Anyone have any feedback on the Bad Boy MZ? This is the residential model. Looked at one at my local dealer, looks well built, 27hp Professional Briggs, 48inch welded deck, 18500 ftp blade tip speed. Sounds good for $3499.00?
Bad Boy MZ Mowers
- Thread starter Mower Man
- Start date
I have one. I bought it a little over a month ago at the local TSC. This is my first ZTR. I mow about 1 1/2 acres, somewhat rough ground, and some slope in areas, ~15%.
My previous mower was a ~12 year old John Deere LX173. I owned it for 10 of those years, and it was a good mower. But it was getting tired, the tranny would occasionally skip, and it needed tires. Plus, it was under powered. I could not wait too long between mowings or it would bog down. Too much deck (48) for too little engine (15hp).
First, let me say that power and blade speed is NOT a problem with the BBMZ! It almost seems that if the blades were pitched the other way, it would lift off. I was that impressed when I tested it at TSC. At home, the power allows me to mow in less than ideal conditions, damp grass, etc. It covers ground quickly, as well.
I wish I could say the whole experience was as glowing as the power. Three of the four zerks that lube the deck lifting mechanism will not take grease. I do not know why yet. A week after I bought it, it was taking too much cranking to start. Found out the throttle cable clamp was loose, and the choke was not engaging. I had to remove the whole rear engine guard to fix it. There should be an extension on the engine oil drain. It is directly over the electric clutch for the blades. I had to make a custom funnel out of a plastic bottle to keep from soaking it. When you change the oil filter, you WILL get oil all over the rear deck of the mower.
As far as the cut... As I mentioned, my lawn (heh) is a little rough. Not terrible, but it's no fairway, for sure. The 48" deck hangs somewhat rigidly from the mower frame. If a drive wheel drops into a low spot, instant scalp. I'm mowing at 3 1/2". The anti-scalp wheels on the deck are too high, and are not adjustable. I wish they were.
I mentioned that parts of my yard are sloped 10 - 15%. If I mow cross-slope, there is a difference in cut height where the rows meet. The downhill side always cuts a little shorter that the uphill side. Not a lot, but it's noticeable.
Even with the excellent blade speed, the deck accumulates a lot of packed grass. If it's damp, probably a five gallon bucket's worth for every mowing. Again, due to the power the mower never bogs, but when the grass is too packed under the deck, it will "blow chunks". Scraping the crud out is no picnic. The deck is not "easy off" like the one on my old Deere. Maybe that's a characteristic of ZTRs, I do not know. Anyway, I have to put the front of the mower on blocks and scrape away with a 2" putty knife. It doesn't take too long, but it's not a pleasant job. There is no hose fitting through the deck. I do have a pressure washer, maybe I'll try that next time.
My last issue may not be directly related to the BBMZ, but could well be the fact that I'm using a ZTR on sloped ground. When going downhill, this mower is very hesitant to turn, especially if the grass is wet. I must be going very slow, and be very careful on the sticks to maintain control. What often happens is I will back off the stick on the side I want to turn towards, and the wheel will slow its rotation, as it should, but instead of the mower turning, it continues straight and the wheel simply starts skidding over the grass, frequently peeling away the grass as it slides. This is especially noticeable if I try and angle downhill. The mower wants to head straight downhill, and there's not much I can do to stop it.
I am adapting to these idiosyncrasies. I will replace the bad zerks, my custom funnel works OK for draining the oil, I will clean the rear motor deck after changing the filter, and put up with scraping the mower deck.
If my lawn was smooth and level, the cut issues would probably disappear. This thing would cut FAST on a flat smooth lawn. I am figuring out how to best cut the sloped areas. Even with having to be super careful on the slopes, I can still save about an hour (30%) over what it used to take with the Deere.
As I mentioned, this is my first ZTR. With the Deere LX173, I could relax, daydream, scratch my nose, etc, as I was mowing. Not so with this. It requires full attention (most of the time), and no nose-scratching or before you know it you'll have turned a 180. It's fun to drive.
