3600 Rpm's. Low rpm low blade lift. Is Orschlen Store like a Tractor Supply. If so they only make sure it has oil and gas and it starts and runs. Do they have a service department?

Where I work we do a PDI pre delivery inspection and have caught all the things you said and more. We don't get many complaints or come backs. One of the big things we find is low rpm's.Yes that can engine manufactures short coming but a manufactures as well with misadjusted throttle control. But we catch it.

Ron3 said:

Sounds like you have an engine problem Badboy does not make engines, but most engine manufactures have a 3 year warranty !!

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I ended up changing all the fuel lines $12, mower runs just fine now . I removed the valve cover that was leaking, sealed it up with this. Absolutely stopped the leaks! After all it turns out to run pretty well !!
Its for my wife, she loves it!!

the bad boys many times had low rpm. They do it to keep blade speed below maximum federal mandates, which I think is 19,000 FPM. Also if you run them a while the RPM will come up some as the engine warms up to operating temp. Most I saw were 3400 give or take (especially the Kohlers) cold, but after run 15-20 minutes, they'd be 3550 give or take. Assuming the cheap little Sendec tach is correct, of course.