Bad Boy, Scag, Kubota or Hustler???

[cpurvis]

You should consider a mower with a horizontal crankshaft engine. Vertical crankshaft engines don't have the deep sump that horizontals do and lose lubrication if tilted too much, especially if low on oil. Scag, Grasshopper and Kubota make mowers with horizontal shaft engines but they are not low priced. I'm sure other manufacturers do, too. Horizontal shaft engines are usually water cooled and last longer than air cooled engines, especially on slopes.

 

[Mower King]

Get the REBEL....and you won't look back!

 

[wrldtvlr]

You should consider a mower with a horizontal crankshaft engine. Vertical crankshaft engines don't have the deep sump that horizontals do and lose lubrication if tilted too much, especially if low on oil. Scag, Grasshopper and Kubota make mowers with horizontal shaft engines but they are not low priced. I'm sure other manufacturers do, too. Horizontal shaft engines are usually water cooled and last longer than air cooled engines, especially on slopes.

Unfortunately, the budget could only stretch this far. I did check the specs though. CC says this mower is rated for 20 degrees, and the Kawasaki manual says the engine is good to 25, so I'm hoping I'll get a reasonable life out of it.

 

[cpurvis]

Unfortunately, the budget could only stretch this far. I did check the specs though. CC says this mower is rated for 20 degrees, and the Kawasaki manual says the engine is good to 25, so I'm hoping I'll get a reasonable life out of it.

I was replying to the OP. Sorry I didn't make that clear.

I understand the budget thing but sometimes it ends up being false economy. It wouldn't cost the OP a dime to have a dealer take a look at his yard and make a recommendation.

 

[tom3]

I wonder about the 60"+ deck with all that mowing around stuff? But I do like the big hydros on the Bad Boy, and I'd sure double check the mower being bought to insure that it does have that back there.

 

[Jazzguitar67]

You should consider a mower with a horizontal crankshaft engine. Vertical crankshaft engines don't have the deep sump that horizontals do and lose lubrication if tilted too much, especially if low on oil. Scag, Grasshopper and Kubota make mowers with horizontal shaft engines but they are not low priced. I'm sure other manufacturers do, too. Horizontal shaft engines are usually water cooled and last longer than air cooled engines, especially on slopes.

I have looked at the Cub Cadets and, while I like the steering wheel idea, they just don't seem to be built very strong until you get into that commercial series and they just don't seem to be a good value. The Pro Z 160 is $8000 and has a 10 gauge deck (the Bad Boy is a 5 gauge deck), ZT-3400 transmissions, (the Bad Boy has ZT4400s), aluminum spindles (the Bad Boy has tensile steel spindles) and the Cub has a Kohler engine (the Bad Boy has a Kawasaki) . The Bad Boy is less money for way more mower.

Of all the dealerships, Cub is most-convenient to me. They're very close - like I could almost ride the mower to the dealership from my house. I have spent a lot of time there looking closely at their product. The new Cubs just don't impress me in build quality at all.

I can mow mostly up and down the hills, I only have a small patch where I need to mow sideways. I think I would be fine with traditional ZTR controls. I will measure the slope angle to make sure I'm good there. I can tell you that I went through two complete mowing seasons with that 15 year old Cub that had a residential Briggs on it and I never had any problems. The engine ran totally smooth.

 

[Mower King]

The lap bar zero-turn mower will be just fine....there is a reason MOST ALL people have them, there is no comparison!

 

[SDH]

Hello, Forum.....

I am new to the world of commercial zero turns. I recently bought a property that is VERY hilly and has lots of obstacles - trees, chicken coops,fences, beds, decks,etc. It is about 2 acres. I have tried to mow with a small Cub Cadet ztr for the last year, but the hills and obstacles proved too much for it and the left hydro died. I'm going to use whatever mower I get about 2-3 hours a week. I want it to last 10-15 years and, while it won't get many hours, it will get bumps and bruises because of the hills and rough terrain.

Now, I am on a quest for an "entry level" commercial unit. Today, I checked out the Bad Boy Rebel, the Kubota Z421, a Scag Patriot and a Hustler SDX. I need some advice??!!

