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Bad Boy Rouge grass strips from wheels

#1

B

BigBlueEdge

I bought a Bad Boy Rogue this spring and have used it to mow my 7 acres multiple times now. I'm experiencing a persistent problem with it that is maddening and I cannot find a resolution to it. The front wheels knock the grass down and it doesn't spring back fast enough to get mowed so everywhere I go I have two 5" strips of grass sticking up. I've tried going slower and going faster and it doesn't seem to help. My dealer did some adjustments to the deck height & leveling and also made sure the belt tension was correct but that didn't change anything. I've been mowing at about 3.5 - 3.75" cut height, but I did try mowing lower and that didn't seem to help either... it just made scalping and 'cutouts' worse when the mower goes over bumps and ruts in the lawn. Also, this happens when the lawn is somewhat wet (mowing in the evening after a rain in the morning) and when it is dry.

As consistent as this is for me this must be a common problem for others who mow in the northern states and have similar grass types to mine. Would some type of high-lift blades help by pulling the grass up better?

Thanks,
Rob


#2

H

hlw49

Do they have a high lift blade option and hate to ask but are the blades on right?


#3

B

BigBlueEdge

The stock blades on a Rogue are the Bad Boy OEMs of Oregon Gator G6 high lift blades. So not much option to improve upon them.

The blades are on correctly. Wish it was that easy.

My dealer just mowed for the first time in quite a while (we've been in a near-drought situation here in central MN) and his BB did the same thing as mine. Apparently the grass we have in MN is often thinner than a lot of other parts of the country and that contributes to the lift issue. That said, I've mowed with a lot of other mowers in my life - mainly garden tractors with slower blade speeds - and this is not a common issue here.


#4

M

MParr

You aren’t going to get the required lift out of the Gator type blades. Is this a 60” or 72” mower?


#5

B

BigBlueEdge

72" deck. Is there a better set of high lift blades out there?


#6

M

MParr

Any 24” blade with a 5/8” Center hole will work. Here are a few. The Dixie Chopper has a longer cutting edge. The Hustler is offset about 5/16”. That means that your actual cutting height will be around 1/4” lower than the straight blade styles.

O.E. Replacement Blades

O.E. Replacement Blades
www.rotarycorp.com www.rotarycorp.com


#7

M

MParr

Make sure that you have the deck level from left to right.
You need anywhere from 1/8” to 1/4” pitch from front to back. Most of the time, decks are not properly set when they leave the dealer.
Set your tire pressure before checking you deck’s level and pitch. 13-15 psi front and rear.


#8

B

BigBlueEdge

OK, but the Bad Boy Rogue's stock blades are their "high lift fusion" blades, which are re-branded Gator G6. These are already high lift. Without knowing that some other brand or maker's blades are notably better it doesn't make much sense to just randomly swap blades looking for changes. That would get expensive.

Does anyone know of high lift blades that have better performance than the Gator G6?


#9

B

BigBlueEdge

MParr said:
Make sure that you have the deck level from left to right.
You need anywhere from 1/8” to 1/4” pitch from front to back. Most of the time, decks are not properly set when they leave the dealer.
Set your tire pressure before checking you deck’s level and pitch. 13-15 psi front and rear.
Click to expand...

I've had my Rogue back to the dealer for them to explicitly make sure things are adjusted correctly for deck leveling to try to resolve this issue and another I had. I trust that they did have a competent tech work on it. I checked the settings after and it does rake like it is meant to (1/4"). They also checked belt tension at the time it was back.


#10

M

MParr

Is this the blade that you are talking about?
www.badboylawnmowerparts.com

038-5400-00 - Bad Boy Mowers 72'' Gator Mulching Blade or Bad Boy Parts number 038540000

Bad Boy Mowers Parts for sale at www.badboylawnmowerparts.com. Get your 038-5400-00 - Bad Boy Mowers 72' Gator Mulching Blade here! Find your Bad Boy Blade using our colored parts diagrams or simply search online by the Bad Boy Part Number 038540000
www.badboylawnmowerparts.com
If so, those are Gator mulching blades and they do not develop the lift that standard high lifts do. On top of that, they will pack your deck with wet grass.


