From everything I have read the Kohler 7000 has a pretty decent reputation. Another thing I read that seems to make sense is the Kawasaki is refusing to be put in units that wind up in the big big box stores.
I'm not so sure the Kawasaki FR series engines are really doing super great and reliability either. I just bought a $6,000 Hustler FasTrak and they don't even foam wrap the air cleaner and its in a spot that pulls in a lot of crap. Seems like everything is done with price in mind nowadays
Have you only just realised that ?
Honda exited the ride on market because there were not enough people with sifficient mental capacity to do the math and work out a mower that will run faultlessly for 20+ years will work out a lot cheaper than the 1/2 price mower that will only be good for 7 to 10 years to make running the factory profitable even with the extra contract work for JD.
Ten years latter they did the same with ride on engines. Faced with the options of trashing their name by making the junk engines that the public will happily pay for or exiting the market, they again chose to leave.
Their place as the top quality engine was taken over by Kawakasi who are now doing exactly what Honda refused to do, trashing their name by building down to a price.
Even then mowers are still not cheap enough so Hustler is faced with the same problem.
Make something cheap enough to keep the factory running or exit the market.
However they don't have 25 other divisions so they are forced to make a cheaper product thus have gone for the best of the remaining lower priced engines.
There is a funny sort of mentality that is becomming stronger every year where we expect to be paid more each year for doing exactly the same thing but we expect to pay less for every thing we need.
If you think about it , It in not rational in any way shape or form, but that is the way most seem to think or rather don't actually think.