To me,the Bad Boy Rebel seems like waaaayyyy more mower for the money. Equipped with a 61" deck and a Kawasaki FX850V/27HP motor,it's priced at my nearest dealer for $7700. It has ZT-4400 hydros, the deck seems to be the strongest/heaviest of all of them, the tires are nice and wide with a tread that looks like it will handle my hills and obstacles very well, I'm impressed by the ease of service and adjustability of the machine. The only negative that I have is the convenience of the Bad Boy dealer - it's about an hour from me. If they were local, I'd probably own the mower right now.

The Scag Patriot has a lighter deck, ZT-3400 hydros and an FX730V/23.5 HP Kawasaki and it's priced at $7800.

The Hustler SDX equipped with the exact same drives and motor as the Scag and is $8300

The Kubota Z421 with a 24HP Kawasaki GH7301 motor and ZT-3600 Hydros is $6900. The dealer is both the biggest and the closest, but the mower seems the "lightest duty" of all of them. The dealer has a great reputation but is big. Really big. I know that can be both good and bad. I also don't know what's up with the Kawasaki GH series motor. No one else seems to use them??? To me, it seems that if the Bad Boy wasn't made, this would be the best value for me and the most convenient option.

As an aside, I could also get a Bad Boy Maverick w/ the same Kawasaki FX730 motor and ZT-3200 hydros for$6100. I suspect it would be strong enough for my property and it would be about $800 less than my next-cheapest option. Is this worth considering?

So....here's the thing. The Scag, Hustler and Kubota dealers were all very complimentary about each others' mowers, but they all trash talked the Bad Boy. When I asked specific questions, they told me that Bad Boy doesn't make "commercial" mowers - but to me, the specs on the Rebel make it look much tougher built than all the others. The engine and drive components are better, the deck is thicker and the spindles seem stronger. The Bad Boy salesperson was knowledgeable, but none of the other sales people wanted to spend time to educate me. They all seemed fine with me buying either the Scag, Kubota or Hustler, but they all tried to steer me away from the Bad Boy. When pressed for specific reasons, all they said was: "what brands to you see on all the landscape trailers?"

From all the reviews available online, I don't think I can make a "bad" choice if I choose the Kubota, Scag or Hustler. They all seem to be quality machines. There are few reviews of the Bad Boy - so I'm a little worried about that one, even though it's the machine I like the best and I think is the best value. I'm not a "price" shopper, but I am a "value" shopper. I want a quality product at a fair price and I'm willing to pay more for quality if someone can convince me it's worth it.

I need advice from people here regarding the Bad Boy (should I even consider it) and the other mowers. Again, what i like about the Bad Boy is that it's got a heavier deck, stronger motor, stronger hydros, more accessible engine bay, more adjustability, better tires and it's HEAVIER. It's about 1300lbs and all the others are around 900lbs. I can change the oil, filters, hydro oil and blades myself-so ease of doing that is important to me. I can remove the deck belt shrouds with no tools, adjust hydro tracking with no tools. There are adjustments for both "force" and "sensitivity" on the drive levers. It has an adjustable deck height pedal, adjustable foot rest and the disconnect levers for the hyrdro drives (so the machine can be pushed) are super-accessible and require no tools to disconnect.

I could use some feedback as to peoples' experience with all the mowers I'm considering and exactly what I should be looking at that isn't on the spec sheets of each mower.

Thanks, in advance, for your help!

I agree. I've spent alot of time comparing features, quality of build, durability and reputation. Bad Boy is hard to beat, especially for value. There are a lot of good machines and a lot of opinions. That being said, Bad Boy makes good Zero Turns.

 

[fatoldfool]

Had two Hustlers, gave ups some work and sold them, bought a Cub Cadet ZT2. First and last Cub Cadet. At 77 yrs old I will probably never buy another mower, but if I do it WILL be Hustler.

 

[Ron3]

I agree. I've spent alot of time comparing features, quality of build, durability and reputation. Bad Boy is hard to beat, especially for value. There are a lot of good machines and a lot of opinions. That being said, Bad Boy makes good Zero Turns.