Infrequent new poster on here, but I hope this is of some interest to Gravely owners/fans:
Just getting around to proudly showing off my first new mower in almost 20 years - a 2013 Gravely XD3 self-propelled with a 175cc Subaru engine. I think I made a solid, long term purchase with the XD3. Purchased in late April, this mower does not feature a blade clutch, nor is it electric start. After almost two months of use, I can tell of the good and bad points of this mower, and there are darn few bad so far!
The Subaru EA175V engine is very nice! It starts well with two pulls when cold, runs smoothly and has lots of power for long, wet grass. I run pure premium unleaded gasoline with Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer, and it is well-muffled for the neighborhood. A handy fuel shutoff is a nice feature that I use every time on the Subaru.
The engine is not perfect, however. After less than 2 hours runtime on the clock, it is difficult to restart when hot. The motor feels like it has seized up on the compression stroke, and not being very muscular, I pull for a long time before it starts again. I attribute that to the emissions carb. I should have sprung the extra for the blade clutch.:frown: And despite having a broad "comfort-style" grip on the engine run lever, my hands cramp quickly keeping the engine going. I really should have sprung for the blade clutch.:frown:
The XD3 has several nice features, including an adjustable handle, one-hand height adjustment, an easy-grip drive lever and everything needed to convert from rear bagger to mulcher to side discharge. I've been using just the side discharge setup, so I can only vouch that it works well, with some plugging in tall, wet grass. It has a 14 gauge steel deck, so that should give me a long lifetime of use.
Negative points: Rear wheel drive is tough for me to wrangle around the many yard obstructions I deal with. It's my fault, (not the mower's) for not getting a front driver. Coming from a push mower, this thing is a rocket! I have to feather the drive lever to get down to a comfortable walking speed. The quick hose attachment eases deck cleanup, although they recommend waiting 1/2 hour after mowing to run the hose, requiring a difficult hot/warm engine restart.
I paid list price for my Gravely, but since I ran my last Murray for nearly 20 years, I am not complaining. My dealer here in central New York (near Syracuse) is yet to be tested, but he did provide free delivery, which I appreciate.
Just getting around to proudly showing off my first new mower in almost 20 years - a 2013 Gravely XD3 self-propelled with a 175cc Subaru engine. I think I made a solid, long term purchase with the XD3. Purchased in late April, this mower does not feature a blade clutch, nor is it electric start. After almost two months of use, I can tell of the good and bad points of this mower, and there are darn few bad so far!
The Subaru EA175V engine is very nice! It starts well with two pulls when cold, runs smoothly and has lots of power for long, wet grass. I run pure premium unleaded gasoline with Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer, and it is well-muffled for the neighborhood. A handy fuel shutoff is a nice feature that I use every time on the Subaru.
The engine is not perfect, however. After less than 2 hours runtime on the clock, it is difficult to restart when hot. The motor feels like it has seized up on the compression stroke, and not being very muscular, I pull for a long time before it starts again. I attribute that to the emissions carb. I should have sprung the extra for the blade clutch.:frown: And despite having a broad "comfort-style" grip on the engine run lever, my hands cramp quickly keeping the engine going. I really should have sprung for the blade clutch.:frown:
The XD3 has several nice features, including an adjustable handle, one-hand height adjustment, an easy-grip drive lever and everything needed to convert from rear bagger to mulcher to side discharge. I've been using just the side discharge setup, so I can only vouch that it works well, with some plugging in tall, wet grass. It has a 14 gauge steel deck, so that should give me a long lifetime of use.
Negative points: Rear wheel drive is tough for me to wrangle around the many yard obstructions I deal with. It's my fault, (not the mower's) for not getting a front driver. Coming from a push mower, this thing is a rocket! I have to feather the drive lever to get down to a comfortable walking speed. The quick hose attachment eases deck cleanup, although they recommend waiting 1/2 hour after mowing to run the hose, requiring a difficult hot/warm engine restart.
I paid list price for my Gravely, but since I ran my last Murray for nearly 20 years, I am not complaining. My dealer here in central New York (near Syracuse) is yet to be tested, but he did provide free delivery, which I appreciate.
