Export thread

What's the best Mower engine on the market today?

Kawasaki, Kohler, Honda, Briggs & Stratton, your thoughts?

Briggs.

I dont think people know the r&d that briggs do.
If you didnt have briggs then the horticultural trade would struggle with engine demands.
15 million engines takes some beating.

Personally I think that Kawasaki has the market at the moment. Seems like everything I look at lately has a Kawasaki engine on it. Even though I've always been a Kohler fan I have too say the Kawasaki motors on both the G1336 WB and my Toro are great engines. :thumbsup:

As far as B&S goes I wouldn't give a nickel for every one they ever made, replaced to many of there engines when I worked for the county. :thumbdown:

Although I have little experience with small engines, I'm going to have to agree with Ric. I have never heard anything bad about Kawasaki small engines. Can't say the same about the other brands in question.

Sorry, but I would like you too revise your poll. Kohler is great, no they have the Courage crap. Honda is the best, no they have that piece of junk they are selling to the off market. Briggs is awesome, wait did you say Intek. Tecumseh, sorry. Kaws, no small units. What about Wisconsin Robin, Subaru Robin, Onan, Yanmar, Kubota, the old Lawn Boy, Dolmar, and I could name a few more. I think you get where I'm going.

Rivets said:

Sorry, but I would like you too revise your poll. Kohler is great, no they have the Courage crap. Honda is the best, no they have that piece of junk they are selling to the off market. Briggs is awesome, wait did you say Intek. Tecumseh, sorry. Kaws, no small units. What about Wisconsin Robin, Subaru Robin, Onan, Yanmar, Kubota, the old Lawn Boy, Dolmar, and I could name a few more. I think you get where I'm going.

Click to expand...

You make a very good point :laughing: ... wait I own a Kholer courage :frown:

m&p45 said:

You make a very good point :laughing: ... wait I own a Kholer courage :frown:

Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with a Kohler Courage, they are a great engine. I have three and all with lots of hours and I know a lot of people who also run the Courage engines and never have had any problems.

Ric said:

Nothing wrong with a Kohler Courage, they are a great engine. I have three and all with lots of hours and I know a lot of people who also run the Courage engines and never have had any problems.

Click to expand...

That's very good to hear. :smile:

Rivets said:

Sorry, but I would like you too revise your poll. Kohler is great, no they have the Courage crap. Honda is the best, no they have that piece of junk they are selling to the off market. Briggs is awesome, wait did you say Intek. Tecumseh, sorry. Kaws, no small units. What about Wisconsin Robin, Subaru Robin, Onan, Yanmar, Kubota, the old Lawn Boy, Dolmar, and I could name a few more. I think you get where I'm going.

Click to expand...

No I'm not going to revise the poll. The engines In the poll consist IMO of the most popular on the market.

I really don't know which engine is best but I do know this, regardless what the engine is, its longevity and performance depends on strict maintenance and how it is treated or mistreated by the operator. I know of many people who never maintain their equipment and work it like a rented mule, then say what junk it is, wouldn't matter what brand it is. I have always taken good care of my equipment and automobiles & have had very few problems. :smile:

I know very little about the Kohler but have several size Briggs and Hondas, but bought a Hustler 48" mower 2 years ago and paid $500 extra for the Honda GVX530. Bad mistake, First use had to take it back because the o-ring gasket in one side of the valves was crimped in manufacture. Month or so later back to the shop because it lost power, valves stuck and had to wait two months for new parts to be made by the factory, a few months later same thing. In all I took it back to the shop three times for valve parts replacement and it's been sent a 4th time to the area distributor 50 miles away for valve train rebuild, that was over two weeks ago. Already looking for a new engine and it will probably be a Kawasaki that was on my last mower. Sold it to a mechanic at the dealer where I bought the Hustler and the compression was still like new, just wanted a zero turn.

I think the cast iron series kohler are great engines,they're also very rebuildable.
The cast iron B&S were/are not bad either.
The aluminimum engines of most brands are mainly "throw away's" when they got a problem.(hard to get parts)

Kawasaki's are amazing. I have an fj on my snapper commercial its 8 years of heavy abuse it still rums like the day i bought it plus i can go a full day with out refilling try that with a briggs 6 or 7 hp

Had many small Engines best I ever had Kohler command Just bought a Zero turn with Kawasaki 22hp fantastic performance but looks built to a price (at least it dosent have Kool Bore) The motor runs rich and there are no adjustments NONE cant even adjust float level Also have a Tecumseh mower 30Years old and still starts easily use every couple of weeks (I over service) Except plugs Its on its 3rd Only thing that ever wears out on my equipment is the oil drain plug.

