Now before we all go off on a wrong tangent and get Nathan really confused, below are a few shots of one I have in the shop right now naked.
Well in the holding yard to be precise while the owner decides if he wants the shell out $ 750 for parts.
Think of it as the mower Ryobi would build if Ryobi made ride ons.
A great little machine in the right yard, does it's job really well, is really comfortable & easy to use but impossible to fix.
And the owners really love them, but designed as a throw away.
Before the temporary diverted landfill from China flooded the market down here the cheapest ride on available.
Marketed as the ride on for :"those who can not afford a ride on" or "for yards too small for a ride on "
When we were on $ parity with the USA they were $1200 and a commercial Honda self propelled was $ 1600
A space frame built around the deck which has the motor bolted on to it.
A European B & S engine so you can not get a parts break down off the B & S web site.
Not a fun job. Stripped to the state it is in now is 2 hours of hard yakka & I am yet to "fix" the vari drive and reassemble the mower so 6 hours labour minimum.
In photo 4 you can see the stripped starter gear, the large starter and the tiny gel cell that is supposed to power it.
The vari drive pulleys are both sprung the same way so if you stop in high then change to low before restarting , both pulleys separate fully thus , no drive.
As stated previously , 4 hours labour to spring the pulleys so they grip the belt again.
If the blade gets out of balance and sets up a vibration in the deck, because the engine is bolted to the deck this gets magnified by the time you get to the carb which shakes so bad it floods which makes the vibes worse and the engine dies.
To service the engine you remove the top cover and disconnect it from the body then lift the body off the engine/ deck unit.
all well & good , but then you have to set up alternate fuel supply and find some way of securing the assembly from the top. clear of the ground as it wont start without the weight of the blade
As you may have gathered, not my favourite mower to work on and a local shop sold hundreds of them just before he went to the wall.
The other repair shop in this area refuse to work on them and the closest Stiga shop is 40km away.
Stiga has been through 4 distribution agents in the past 6 years so parts are next to impossible to get so I now order Castle Garden parts from the UK which get here in 6 to 10 weeks and cost 2/3 of the local price.