I've been toying with the idea of putting chains on it, assuming there are no clearance issues... It may help with downhill control. Or it may insure than I'll make giant ruts every time I mow.
Anyway.... I needed a mower. I wanted to try a ZTR. I bought the BBMZ. It's powerful! It has some issues. It's true what they say, ZTRs don't do well on slopes (at least not this one). But I'm managing.
...hope this helps someone.
My previous mower was a ~12 year old John Deere LX173. I owned it for 10 of those years, and it was a good mower. But it was getting tired, the tranny would occasionally skip, and it needed tires. Plus, it was under powered. I could not wait too long between mowings or it would bog down. Too much deck (48) for too little engine (15hp).
First, let me say that power and blade speed is NOT a problem with the BBMZ! It almost seems that if the blades were pitched the other way, it would lift off. I was that impressed when I tested it at TSC. At home, the power allows me to mow in less than ideal conditions, damp grass, etc. It covers ground quickly, as well.
I wish I could say the whole experience was as glowing as the power. Three of the four zerks that lube the deck lifting mechanism will not take grease. I do not know why yet. A week after I bought it, it was taking too much cranking to start. Found out the throttle cable clamp was loose, and the choke was not engaging. I had to remove the whole rear engine guard to fix it. There should be an extension on the engine oil drain. It is directly over the electric clutch for the blades. I had to make a custom funnel out of a plastic bottle to keep from soaking it. When you change the oil filter, you WILL get oil all over the rear deck of the mower.
As far as the cut... As I mentioned, my lawn (heh) is a little rough. Not terrible, but it's no fairway, for sure. The 48" deck hangs somewhat rigidly from the mower frame. If a drive wheel drops into a low spot, instant scalp. I'm mowing at 3 1/2". The anti-scalp wheels on the deck are too high, and are not adjustable. I wish they were.
I mentioned that parts of my yard are sloped 10 - 15%. If I mow cross-slope, there is a difference in cut height where the rows meet. The downhill side always cuts a little shorter that the uphill side. Not a lot, but it's noticeable.
Even with the excellent blade speed, the deck accumulates a lot of packed grass. If it's damp, probably a five gallon bucket's worth for every mowing. Again, due to the power the mower never bogs, but when the grass is too packed under the deck, it will "blow chunks". Scraping the crud out is no picnic. The deck is not "easy off" like the one on my old Deere. Maybe that's a characteristic of ZTRs, I do not know. Anyway, I have to put the front of the mower on blocks and scrape away with a 2" putty knife. It doesn't take too long, but it's not a pleasant job. There is no hose fitting through the deck. I do have a pressure washer, maybe I'll try that next time.
My last issue may not be directly related to the BBMZ, but could well be the fact that I'm using a ZTR on sloped ground. When going downhill, this mower is very hesitant to turn, especially if the grass is wet. I must be going very slow, and be very careful on the sticks to maintain control. What often happens is I will back off the stick on the side I want to turn towards, and the wheel will slow its rotation, as it should, but instead of the mower turning, it continues straight and the wheel simply starts skidding over the grass, frequently peeling away the grass as it slides. This is especially noticeable if I try and angle downhill. The mower wants to head straight downhill, and there's not much I can do to stop it.
I am adapting to these idiosyncrasies. I will replace the bad zerks, my custom funnel works OK for draining the oil, I will clean the rear motor deck after changing the filter, and put up with scraping the mower deck.
If my lawn was smooth and level, the cut issues would probably disappear. This thing would cut FAST on a flat smooth lawn. I am figuring out how to best cut the sloped areas. Even with having to be super careful on the slopes, I can still save about an hour (30%) over what it used to take with the Deere.
As I mentioned, this is my first ZTR. With the Deere LX173, I could relax, daydream, scratch my nose, etc, as I was mowing. Not so with this. It requires full attention (most of the time), and no nose-scratching or before you know it you'll have turned a 180. It's fun to drive.
