New member, looking at a new 725DT.

BrokeSolid · Apr 29, 2017

Hi guys, I'm about to pull the trigger in my first zero turn. It's a major investment but IMO, there is only one brand to consider. I have a few questions about my potential new machine to ease my mind.

Is it ok to talk price on this site?

Thoughts on the rear discharge 61" deck?

I've always heard good things about the G2 trans, is the T6 better? As good at least? I get how it works and all, just curious about reliability. I originally wanted to find a 722 or 9XX for that reason, but hard to find a clean one I'd consider buying. I have found some clean older 721D's, but not sure how I feel about those machines. They would save me some coin, but idk.

Does older attachments hook up to the new machines?

Anything else I should be looking at? Or anything else I need to mention?

Machine I'm looking at, 2017 725dt, 61 rear discharge powerfold, high end suspension seat, folding rops, bar tires.

Currently mow relatively flat 3.5 acres but have a purchase contract on another 11.6 that I will own soon. Current mowing machine is a mahindra 2615HST with a 72" woods MMM.

Meterman93 · Apr 30, 2017

The 725DT is an excellent choice. I just recently purchased one a few weeks ago with a 72" powerfold and 15B collection hopper. I can't tell you much about the G2 but the T6 is quite robust and reliable. Before I purchased my new mower I asked my dealer if they had to do any major repairs on any of the T6 transmissions and he said no just maybe a hydraulic hose or leaking fitting. As far as the 61" rear discharge I can't comment on that because I have never seen one perform. Maybe someone else here could give some more insight on it. In my opinion if you are going to have over 11 acres to mow I wouldn't go with that 61" I would go for a 72" side discharge. A 721D is a little small for your application and a 61" deck is as big as you can go on those. The 900 series is the best but they only offer them in a 32 hp gas version. If you could snag on to a 930D with low hours that would be ultimate but those are getting hard to find since they are no longer in production.

BrokeSolid · Apr 30, 2017

Thx meterman for the reply,
I guess I should clarify about the additional property, wouldn't be 11.6 of mowing. That's my fault, in fact most of it is wooded, but I'll still have a requirement to maintain it and the plan would be to build a house on it within the next 5 years, so the requirement would grow. And that property has a slope or 2. I'm really interested in the rear discharge, I've only heard good things about it. I also want to stay 61 so it will fit in my shed, my Mahindra has to go in the garage or under my lean to because of size.

As far as the other mowers I'm looking at, I'm strictly looking used, I've found a few 928/930's but they are still pricy for a used machine, 930's as much or more than a new 725dt. There is some of the older 721d's around (not the same as the new 721d the way I understand it), I might look at a 2001 today, but still expensive for a 15 year old machine. I'm also looking at a very clean 2005 722 with 800hrs for 6,900, but it's 5 hours away so that doesn't help and its side discharge.

My dealer quoted me $14,900 for a 17 725dt, 61" rear discharge (he doesn't have in stock, will need to order one, plus it's a $500 upgrade), susp seat, folding rops, extra set of blades, free break in service and 0% for 48 months financing. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me, that config lists over 18g. Still expensive considering nice mid mounts can be had for under 7, but I don't like the mid mounts and they don't slope mow. There is a very clean kubota zd326 local with 270 hours for 7g, that's a great deal, but still don't think I'd like it. I do have a tractor, so not sure I need a GH, but I sure do want one.

BWH · Apr 30, 2017

BrokeSolid said:
Hi guys, I'm about to pull the trigger in my first zero turn. It's a major investment but IMO, there is only one brand to consider. I have a few questions about my potential new machine to ease my mind.

Is it ok to talk price on this site?

Thoughts on the rear discharge 61" deck?

I've always heard good things about the G2 trans, is the T6 better? As good at least? I get how it works and all, just curious about reliability. I originally wanted to find a 722 or 9XX for that reason, but hard to find a clean one I'd consider buying. I have found some clean older 721D's, but not sure how I feel about those machines. They would save me some coin, but idk.

Does older attachments hook up to the new machines?

Anything else I should be looking at? Or anything else I need to mention?

Machine I'm looking at, 2017 725dt, 61 rear discharge powerfold, high end suspension seat, folding rops, bar tires.

Currently mow relatively flat 3.5 acres but have a purchase contract on another 11.6 that I will own soon. Current mowing machine is a mahindra 2615HST with a 72" woods MMM.[/QUOTE

Grasshopper 725DT is an Excellent Choice!

I purchased a 725DT 61" deck, Blower & 15b Steel Hopper with Grammer suspension seat last spring.