#11

M

MParr

Here is the OEM high lift blades for your mower.
www.badboylawnmowerparts.com

038-7230-00 - Bad Boy Mowers 72'' High Lift Fusion Blade or Bad Boy Parts number 038723000

Bad Boy Mowers Parts for sale at www.badboylawnmowerparts.com. Get your 038-7230-00 - Bad Boy Mowers 72' High Lift Fusion Blade here! Find your Bad Boy Blade using our colored parts diagrams or simply search online by the Bad Boy Part Number 038723000
www.badboylawnmowerparts.com


#12

M

MParr

Personally, I would try the Rotary #6404.


#13

B

BigBlueEdge

MParr said:
Is this the blade that you are talking about?
www.badboylawnmowerparts.com

038-5400-00 - Bad Boy Mowers 72'' Gator Mulching Blade or Bad Boy Parts number 038540000

Bad Boy Mowers Parts for sale at www.badboylawnmowerparts.com. Get your 038-5400-00 - Bad Boy Mowers 72' Gator Mulching Blade here! Find your Bad Boy Blade using our colored parts diagrams or simply search online by the Bad Boy Part Number 038540000
www.badboylawnmowerparts.com
If so, those are Gator mulching blades and they do not develop the lift that standard high lifts do. On top of that, they will pack your deck with wet grass.
Click to expand...

The Gator G6 is not primarily a mulching blade. It gets the 'mulching' attribute because of the serrations on the back side. But it is primarily a high lift blade. See attached feature list. Which is reflected in Bad Boy's renaming of it as "High Lift Fusion". In fact, I'm not entirely sure the Bad Boy OEM version of the blade has the serrations that the true Gator G6 has.

I've had G6 blades on my JD x758 for years. They don't really do much for mulching and they don't lead to deck buildup at all. I only clean the deck once a year in the fall when I have it off and am sharpening my blades just because it is habit, but it usually doesn't need it. I mow 7 acres a week.

I'll check into the Rotary ones you suggest...

Rob

Attachments





#14

M

MParr

Yes, Oregon does make Bad Boy blades. Now if the blade is 2.5” wide, it’s a G5. If it’s 3” wide, it’s a G6. My former Toro Timecutter HD 54 would take the 54” Bad Boy blades. I used both the Bad Boy high lift and the Had Boy Gator and I got much better performance out of the high lifts. When the Gators were toast, I never bought another set. With the Gators, the mower would puke big wads of grass all over the yard. I had much more blow out from the front of the mower. That didn’t happen with the notched high lifts. I highly doubt that I will waste my money buying a set for my new Gravely Pro Turn 160.


#15

B

BigBlueEdge

So, the stock blades are 2.5" wide. And they have a single notch in them, not the serrations of the true G6. Apparently whatever info I had seen that implied the stock Bad Boy 'High Lift Fusion' blades are Gator G6 was wrong. And they don't look like G5s either. These don't have the lifting surface of the G6 blades on my x758. So maybe a good set of true high lift blades will help me.

Rob

Attachments





#16

B

BigBlueEdge

After looking at the Rotary blades, the stock blades look a lot like them. Very similar lift surface and notch.


#17

M

MParr

BigBlueEdge said:
So, the stock blades are 2.5" wide. And they have a single notch in them, not the serrations of the true G6. Apparently whatever info I had seen that implied the stock Bad Boy 'High Lift Fusion' blades are Gator G6 was wrong. And they don't look like G5s either. These don't have the lifting surface of the G6 blades on my x758. So maybe a good set of true high lift blades will help me.

Rob
Click to expand...
Those are the standard notched high lift blades. Those are the ones that I would use. The Gator blades don’t have any more lift than the standard blades. When serrations are cut into the wing, you actually loose some lift. Like going down the road with your hand out the car window. Closed fingers and the wind goes around each side of your hand. Open fingers and the wind goes around each finger. Sunbelt XHT makes some super high lifts. I will try to find you the part number.


#18

M

MParr

Sunbelt XHT blades aren’t listed for your 72” mower. It looks like you don’t have a wide selection in that size. You are limited to either Bad Boy, Hustler or Dixie Chopper blades. Here’s a Stens Dixie Chopper high lift. The lift wings are longer than the Bad Boy. It will definitely give you more lift.

315-499 Hi-Lift Blade

www.stens.com www.stens.com
Here is the same blade by Rotary.

6833

6833
www.rotarycorp.com www.rotarycorp.com
These two blades would be my choice.


#19

P

PORKIE

Overlap so whichever front caster wheel isn't plowing through the uncut portion of the Grass. Slow down. Cut at a lower setting if possible and try not to mow when the grass is wet with DEW, like in the early morning. No matter what blades you are using, make sure they are SHARP. As they come from the Factory, you couldn't dent a Watermelon unless you used all of your strength. I like a 'Pocket knife' type edge on mine.

