Comments on the Komannder preformance

[Duckman]

Why do you guys hate the ROPS? I want to install a sunshade on it so no intention of removing it. I need to be careful around come trees with low hanging branches, but otherwise I don't mind the ROPS.

Read here>>>>> http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/kubota-forum/17527-roll-bar-done-my-rig-gone.html

If you use it on a hill or incline or have no over hanging branches, this may not apply. Trust me here, until you have a branch clip the top and raise the front up like a dragster you have no idea what we are trying to say. WHEN (not IF) it happens to you, you will be cleaning that nice new seat.

I also find the gas tank to be too small, I hate refueling!

Really... I guess it depends. I have 2.5 acres and have to fill it up every other time. To me that's great. My old LX-188 ate gas nearly twice as fast with 11 less HP.

We will buy the lift assist ($25) as the pedal is quite heavy for my girlfriend to use.

If you got it for 25.00, I think that might be close to cost. You got a good deal. HOWEVER it must be installed by correctly, it not your deck will get stuck in the up position and frustration will ensue.

Another thing is that it's quite loud, louder than the Toro and other mowers around hehe.

Oh so true...but think about...blades going at 1800rpms. I thought the same thing but what that gives you is a great cut with A LOT OF POWA. When your lawn and/or field gets a long...trust it will plow through it. AND MAKE IT LOOK GREAT. I have a field that always looked like a field after I mowed it, now it looks like a lawn. I'll take a bit extra noise for that.

Have fun and be safe...

Mike

 

[BeachBoy]

Oh so true...but think about...blades going at 1800rpms. I thought the same thing but what that gives you is a great cut with A LOT OF POWA. When your lawn and/or field gets a long...trust it will plow through it. AND MAKE IT LOOK GREAT. I have a field that always looked like a field after I mowed it, now it looks like a lawn. I'll take a bit extra noise for that.

well in the picture I posted int he pther thread, the grass was 10-12" long right before. We don't have mulching kit so my father had fun passing a second time at full speed to re-mulch the cut grass. It looks like a real lawn now.

I agree the ROPS is scary going aroung some trees, I was very careful but I guess it is bound to happen.. Now I'm not sure if I will cut the branches or remove the ROPS

 

[djdicetn]

I'm new to this forum, but I've been lurking before buying the ZTM. I had to choose between Toro, John Deere and Kubota. Ended up with the Kubota, JD was second choice and Toro third.

I have mowed half my yard a week before buying the Kubota with a Toro (Kawa 22hp engine) and another half with my ZG123S and the power is much better in the Kubota, even though it only has 1hp more. This can be because of a lot of factors, deeper deck, etc. The grass was very high (over 10 inches I'd say). With the Toro I would bog it down to a stall where the Kubota would continue, albeit not going full speed.

I was going for the 124E and ended with the 123S as the 124E were out of stock and there was only one 123S left. I really like the suspension seat I must say. I also noticed that the Kohler engine was probably their better engine because the service intervals are every 100 hours where the B&S is 50 hours. Plus B&S has a 5h oil change where the Kohler is 100h (I will do one at 25h just to be safe).

Why do you guys hate the ROPS? I want to install a sunshade on it so no intention of removing it. I need to be careful around come trees with low hanging branches, but otherwise I don't mind the ROPS.

My terrain has slopes and I had to adjust my pattern significantly in order to deal with them. Can't go sideways I really have to go up or down, that's my main caveat of using a ZTM (used a standard tractor before). But the speed is so much higher and going around trees so much faster than it compensates for everything else.

I also find the gas tank to be too small, I hate refueling!

We will buy the lift assist ($25) as the pedal is quite heavy for my girlfriend to use.

Another thing is that it's quite loud, louder than the Toro and other mowers around hehe.

