Thinking about buying a Bid Dog ZTR

[edd]

i looked at gravely but did not like the seat......just couldnt sit comfortably on it.........the price of the ftsd demo really sealed the deal for me

 

[Old Goat]

Got that BIG DOG home today.

Mama & I are both very impressed!
Those 20 X 12 rear tires are tops for traction.
I'm feeling like I made a good choice.

Now, if only we can learn to drive a ZTR properly soon!

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

Got that BIG DOG home today.

Mama & I are both very impressed!
Those 20 X 12 rear tires are tops for traction.
I'm feeling like I made a good choice.

Now, if only we can learn to drive a ZTR properly soon!

That's awesome! Thanks for the pictures! I hope you both enjoy the mower! :biggrin:

 

[djdicetn]

Got that BIG DOG home today.

Mama & I are both very impressed!
Those 20 X 12 rear tires are tops for traction.
I'm feeling like I made a good choice.

Now, if only we can learn to drive a ZTR properly soon!

Old Goat,

Looks like you may have to arm wrestle Mama to get to drive that ZTR:0)
Driving one of these after exclusively using a lawn tractor before is definitely a learning experience. My experience would recommend 1/3 to 1/2 throttle and drive it around the yard getting a feel for taking off, stopping and turning. After you begin to get comfortable go ahead and go to 3/4 to full throttle, find a clear area and practice going one direction, stopping and "changing directions" aka 180 degree turnarounds(by pushing one lever forward and pulling back on the other lever). At first, you may see some divets(circular areas where grass/ground is "twisted"). This was the hardest thing for me to get used to....what you have to learn to do is slow down to almost a complete stop and make sure you push forward/pull back on the opposite levers "simultaneaously/evenly" because to keep from making divets the trick is "both wheels" have to be moving at the same time in different directions!!! The natural thing to do at first is just push forward on one or pull back on one and when the "other tire" remains "stationary" that is what causes the divet(the stationary tire just spinning on the lawn in one place). After a while you'll get used to how to turn that Big Dog in an about face without leaving divets(I only leave an "occaisional" one and Iv'e just got 6 hours on my first ZTR). This is what will cut your mowing time in half(not having to "mow in circles"). I make 1-2 "circular" cuts around my front yard, then I start the back & forth "turnaround" cutting going into the perimeter area already mowed to perform the turnaround. You & mama will be mowing like the pros before you know it!!! Enjoy:0)

 

[Old Goat]

Thanks guys,

Yes, we have already gotten to the "practice makes perfect" stage.
We only drove it around for about 15 minutes a piece, but learned a few "don'ts".

Mom learned what it feels like to have a tree stop you without using the braking mechanism, and I learned about the "divot's" thing!

Mind you, we didn't make a passing grade, but we did learn where the "classroom" was located!

Weather is going to get real nice for practicing here soon, so maybe by real grass cutting time we'll have it pretty good.
Can't wait to see who gets the most "Oops".

I'm already thinking about inventing a "mental telepathy transducer" box to control this machine. Should make me rich IF I can perfect it!

Charles

 

[djdicetn]

Thanks guys,

Yes, we have already gotten to the "practice makes perfect" stage.
We only drove it around for about 15 minutes a piece, but learned a few "don'ts".

Mom learned what it feels like to have a tree stop you without using the braking mechanism, and I learned about the "divot's" thing!

Mind you, we didn't make a passing grade, but we did learn where the "classroom" was located!

Weather is going to get real nice for practicing here soon, so maybe by real grass cutting time we'll have it pretty good.
Can't wait to see who gets the most "Oops".

I'm already thinking about inventing a "mental telepathy transducer" box to control this machine. Should make me rich IF I can perfect it!

Charles

Old Goat,

Tell Mama to not feel too bad about the tree. The reason I gave the "take it easy at first" advice is because of the very first time I drove my new ZTR when I got it home. My father-in-law & I picked it up and while he was loading up my old Craftsman lawn tractor to take to my son, I was taking my first "practice ride" in the front yard. So after about 15 minutes at 1/3 throttle, I was getting "comfortable" with the controls and thought...."this bad boy goes 10mph, I wanna see how that feels"......BAD IDEA!!! I ended up hitting a 4" pcv pipe that sticks up about 4" out of the ground where I change my septic tank field lines, with the deck breaking the pcv pipe off at the ground......freaked me out and at that point I "froze up", looked up and was headed right towards my wife's 200lb wishing well(and couldn't pull back). I hit that thing square and knocked it about 6 feet into the air. Significant damage to the wishing well(made out of landscape lumber) but because of the commercial build of my Gravely absolutely no evidence of damage to the mower aside from a couple of mars on the paint on the front deck, wheel casters and frame. I checked the deck and it was still perfectly leveled. Fortunately, my dealer gave me some Gravely touch-up red paint:0)

Again, that speaks volumes about how well built these ZTR's are........but I guess your wife can imagine how embarassing that was in front of my father-in-law and how I felt about wrecking my brand new ZTR that was 15 minutes old:0) I'm just now getting where I can laugh about it...but believe me my whole family has had several bouts of rolling on the floor laughing just trying to visualize my experience since then(that would have made America's Funniest Videos.....or maybe a really good Gravely TV ad:0)

Maybe our posts will spark some more "true confessions" by others that had similar experiences the first time they ever drove a ZTR!!!

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

Maybe our posts will spark some more "true confessions" by others that had similar experiences the first time they ever drove a ZTR!!!

This guy ran over some flowers!

 

[Old Goat]

Learned a long time ago to laugh at myself FIRST!

:laughing:

 

[asmink]

Today demo 2013 Big Dog X Diablo with 60 inch deck and 27hp Kawasaki motor. First off I am a Scag mower all the way , so I thought. The dealer were I live started sell them. They said take one and try it. Have a football / scoocer field that I take care of and it was needing to be mowed. IT was overseed with rye grass that is thick. MY Scag Turf Tiger cuts it good, but the Big Dog did a better job cutting it. Something that I like was how fast it can move, smooth hydro, the cut was very good nice job spreading the clipping. Thing that I did not like was the seat seem short but was ok, deck heights are in 1/2 inch mark I like 1/4 inch marks. It seem to be built just like the hustler. The decks are the big difference I can see. How well it will last is the big question. Here is some vidoe you can look at. Big Dog mower - YouTube / Big dog mower - YouTube. Hope this helps.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

Today demo 2013 Big Dog X Diablo with 60 inch deck and 27hp Kawasaki motor. First off I am a Scag mower all the way , so I thought. The dealer were I live started sell them. They said take one and try it. Have a football / scoocer field that I take care of and it was needing to be mowed. IT was overseed with rye grass that is thick. MY Scag Turf Tiger cuts it good, but the Big Dog did a better job cutting it. Something that I like was how fast it can move, smooth hydro, the cut was very good nice job spreading the clipping. Thing that I did not like was the seat seem short but was ok, deck heights are in 1/2 inch mark I like 1/4 inch marks. It seem to be built just like the hustler. The decks are the big difference I can see. How well it will last is the big question. Here is some vidoe you can look at. Big Dog mower - YouTube / Big dog mower - YouTube. Hope this helps.

Good input! It's surprising it cut better than a Scag! :thumbsup: