So I bought a 73 hour used unit thinking I might like it better than my 17 HP 42" jd lawn tractor on my whopping .6 acre lawn. Plus I have some friends close by that have some health issues...thought I could help a few out w/some lawn mowing for free cause I enjoy it.
So on the positive I find the cut quality after getting everything leveled to be really excellent....even w/standard blades. Its cleaner than my Deere which I was happy with. I have some gator blades coming for fall leaf grinding and the spring wet season. The ride is nice and soft w/the big tires set at 10 PS I.
Now for what I hate......I simply can't find an rpm range where everything isn't buzzing or rattling. Even my neighbors are shaking their heads at what this thing sounds like compared to the Deere. I suppose I should get it to a dealer and have him look it over and see if its normal but the seller just had it to his dealer for servicing so I'd think if anything was "out of range" it would have been caught.
The ergonomics of this thing kill me. I'm 6' tall and w/the seat all the way back and bars in the raised position I virtually have to rub my knees together to work the sticks and i need more seat travel...which is there but they didn't make the slots longer even though they could have. My back is throbbing after 1/2 hour. What I gain in the nice soft "big tire" ride is terribly reversed by the crowded operator platform. Lastly...and not the machines fault...I hate seeing
spin burns on the corner and doing 3point turns isn't saving me any time verses the tractor doing the same (it has a pretty tight turn radius on its own).
Guess I'll get it to my dealer for a look over. Kinda getting the feeling I "over estimated" this thing for a "in town" residential machine.....but that's why I wanted a low hour used unit in case I wanted to bail out on it later. Right now the only thing that makes me want to keep it is the really nice cut. Guess I need to check out the more comfy looking "sissy" machines w/steering wheel!?
So on the positive I find the cut quality after getting everything leveled to be really excellent....even w/standard blades. Its cleaner than my Deere which I was happy with. I have some gator blades coming for fall leaf grinding and the spring wet season. The ride is nice and soft w/the big tires set at 10 PS I.
Now for what I hate......I simply can't find an rpm range where everything isn't buzzing or rattling. Even my neighbors are shaking their heads at what this thing sounds like compared to the Deere. I suppose I should get it to a dealer and have him look it over and see if its normal but the seller just had it to his dealer for servicing so I'd think if anything was "out of range" it would have been caught.
The ergonomics of this thing kill me. I'm 6' tall and w/the seat all the way back and bars in the raised position I virtually have to rub my knees together to work the sticks and i need more seat travel...which is there but they didn't make the slots longer even though they could have. My back is throbbing after 1/2 hour. What I gain in the nice soft "big tire" ride is terribly reversed by the crowded operator platform. Lastly...and not the machines fault...I hate seeing
spin burns on the corner and doing 3point turns isn't saving me any time verses the tractor doing the same (it has a pretty tight turn radius on its own).
Guess I'll get it to my dealer for a look over. Kinda getting the feeling I "over estimated" this thing for a "in town" residential machine.....but that's why I wanted a low hour used unit in case I wanted to bail out on it later. Right now the only thing that makes me want to keep it is the really nice cut. Guess I need to check out the more comfy looking "sissy" machines w/steering wheel!?