Anyway, these are my first thoughts, I will post more next week

If I were you I wouldn't go 100 hours between oil changes no matter what Kohler says.....most engine mfg's recommend every 50 hours. I like you opted for a sunshade on my ZTR and kept the ROPS(you can see a pic in the link below where I describe the light kit I installed). I "Know" my yard and am sensitive to overhead obstacles where I have to be careful with the ROPS/sunshade...and the benefit of no sunscreen is worth it:0) The small fuel tank would bother me too...makes me glad my Gravely has a 9gal capacity and after reading user Duckman's post I'm VERY happy with my Kawasaki FX691V 22hp engine(I have about a 1.5 acre lot and I use about 1 gal of gas per mowing..about 4.5 to 5 cuts per each tank that has 4.5 gals in each). I don't have any problems adjusting my deck and I had polio in my right leg(I could NOT even raise the deck at all on the Bad Boy Outlaw I looked at last fall that had a monster 5gauge deck). And the Kawa is quieter than the 24hp B & S Intek that was on my previous lawn tractor. The more posts I read....the happier I get with my Gravely:0)

Here's the link to my ZTR pics:

http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/build-yourself/18564-ztr-light-kit.html

 

[BeachBoy]

I don't plan on going 100h, probably just do it every winter.

the fuel tank is 4.2gal, I still have to see how big I can mow with that, maybe I used a lot because the grass was very long.

The Kawa 22hp on the Toro was definitively much weaker than the Kohler on the Kubota, unless it's all the other factors that makes the Kubota "feel" stronger... But aside from less engine noise, the Toro had a very hard time mowing the same type of long grass than the Kubota..

 

[djdicetn]

I don't plan on going 100h, probably just do it every winter.

the fuel tank is 4.2gal, I still have to see how big I can mow with that, maybe I used a lot because the grass was very long.

The Kawa 22hp on the Toro was definitively much weaker than the Kohler on the Kubota, unless it's all the other factors that makes the Kubota "feel" stronger... But aside from less engine noise, the Toro had a very hard time mowing the same type of long grass than the Kubota..

What "series" was that Kawa on the Toro(FR=Residential, FS=Heavy Duty and FX=Commercial). Or...what Toro mower was it(Timecutter SS/MX or Titan)?? There's a big difference in torque between those different Kawa's. Mine(22hp/726cc) is the FX691V Commercial Kawasaki and I've never heard it even strain or the deck sound like it was bogging down when cutting tall or wet grass. That's the first time I've ever seen a complaint about Kawa cutting power.
P.S.
That's a smart move....with the price of oil & filters versus the price of a ZTR I'll probably change mine every season regardless of the hours as well!!

 

[BeachBoy]

What "series" was that Kawa on the Toro(FR=Residential, FS=Heavy Duty and FX=Commercial). Or...what Toro mower was it(Timecutter SS/MX or Titan)?? There's a big difference in torque between those different Kawa's. Mine(22hp/726cc) is the FX691V Commercial Kawasaki and I've never heard it even strain or the deck sound like it was bogging down when cutting tall or wet grass. That's the first time I've ever seen a complaint about Kawa cutting power.

it was a timecutter, so not a pro model, that's probably why it was much weaker.

 

[Ragnar4841]

I'm new to this forum, but I've been lurking before buying the ZTM. I had to choose between Toro, John Deere and Kubota. Ended up with the Kubota, JD was second choice and Toro third.

I have mowed half my yard a week before buying the Kubota with a Toro (Kawa 22hp engine) and another half with my ZG123S and the power is much better in the Kubota, even though it only has 1hp more. This can be because of a lot of factors, deeper deck, etc. The grass was very high (over 10 inches I'd say). With the Toro I would bog it down to a stall where the Kubota would continue, albeit not going full speed.

I was going for the 124E and ended with the 123S as the 124E were out of stock and there was only one 123S left. I really like the suspension seat I must say. I also noticed that the Kohler engine was probably their better engine because the service intervals are every 100 hours where the B&S is 50 hours. Plus B&S has a 5h oil change where the Kohler is 100h (I will do one at 25h just to be safe).

Why do you guys hate the ROPS? I want to install a sunshade on it so no intention of removing it. I need to be careful around come trees with low hanging branches, but otherwise I don't mind the ROPS.