First off the 61" rear discharge deck is a great deck if you have no intentions of bagging. A friend of mine has the 61" rear discharge deck and loves it, he mows a couple of very large cemetery's with it and says he would never have anything else.

As far as the G2 Trans vs. T6 Trans I have had nearly every style Grasshopper drive from the 1982, 1600 chain drive final plus four more models in-between to my current 725DT. They were all good for their period in time but my experience is the T Drive is the best Grasshopper has ever used, it is very quiet, and very responsive with good feel for turf to tire slippage.

I have never converted any older attachments to fit newer units but my dealer has told me I could change the mounting brackets on an older snow blower to work on my 725 fairly reasonable.

The bar tires have worked out for me I have had 3 Grasshoppers and one garden tractor with them, you hear folks complain of how they tear up the turf, but tires don't tear up turf Cowboys tear up turf.

But I have to tell you the best option I added is the suspension seat! I have somewhat of a bad back and the seat makes mowing a stroll in the park, Best Money I Ever Spent!!!

BrokeSolid · May 1, 2017

Thx for the great reply BWH, great info. So I've been pining over a new one now all last weekend trying to justify the price to myself and just like that, a clean used local 2009 928D falls into my lap. A clean used one just didn't seem to exist around here. Patience really is a virtue! It only has 322 one owner garage kept hours on it and has the grammer seat and 61" side discharge deck. The one thing is doesn't have is the power fold, is that an option you can have added? How hard is the manual fold feature to use? It is also missing folding rops but I'm not concerned about that. I believe all the 900 series have the G2 trans. Anything I should look for on the big machines? I haven't even considered a 900 much, but I'll take it too.

BWH · May 1, 2017

Nothing wrong with a clean one owner, 322Hrs still has the new paint smell. The thing about a Grasshopper its not a imitation, you can run literally thousands of hours with proper service and still have a good machine.

I'm not very familiar with the 900 series but I'm sure their the next step up.

The manual fold deck is ok if your 30 years old but for me at 60 it was just a bit more than I wanted to deal with I always used a chain hoist from the ceiling to save my bad back. As far as converting your manual deck to a power fold deck I think you would be better off to buy a complete power fold deck they are quite a bit different.

No doubt you will be pleased with the 900 series. Let us know how it works out sometime.

BrokeSolid · May 1, 2017

Oh I'll def keep this thread updated. I wanted a rear discharge anyway, so it might be worth it to get a new deck setup how I want. I can mod the deck also, I'm a pretty good welder, I could fabricate the mounts if the ram is available to buy, but we'll see. I'm only 34, so I can deal with the manual if I have to for a few years.

It's not mine yet, it's going through an estate auction, but I'm planning to win the bid, I don't see it getting close to new cost and clean home owner units don't seem to exist so I'll be ready. I imagine I'll be the only one there interested in buying it to own and knowing what it truly is. It might go for 5-6, but I'll be ready for 10.

I'm picky, not that I wouldn't buy a 2k hour machine, but I like the thing to look nice because I know I'll keep it nice. Couldn't own an abused machine, would drive me nuts even if it was mechanically sound. Either way I'm excited, can't wait to start bidding!

BrokeSolid · May 14, 2017

Well, won the 928d at the auction yesterday, went for more than I expected, but under what I was willing to pay. Not as clean as I hoped but still pretty nice. Couple dents here and there. Way cheaper than a new one. There was a few commercial guys bidding against me.

Can't wait to get on it and try it out this week. Needs a few things, cup holder is missing slider half, needs a little touch up in some spots, chute is chewed all up, needs washed. It's got all the dealer stickers on it so I know it's been kept up with maint. I talked to the owner and he told me all about it too. I tried the manual lift, it's got a spring assist, so it's not too bad. I'll post some pics later today with thoughts on it.

173abn · May 14, 2017

I think you will like your "new" mower.I'd like to see a pic. of your deck,not sure what a manuel deck is.I lift my deck up w/a elec. hoist to clean under it after I mow.one of my neighbors was showing me his 722d w/the powerfold deck,it was pretty slick how it worked.have fun w/your mower...russ

BrokeSolid · May 14, 2017

Sure, I'm gonna mow with it tomorrow night so I'll take some pictures. It has a long lever that is stowed while you mow, it pins in as a leverage bar and the spring that helps adjust mowing height has a setting for the lift to help you as well. The pics I take will explain it better. There is a bar that is stowed on the right side of the machine that I have no idea what it's for. I take a pic of that too. I got it off the trailer and it fit perfectly in my shed. It does seem to idle high imo, but I'll have to check into that. Also, how long do the clutches typically last? Not saying it's ready to go, but it sure is noisy. I thought maybe that's because it idles high, idk. Need some seat time on it.

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