Sam:)


#20

B

BigBlueEdge

Well, if I was going to slow down and overlap my path that would kinda defeat the purpose of having a zero turn that can mow faster. I could just as well go back to mowing with my Deere x758 which doesn't require overlaps or multiple passes and uses less fuel (it's a diesel) and finish in the same time then. I bought a commercial quality zero turn so that I could reduce the time to mow my 7 acres.

The blade sharpness is something I'll check. I assumed a new unit would have sharp blades on it, but that could well be false. However, the fact that the 'mohawks' are due to grass that hasn't popped back up to normal height, not a generally uneven cut, makes me think even sharp blades aren't going to resolve the issue.

That said, BB has been good to work with on this issue and the unit is currently back at the dealer having some revised front wheel arms mounted. This redesign (which may become their new standard for future models) moves the front casters out of line with the blade spindles. Apparently the thinking is that the part of the grass with the least blade coverage (by percentage) is directly in front of and behind the spindle (think about the area of a circle being cut by the blade as the mower moves ahead) and combining the lesser area with the knock-down from the wheels is a bad combo. I'm not entirely convinced but since it is free to me I'm willing to give it a shot. At this point I'm so unhappy with the cut I'm ready to sell the unit so any improvement will be appreciated.

I will try the high lift blades mentioned above when I can, too, but they were out of stock when I tried to order last week.

Rob


#21

greenmountain

greenmountain

Hello there. I recently bought a 2021 Rogue w/ 61”deck and am having EXACTLY the same issues you speak of. Tire pressure , deck pitch and height are appropriate —-and what you describe is happening to me also. Yet my pals run the pro husky’s w/60” decks so we run together and they cut wet, tall grass almost perfectly at high speed. My rogue cuts better when dry but when wet and tall (8-12”) it leaves these mini Mohawks. They are not bad but very noticeable. I have 9 acres of pasture I cut , plus my clients properties. My pals think it’s just a simple blade change issue and there’s not enough vacuum created. We are here in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia.

Please let me know which blades you try and how they work.

My intention is to contact my dealer tomorrow and see what they suggest I will post their suggestions and results thereafter.


#22

greenmountain

greenmountain

greenmountain said:
Hello there. I recently bought a 2021 Rogue w/ 61”deck and am having EXACTLY the same issues you speak of. Tire pressure , deck pitch and height are appropriate —-and what you describe is happening to me also. Yet my pals run the pro husky’s w/60” decks so we run together and they cut wet, tall grass almost perfectly at high speed. My rogue cuts better when dry but when wet and tall (8-12”) it leaves these mini Mohawks. They are not bad but very noticeable. I have 9 acres of pasture I cut , plus my clients properties. My pals think it’s just a simple blade change issue and there’s not enough vacuum created. We are here in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia.

Please let me know which blades you try and how they work.

My intention is to contact my dealer tomorrow and see what they suggest I will post their suggestions and results thereafter.
Click to expand...
And just to be clear, I sharpen my blades religiously every week to make sure that they are appropriately sharpened


#23

greenmountain

greenmountain

I will add that I absolutely love this machine (the Rogue) as it is truly amazing the terrain it can handle and it’s overall build and stance. Super impressive. Just need to nail down this cut quality issue.
My only other complaint is how stiff the control bars are. It takes a LOT of strength to push these levers for hours and hours compared to the huskies.


#24

M

MParr

greenmountain said:
Hello there. I recently bought a 2021 Rogue w/ 61”deck and am having EXACTLY the same issues you speak of. Tire pressure , deck pitch and height are appropriate —-and what you describe is happening to me also. Yet my pals run the pro husky’s w/60” decks so we run together and they cut wet, tall grass almost perfectly at high speed. My rogue cuts better when dry but when wet and tall (8-12”) it leaves these mini Mohawks. They are not bad but very noticeable. I have 9 acres of pasture I cut , plus my clients properties. My pals think it’s just a simple blade change issue and there’s not enough vacuum created. We are here in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia.

Please let me know which blades you try and how they work.

My intention is to contact my dealer tomorrow and see what they suggest I will post their suggestions and results thereafter.
Click to expand...
You could try some Scag blades. They have a little longer lift wing.

340-882 Notched Air-Lift Blade

www.stens.com www.stens.com


#25

greenmountain

greenmountain

MParr said:
You could try some Scag blades. They have a little longer lift wing.

