Better Outdoor Products mower?

I bought what was advertised as a BOP Quick 36 off of CL. Better Outdoor Products single hydro with an electric start Kawasaki engine. It's in really good shape. Has an aluminum grass catcher and one of those...sulkies? The first time I used it, it left a strip of uncut grass between the center and left blades. That was real disappointing. I had to get my old Craftsman/Honda 22" to finish mowing the half acre lot I was cutting.
I emailed the manufacturer but he wasn't able to offer much that was helpful. Seems like a nice guy but just didn't have any suggestions that were helpful. I had already checked the blades and they seemed fine. Tips were level with each other and sharp. The spindles were good. The deck wasn't leveled properly but I fixed that. Tires had the right amount of air. I tried it again with the same results. I was looking at the belts and the lower belt was routed wrong. Fixed that but I haven't got a chance to really try it out. I mowed a little of the neighbors yard and it seems to be getting all the grass now but I didn't get to mow enough grass to get a good sense of how well it cuts. I'm hoping I get to try it out next week. Seems pretty slow though. Compared to my old mowers anyway. My Toro 32 Proline and Toro Timemaster would pretty much go faster than I could go. I really miss the bar on the 32 and the personal pace on the other.
The reverse lever on this thing is broken... that puts a damper on things too. It isn't easy to push much less pull.
Anybody here own one of these? Advice?

This mower reminds me of the Billy Goat mower I used to have. I can't really help you with anything, but here is a manual. And hopefully you will get other responses.

http://www.betteroutdoorproducts.com/BodyPages/Other/Owners Manual Online.pdf

Thanks Guess nobody else has one.
Some likes: it's compact. Much shorter than my Toro Proline was and not much wider. I don't have a trailer so space in my truck bed is valuable.
It seems solid and durable. The Kawasaki engine seems strong.
Belts are available at any auto parts store.
Dislikes: It seems to have one speed... slow. Maybe now that the belts are routed correctly it will be... quick
The sulky...it's way too heavy. Makes it a minor PITA to let down and put up. The battery hold down uses a bolt that is part of the transmission attachment or something. The fuel shutoff is hidden and hard to get to.
I'm waiting for a reverse lever to see if reverse actually works. If not I'm not going to be happy.
Oh and the metal grasscatcher. Not crazy about that but it's light.
The personal videos I've seen on youtube all seem to show a good mower with a nice cut so I'm hopeful.

Got a question but didn't Better Outdoor Mowers go under, I know they still are trying to service what they have sold but they don't sell mowers any longer do they?

Ric said:

Got a question but didn't Better Outdoor Mowers go under, I know they still are trying to service what they have sold but they don't sell mowers any longer do they?

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Sounds like it:

"As most of you who follow our company already know, due to the economy, Better Outdoor has gone through some very challenging times over the last three years. We've had a couple of deals that have gone "right to the goalpost" and then for one reason or another have fallen-through. We continue to pursue good options and feel confident that with time and faith, the right deal will come along. Given our direct to end-user sales approach, Better Outdoor is uniquely positioned in the market. We deliver very good equipment at prices that are simply unbeatable and believe that we're in "exactly the right place at the right time". It's simply a matter of finding an investor that shares our vision.
In the meantime- We are committed to the support of our existing customers and service parts are shipping daily as normal. Please order parts for your Quick mower via our website (Service parts are categorized in the LH column) and we'll get them out as quickly as possible. Where "holes" exist in our inventory, we'll do our best to provide alternate ways to get the parts needed to keep your machine up and running."

Better commercial wide area cut commercial lawn mowers and leaf blowers.

Yes, they don't seem to be selling mowers anymore. I've talked to Gary several times by email. Good guy. I ordered a reverse lever and it took a while to get it. I hope they aren't having parts machined when they get orders. That would get pricey.
He told me who to get spindles from and where to find a couple of other parts.
I used the mower today. Seems to cut well now but this wasn't a lawn that would show a good quality cut so I can't say for certain. When I went to install the new reverse lever I realized that the cable is bad. Not sure what I'm going to do about that but I have to find some way to get reverse. Also hate that sulky even more after it smashed my finger

I installed the reverse cable and lever tonight. Reverse works fine now. Installed new belts and idler pulley spring. Make that one belt was installed. The manual recommends a Gates 6945 for the drive belt. I bought a 6945 and it was too short. I looked at the old belt and it was a 6947. I put that one back on for now. If anyone joins and owns a later model Quick 36 maybe this info will come in handy. I think I mentioned it but the uncut strip of grass problem is completely gone with the blade belt routed correctly.
I'd also recommend replacing any old nuts and bolts w/ stainless steel nuts and bolts if possible. And find a lighter sulky

Mike88se said:

I installed the reverse cable and lever tonight. Reverse works fine now. Installed new belts and idler pulley spring. Make that one belt was installed. The manual recommends a Gates 6945 for the drive belt. I bought a 6945 and it was too short. I looked at the old belt and it was a 6947. I put that one back on for now. If anyone joins and owns a later model Quick 36 maybe this info will come in handy. I think I mentioned it but the uncut strip of grass problem is completely gone with the blade belt routed correctly.
I'd also recommend replacing any old nuts and bolts w/ stainless steel nuts and bolts if possible. And find a lighter sulky

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Is it still slow?

Well yeah I think it is but I'm comparing it to the Toro Proline and the Toro personal pace mowers that I have the most experience with. To most commercial wide area walk behinds using a sulky it may not be slow. It's noticeably faster w/o having to pull me and the sulky though I'd sell that sulky if I thought it had any value and find/build a lighter one or just walk behind it. I'd need to get better with launches tho because it has enough torque to pop wheelies
This thread probably makes it sound like I don't like the mower. I do like it. Other than the little things I've mentioned I have no complaints about it.

lawn mower fanatic said:

Is it still slow?

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BOP Quick 36 better pics

Washed a couple of the mowers this afternoon and took some pics. It was dark by the time I got the camera out but...




and the exmark 21

and a vid maybe... you can't see it but you can hear it