Known major problems; Kohler 7000, Kawasaki FR, Briggs & Stratton Commercial . . .

[cruzenmike]

Re: Known major problems; Kohler 7000, Kawasaki FR, Briggs & Stratton Commercial . .

I gave it a "once over" and only thing I didn't like about that set up was the 2200 hundred series transmissions. I'd pay more $ for 3400's if they were available. Other then that...I liked it!

You just cannot find anything under $3500 with serviceable hydrostatics and even at that price they would be ZT-2800s. I think this engine would be great, but maybe greater in a different make or model. If you read the online reviews of this exact mower, most give the engine praise over anything else. I would think a great mower would be great with any engine (Kaw, Briggs, Kohler, etc.) so long as it wasn't underpowered. But a really good engine alone cannot make an average mower great. At the end of the day, each person has to choose what is most important, engine, deck style, features, BTS, and so on. I think a 22-24 HP of most any newer v-twins are going to work just fine for most consumers if properly maintained. Little things like reading the ENGINE'S operators manual and not just the mowers will provide some insight into how to maintain based on the manufacturer who actually designed and engineered the engine. For example, I have seen in operators manuals where it says to reduce the engine to minimum throttle and let idle for at least 30 seconds before shutting the engine off. Who does this?

 

[primerbulb120]

Re: Known major problems; Kohler 7000, Kawasaki FR, Briggs & Stratton Commercial . .

Someone may already have suggested this, but if I were you I'd look at a used commercial model instead of a new homeowner model. I paid $1800 for my Gravely Compact Pro 44, which sells for $5500 new. It had around 400 hours on it at the time of purchase.

Of the three models you posted, I'd go with the Gravely. :thumbsup:

 

[cruzenmike]

Re: Known major problems; Kohler 7000, Kawasaki FR, Briggs & Stratton Commercial . .

Someone may already have suggested this, but if I were you I'd look at a used commercial model instead of a new homeowner model. I paid $1800 for my Gravely Compact Pro 44, which sells for $5500 new. It had around 400 hours on it at the time of purchase.

Of the three models you posted, I'd go with the Gravely. :thumbsup:

Some commercial users are "particular" about the care and maintenance of their mowers. If you think about it, some of these guys, especially the smaller companies, cannot afford for equipment failures so they tend to maintain their stuff to the best of their abilities. In this case you may end up with a machine that was well cared for and will have plenty of useful life left. But as with all equipment, there are wearable parts that will ultimately need to be replaced. On the flip side, some bigger companies expect a certain amount of use out of a machine and once it has served it's purpose, they unload them for a newer model. Could be a roll of the dice....

 

[Ric]

Re: Known major problems; Kohler 7000, Kawasaki FR, Briggs & Stratton Commercial . .

You just cannot find anything under $3500 with serviceable hydrostatics and even at that price they would be ZT-2800s. I think this engine would be great, but maybe greater in a different make or model. If you read the online reviews of this exact mower, most give the engine praise over anything else. I would think a great mower would be great with any engine (Kaw, Briggs, Kohler, etc.) so long as it wasn't underpowered. But a really good engine alone cannot make an average mower great. At the end of the day, each person has to choose what is most important, engine, deck style, features, BTS, and so on. I think a 22-24 HP of most any newer v-twins are going to work just fine for most consumers if properly maintained. Little things like reading the ENGINE'S operators manual and not just the mowers will provide some insight into how to maintain based on the manufacturer who actually designed and engineered the engine. For example, I have seen in operators manuals where it says to reduce the engine to minimum throttle and let idle for at least 30 seconds before shutting the engine off. Who does this?

I have a question... why are you as a residential owner worrying about serviceable hydro-statics drives??

 

[cruzenmike]

Re: Known major problems; Kohler 7000, Kawasaki FR, Briggs & Stratton Commercial . .

I have a question... why are you as a residential owner worrying about serviceable hydro-statics drives??

I personally don't worry about them as none of my mowers have had them. I was just saying that there are not many options below that price point with them. Having something that can be services should offer greater reliability/longer service life. Plus, you do not get anything over 7mph ground speed until you get up into a serviceable unit because of the higher capacity pump and what not. If someone wants to cut their mowing time down via increased speed, without the worry of being too hard on their machine, then a serviceable hydrostatic should help in that regard.

 

[Ric]

Re: Known major problems; Kohler 7000, Kawasaki FR, Briggs & Stratton Commercial . .

I personally don't worry about them as none of my mowers have had them. I was just saying that there are not many options below that price point with them. Having something that can be services should offer greater reliability/longer service life. Plus, you do not get anything over 7mph ground speed until you get up into a serviceable unit because of the higher capacity pump and what not. If someone wants to cut their mowing time down via increased speed, without the worry of being too hard on their machine, then a serviceable hydrostatic should help in that regard.

I was just curious because many residential users think the oil in drives need changing every year and that's fine if your accumulating the hours on the mower but 400 plus hours a year is hard to get unless you have a load of land to be mowed. Both my mowers needed service (first change) at 75 hrs then again every 500 hours according to Toro and the ZM are 3400 drives and the stander is separate pumps and wheel motors.

 

[7394]

Re: Known major problems; Kohler 7000, Kawasaki FR, Briggs & Stratton Commercial . .

For example, I have seen in operators manuals where it says to reduce the engine to minimum throttle and let idle for at least 30 seconds before shutting the engine off. Who does this?

I do, & mainly because I build H-D engines. And my Kawasaki engine is being operated as Kaw intended for it to be.