340-882 Notched Air-Lift Blade

www.stens.com www.stens.com
Click to expand...
Thank you MParr. Much appreciated


#26

M

MParr

greenmountain said:
Thank you MParr. Much appreciated
Click to expand...
Here’s another Scag high lift.

10930

10930
www.rotarycorp.com www.rotarycorp.com
Another

16339

16339
www.rotarycorp.com www.rotarycorp.com


#27

B

BigBlueEdge

I bought a set of Stens 315-499 Hi-Lift blades. Sharpened them up and installed them. Coincidentally, that happened at the same time as the dealer installed the new adjustable caster arms that Bad Boy sent me. Then it sat a few weeks because we have been VERY dry here in MN. But we finally got some rain and now I've had the chance to mow twice since the changes.

It's a mixed bag as far as improvements. The grass strip on the left side (as you're sitting in the seat) seems to be gone. But the right side is still there. I've tried both adjustment positions on the new arms. Basically the same effect.

It's really not a horrible cut. But I can see the strip in every pass and I don't like it. At this point I'm not expecting that there is anything for me to do besides either accept it the way it is or sell it and go back to my Deere x758. I love the Rogue for every other aspect, except perhaps the way the aggressive tires churn up the grass on turns, so I really don't want to part with it, especially to take a loss on it. I do love the fact that I've cut almost 1/3 off the mowing time though.

I may alter the new caster arm on the right and see if I can move the wheel to a better position further from the line of the right blade spindle. Obviously it helped on one side. We'll see.

As commentary, I just can't see how this is an issue. I've run many garden tractors over the same type of MN grasses for decades. And never has a unit had a constant problem like this with grass not standing back up after the front wheels knock it down. Never. The Rogue should be better in pretty much every way - blade tip speed, lift, weight - so it should do better.

Rob


#28

H

hlw49

BigBlueEdge said:
I bought a Bad Boy Rogue this spring and have used it to mow my 7 acres multiple times now. I'm experiencing a persistent problem with it that is maddening and I cannot find a resolution to it. The front wheels knock the grass down and it doesn't spring back fast enough to get mowed so everywhere I go I have two 5" strips of grass sticking up. I've tried going slower and going faster and it doesn't seem to help. My dealer did some adjustments to the deck height & leveling and also made sure the belt tension was correct but that didn't change anything. I've been mowing at about 3.5 - 3.75" cut height, but I did try mowing lower and that didn't seem to help either... it just made scalping and 'cutouts' worse when the mower goes over bumps and ruts in the lawn. Also, this happens when the lawn is somewhat wet (mowing in the evening after a rain in the morning) and when it is dry.

As consistent as this is for me this must be a common problem for others who mow in the northern states and have similar grass types to mine. Would some type of high-lift blades help by pulling the grass up better?

Thanks,
Rob
Click to expand...
Mow slower


#29

H

hlw49

Mulching blades not have a lot of lift since it depends on the grass staying under the deck and falling back in the path of the blades to mulch the grass.Try this https://www.ebay.com/itm/274627949970?epid=1438535453&hash=item3ff119f592:g:fYoAAOSwkcFf6Ubw


#30

H

hlw49

hlw49 said:
Mulching blades not have a lot of lift since it depends on the grass staying under the deck and falling back in the path of the blades to mulch the grass.Try this https://www.ebay.com/itm/274627949970?epid=1438535453&hash=item3ff119f592:g:fYoAAOSwkcFf6Ubw
Click to expand...


#31

B

BigBlueEdge

hlw49 said:
Mow slower
Click to expand...

These strips happen at pretty much any mowing speed (any reasonable speed beyond a crawl), actually. And if I wanted to mow slower I would never had purchased a zero turn. My x758 was doing just fine, albeit at 4.5 hours per session.


#32

B

BigBlueEdge

hlw49 said:
Mulching blades not have a lot of lift since it depends on the grass staying under the deck and falling back in the path of the blades to mulch the grass.Try this https://www.ebay.com/itm/274627949970?epid=1438535453&hash=item3ff119f592:g:fYoAAOSwkcFf6Ubw
Click to expand...


Who are you directing that at? I don't have mulching blades.


#33

M

MParr

@BigBlueEdge
Have you had your dealer check your engine RPMs? The blade tip speed is determined by the engine’s RPMs and the correct pulley and belt combination. I would definitely have them look at it.


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