Just to add my two-cents-worth in support of my vote, I was convinced from several sources(this forum, next-door-neighbor & other friends) that the most reliable high-quality mower engines were currently the Kawasaki's and the purchase of my new Gravley Pro-Turn 152XDZ included me stongly considering the Kawa FX691V 22hp engine that came on it. Historically, I had always been a Briggs & Stratton "fan" and for many years felt they dominated the market. My first lawn tractor I purchased in 1993 was a Lawn Chief sold by True Value hardware. It was a 46" cut and had a B & S Vanguard 16hp engine and this had to be the best lawn mower engine I have ever seen!!! My son "just retired" that mower(yes, 19 years old) and that engine still ran like new, never used a drop of oil and had never seen anything except premium grade gasoline. I gave that Lawn Chief to him in 2006 when I purchased a larger 54" Craftsman(made by Husqvarna) with a 24hp B & S Intek engine which I gave to my son just recently when I purchased my Gravely. Like I said, the Lawn Chief still "ran", but the deck was beginning to rust out and the deck lift system had gone to pieces and the deck simply "rolled on the gound" so it was time to retire it. The Craftsman B & S engine(24 hp Intek) was a far cry from that 16hp Vanguard. It would not "accept" premium grade gasoline(ran like the choke was always on, sputtering and backfiring) so I had to run regular grade in it and unlike the Lawn Chief the Craftsman would "bog down" when I let the grass get a little tall and actually kill the engine even though the engine had 8 more hp that the Lawn Chief Vanguard. When the Craftsman was 3-yrs-old(just out of the engine warranty) the choke came apart inside the carburetor. A local shop wanted $200 to repair the caburetor so I just opted to remove the air filter and spray starter fluid in it each time I mowed which was a lot cheaper(very disappointed in the engine "breaking" so soon)!!! Fortunately, my-father-in-law who had some experience with small engine repair took the Craftsman and repaired the choke before we gave it to my son(he said the tiny screws that held the choke in place had vibrated out, were "gone".....so most likely went into the cylinder and out the exhaust into the muffler.....and "fortunately" didn't RUIN the engine). I consider the lack of proper "torquing" of those screws when the engine was built as a major manufacturer fault and another reason why I believe B & S is no longer the "dominant" mower engine!!! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!
P.S.
My ZTR weighs 1,051 lbs and I doubt that Craftsman weighed half that. But the 22hp Kawa FX691V doesn't give the least indication it is "bogging down" in tall grass versus the 24hp B & S engine "dying" on occaision. I know there has been a topsy-turvy(and I think even class-action lawsuits) hoopla over the last few years about small engine "horsepower ratings", but I still can't recommend that 24hp B & S Intek to anyone!!!
P.S.S.
My other next-door-neighbor has a 15-yr-old Ariens residential 42" ZTR that has the exact same B & S engine(16hp Vanguard) that my old Lawn Chief had. His mower also still runs like the day he bought it. I think B & S has lost sight of how they built engines 15-20 years ago!!!

try to start that kawasaki up here in vt when it is cold good luck. my briggs will starts any temp

Flintmotorsports said:

try to start that kawasaki up here in vt when it is cold good luck. my briggs will starts any temp

Click to expand...

I bet I can guess which engines you voted for:0)
How bout I try to start that Intek in any temperature without starter fluid after the choke fell apart 3 years after buying it:0)

if you take good care of your equipment it will take good care of you when you need it the most

Flintmotorsports said:

if you take good care of your equipment it will take good care of you when you need it the most

Click to expand...

That is solid advice and I agree since I am religous about maintenance on anything I own. After reading your previous comment again, I've just got to ask.......do you really mow in Vermont in the winter?:0)

BTW, I didn't mention it, but I plan on using Briggs & Stratton SAE 30W oil in my Kawasaki. It is widely available, not expensive and has served me well over the years(used it in that Lawn Chief for 19 years and the Craftsman for 6 years and neither engine ever used a drop of oil between seasonal changes). I see no reason to throw money away on Kawasaki-brand or Synthetic oils when something I have used for years has worked so well.

I like all of them! my craftsman is a kohler and the yard machines is a briggs

And I love the Honda engines on my 2 Honda mowers. They start on the first pull....every time! The GCV190 engine on my HRX217HYA is super powerful! :thumbsup:

djdicetn said:

That is solid advice and I agree since I am religous about maintenance on anything I own. After reading your previous comment again, I've just got to ask.......do you really mow in Vermont in the winter?:0)

BTW, I didn't mention it, but I plan on using Briggs & Stratton SAE 30W oil in my Kawasaki. It is widely available, not expensive and has served me well over the years(used it in that Lawn Chief for 19 years and the Craftsman for 6 years and neither engine ever used a drop of oil between seasonal changes). I see no reason to throw money away on Kawasaki-brand or Synthetic oils when something I have used for years has worked so well.

Click to expand...

no we do not mow in the winter alot of my customers bring there lawnmower to me in the winter because they are so busy in the fall and they wont starts when i have to bring it in the shop for a service