I've been toying with the idea of putting chains on it, assuming there are no clearance issues... It may help with downhill control. Or it may insure than I'll make giant ruts every time I mow.
Anyway.... I needed a mower. I wanted to try a ZTR. I bought the BBMZ. It's powerful! It has some issues. It's true what they say, ZTRs don't do well on slopes (at least not this one). But I'm managing.
...hope this helps someone.
BKBrown
Lawn Addict
- Joined
- May 5, 2010
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I might suggest that you take these issues directly to the BadBoy web site and use the contact link. I believe they are still new enough to respond to customer suggestions and may help with your concerns.
Contacts | Bad Boy Mowers link is from the BB web site -- let us know if you get any response!
Rear tires are listed as 18x9.5-8 - maybe a slightly more aggressive tire might help ?
Contacts | Bad Boy Mowers link is from the BB web site -- let us know if you get any response!
Rear tires are listed as 18x9.5-8 - maybe a slightly more aggressive tire might help ?
I would have thought they had larger and wider tires... check your tire pressure, you will want it as low as you can, soft wide will give a better foot print... :smile:KennyV
BTW Welcome to this Forum...
and thanks for the candid evaluation...
BTW Welcome to this Forum...
and thanks for the candid evaluation...
I emailed Badboy and received no response. I called them, and talked to a fellow who listened, but could not offer any assistance. They do not offer any other tire options, they have never heard of anyone using chains, and they acknowledge that the anti-scalp wheels are not adjustable.
The tire pressure is set correctly. They were WAY overfilled coming from TSC, but it was one of the first things I checked.
I didn't bring up the non-functional zerks.
It looks like I'm on my own as far as trying to fix any of the issues I'm having. I think I can find a way to extend (lower) the anti-scalp wheels, and maybe use collars to move out the wheels to provide space for chains. I'm not sure chains will do much except tear up more grass. I may try it anyway.
Again, on a flat smooth lawn, this thing would be awesome. But for my lawn, hindsight being 2020, I should not have bought it. Live and learn.
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Black Bart
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 4, 2011
- Threads
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Man I can't believe it that is terrible.
I bought a new mower a couple weeks ago and I looked at the Bad Boy but did not like the ergonomics just did not fit me the controls were not comfortable.
Only place near me to buy is TSC and if you need warranty work you have to go to the local
Grass Hopper dealer.
I talked to that dealer and he was bad mouthing the BB mower and I figure that if I needed anything it would sit until he had all of his GH customers taken care of first.
The lack of a dealer for service and parts along with other things like the deck design and no adjustment on the deck wheels made me pass on it.
I bought a new JD ZTR NO scalping and I can mow wet grass and the deck does NOT collect grass it just blows it out.
I have a 54 inch deck and I can mow my lawn in less time than I can with my 725 GH with 72 inch deck.
The JD can mow faster and leave a nice looking cut the GH will go fast but it don't look nearly as good.
My GH is 12 feet long takes a huge area to turn it but the JD has a 48 inch wheelbase it will turn in places the GH can not think of going.
I really like my new JD ZTRAK :thumbsup:
Have you thought about putting bar lug tires on it. The link below is to some I looked up on ebay. I am in no way connected with this seller on ebay. I only did this search so you can see what is available.
18x9.50-8 Golf Cart Go Kart Riding Lawn Mower LUG Tires | eBay
Yeah, I have. But tires like that are directional, and with a ZTR, having traction in both directions is necessary. At least that's my thinking... :smile:
Since I have a set, I'm going to try chains. Before I do, I need to get longer lug studs and 1/2 - 3/4 spacers.
I'm more concerned about the anti scalp wheels. I'm pretty sure I can lower them. But the deck does not 'float' much in relation to the mower frame. It's pretty rigidly mounted. I'm concerned that if I do lower the scalp wheels, and they hit the ground when a mower wheel drops in a low spot, I may tweak the deck mount linkage. I guess I won't know till I try....
I hope to get to these things within the next week or so. ..been busy with other stuff.
Thanks for the idea...