My terrain has slopes and I had to adjust my pattern significantly in order to deal with them. Can't go sideways I really have to go up or down, that's my main caveat of using a ZTM (used a standard tractor before). But the speed is so much higher and going around trees so much faster than it compensates for everything else.

I also find the gas tank to be too small, I hate refueling!

We will buy the lift assist ($25) as the pedal is quite heavy for my girlfriend to use.

Another thing is that it's quite loud, louder than the Toro and other mowers around hehe.

Anyway, these are my first thoughts, I will post more next week

Congrats! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine! For me, I have a several smaller trees with low-hanging limbs in my mostly-flat yard--the ROPS just slowed me down and offered more risk than reward, so off it came.

I do agree with the gas tank comment. While 4.2 gal seems big, running at full throttle uses that gas up quickly--I am burning through fuel much faster than with my previous tractor. But for me, it just means topping off before I mow every week--not used to having to do that, but no big deal.

I got the lift assist kit as well--it takes some adjustment to get it right (and where I set it, I can only get the deck down to a 2" cut which is shorter than I'll ever need), but it helps make the pedal a bit easier to push.

And yes, LOUD. But the loudness comes once I turn the PTO on--just running the engine by itself isn't too bad. Bought myself a good pair of earmuffs.

 

[djdicetn]

Congrats! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine! For me, I have a several smaller trees with low-hanging limbs in my mostly-flat yard--the ROPS just slowed me down and offered more risk than reward, so off it came.

I do agree with the gas tank comment. While 4.2 gal seems big, running at full throttle uses that gas up quickly--I am burning through fuel much faster than with my previous tractor. But for me, it just means topping off before I mow every week--not used to having to do that, but no big deal.

I got the lift assist kit as well--it takes some adjustment to get it right (and where I set it, I can only get the deck down to a 2" cut which is shorter than I'll ever need), but it helps make the pedal a bit easier to push.

And yes, LOUD. But the loudness comes once I turn the PTO on--just running the engine by itself isn't too bad. Bought myself a good pair of earmuffs.

Ragnar4841(And yes, LOUD. But the loudness comes once I turn the PTO on--just running the engine by itself isn't too bad. Bought myself a good pair of earmuffs. ),

I wear hearing aids(of course not when mowing:0)...but I asked my Audiologist whether I needed to wear ear protection when mowing to prevent further damage to my hearing(my next door neighbor ALWAYS puts ear plugs in his ears when he mows). My Audiologist said that with almost all lawn mower small engines and decks, that he would only recommend hearing protection if you mowed yards for a living and were subjected to that noise level constantly for 8 hours/day or more. He said for residential use where you won't be mowing more than 2 hours or so each time you mow, that the decibels were not dangerous enough to have an adverse effect on your hearing. Of course, if the noise bothers you personally, by all means you should wear those earmuffs but they aren't really necessary if protecting your hearing is your concern.

 

[Ragnar4841]

Ragnar4841(And yes, LOUD. But the loudness comes once I turn the PTO on--just running the engine by itself isn't too bad. Bought myself a good pair of earmuffs. ),

I wear hearing aids(of course not when mowing:0)...but I asked my Audiologist whether I needed to wear ear protection when mowing to prevent further damage to my hearing(my next door neighbor ALWAYS puts ear plugs in his ears when he mows). My Audiologist said that with almost all lawn mower small engines and decks, that he would only recommend hearing protection if you mowed yards for a living and were subjected to that noise level constantly for 8 hours/day or more. He said for residential use where you won't be mowing more than 2 hours or so each time you mow, that the decibels were not dangerous enough to have an adverse effect on your hearing. Of course, if the noise bothers you personally, by all means you should wear those earmuffs but they aren't really necessary if protecting your hearing is your concern.

I don't see how that's possible given as loud as my Kubota is--maybe your audiologist is trying to drum up some new customers . On my old Gravely rider, I could get away with foam plugs. But the first time on the ZT, my ears were ringing after 30 mins. with the plugs, hence I bought the earmuffs.

Regardless, they make noise while mowing on the ZT much more tolerable.