Proud new Gravely owner!

[TAZ]

Well took delivery and mowed with my new ZT60HD tonight. I am very happy with it. My grass was very thick and tall having not been mowed in over 2 weeks. I'd say it averaged 10" tall and this thing walked right through it. Now I did need to slow down a little to get a good quality cut, but still went probably 75% speed. I did put the suspension on the seat and swapped out the rear tires to the bar/ag tractor style tires due to some slopes I have to mow. The Kawi engine is so smooth and quiet I thought the throttle was broken and not letting the engine rev all the way it was so quiet LOL! I need to adjust the steering levers a little to the right height etc but very very happy with this machine. I grew up on a farm running all sorts of equipment, mowed commercially some, and work in the auto industry and in all my experience I have never been this satisfied with a piece of equipment. I am sure as I run it more I will surely come up with something that I would like to change, but haven't yet. I recommend any homeowner with an acerage to buy a Gravely. I have about 3.5 acres to mow on average and 70% is very rough by a "yard" standard. This thing handles it like a champ.
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What is the black box on back--engine guard? Never mind I found out LOL.

 

[djdicetn]

Mowed the 2nd time tonight. I have about 2 acres, and my inlaws property ajoins ours, yeah, I know LOL, anyway both are approx, 2 acres mowable. I did it all in 2.1 hours tonight and mine was very tall so went pretty slow. With my old Scotts tractor with a 54" deck it took me just under 2 hours to do mine alone so this was a nice surprise to be able to do this all that quickly. So nice to have nice new equipment!

SCMCG,

Welcome to the growing Gravely clan on the forums. You'll never regret investing in a Gravely(I know I have never looked back)!!!

NeverGiveUp,
So you've got a whopping 7.8 hours on that Pro-Turn. Makes me feel like an ole timer with 23.5 hours on mine:0) Already done the first oil/filter change at 10 hours.....that's what the Gravely dealer mechanic recommended even though the timer says 25 hours.
Soooooo, have you thought about putting that light kit on it yet??? User lawn mower fanatic made a "Sticky" out of my post where I put the off-road halogen light kit from Adavance Auto Parts on mine. Both of you guys oughta consider that upgrade for < $50. You don't really have to use the exact same kit that I bought, but it does show that there are inexpensive options to the $125 Gravely kit as close as your local auto parts store(even Wal-Mart has a couple of pretty nice ones). Of course my Gravely mows so dadgum fast, that I haven't had an opportunity yet to need to mow after dark:0)
The sticky with the light kit details, in case your interested, is :

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

 

[SCMCG]

SCMCG,

Welcome to the growing Gravely clan on the forums. You'll never regret investing in a Gravely(I know I have never looked back)!!!

NeverGiveUp,
So you've got a whopping 7.8 hours on that Pro-Turn. Makes me feel like an ole timer with 23.5 hours on mine:0) Already done the first oil/filter change at 10 hours.....that's what the Gravely dealer mechanic recommended even though the timer says 25 hours.
Soooooo, have you thought about putting that light kit on it yet??? User lawn mower fanatic made a "Sticky" out of my post where I put the off-road halogen light kit from Adavance Auto Parts on mine. Both of you guys oughta consider that upgrade for < $50. You don't really have to use the exact same kit that I bought, but it does show that there are inexpensive options to the $125 Gravely kit as close as your local auto parts store(even Wal-Mart has a couple of pretty nice ones). Of course my Gravely mows so dadgum fast, that I haven't had an opportunity yet to need to mow after dark:0)
The sticky with the light kit details, in case your interested, is :

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

Actually, I am a tiny bit concerned. I seem to have a lotta grass laying on the ground every time i mow. I thought initially it was just due to the thick heavy grass I was mowing. But the last 2 cuts were thin, short, burnt up grass and still i get that "hayfield" look to my yard. It just doesnt seem to "throw" the grass very far out the deck, and really was expecting it to chop it up so small I would almost never see it. Not sure what to think I guess.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

Actually, I am a tiny bit concerned. I seem to have a lotta grass laying on the ground every time i mow. I thought initially it was just due to the thick heavy grass I was mowing. But the last 2 cuts were thin, short, burnt up grass and still i get that "hayfield" look to my yard. It just doesnt seem to "throw" the grass very far out the deck, and really was expecting it to chop it up so small I would almost never see it. Not sure what to think I guess.

Is the underside of the mower deck clean?

 

[SCMCG]

Is the underside of the mower deck clean?

Yes. It only has 10 hours and it is clean under it. It just seems like it is not blowing the grass out like it should. The engine sounds like it maybe isnt running at a high enough rpm? I dunno. It doesnt bog down or anything. It goes like crazy but just doesnt seem to chop the grass like it should.

 

[djdicetn]

Yes. It only has 10 hours and it is clean under it. It just seems like it is not blowing the grass out like it should. The engine sounds like it maybe isnt running at a high enough rpm? I dunno. It doesnt bog down or anything. It goes like crazy but just doesnt seem to chop the grass like it should.

1)What height are you setting the deck at(and how tall is the grass)....it's an exercise in futility to cut more than 1/3 the total height of the grass.
2)In the 10 hours, how many times have you cleaned under the deck? When I first got mine(end of last season), there was no buildup of grass, etc. at all under the deck but now I scrape it after each mowing(not much and it takes maybe 10-15 mins).
3)Are you using the rubber discharge chute cover? I've tried it with and without and have better results with it on.
4)This time of the year grass clippings may be difficult to completely avoid. I've begun mowing where the clippings ALWAYS go "toward the uncut grass". When I get to the middle, the clippings are ONLY right in the center of the yard, I raise the deck maybe 1/2" and mow over the clippings 4-6 times and they're gone. Still a significant improvement over my old Craftsman lawn tractor(which had a mulch kit on it). During prime-time middle of summer, here in TN, I have to mow "every week" religiously. How often are you mowing?

Hope some of these suggestions help out. I've considered getting some Gator blades to see how they cut versus the Gravely OEM, but I'm still pretty happy(beautiful even cut and just the minor nuisance of going over the final clippings in the center a few times to cut them finer and disperse them where they can no longer be seen).

 

[djdicetn]

Very nice! I got my 60HD last week and love it. Have put 5 hrs on it already. I am going to be doing the ag tires as well. Might even get that seat, going to stop on at dealer on way to work and see if they have the seat in stock. As for now, I'm just waiting for the grass to grow so I can mow again!

Yeah, that suspension seat makes it even more fun to mow than it already is!!! Next summer, I'll be retired and will probably mow my yard twice a week:0) Since you just bought it I hope the dealer will give you a deal on swapping out the stock seat for the suspension seat!!!