first zero turn. Looking at gravely zt xl 42/Ariens ikon xl 42

I have never owned or ridden a zero turn. My yard is around 1/2 acre and I mow from April to December. I have been using a 22" push mower. Getting older and want something quick and easy. I'm looking for those who own this machine, those who think there's a better mower in the 42" cut to give there opinion. I have been researching mowers for a month. Gravely specifications are as follows. Kohler 7000 pro 725 cc with smart choke or Kawasaki fr 726cc. zt2800 transmission, fab deck 10-gauge, 3 blades, and weighs 661 lbs. I often look at the weight to help me determine how well made something is. This mower in this residential model is one of the heaviest. There are some commercial 36" models that weigh more with better components but $1500 to $2500 more. I am a mechanic so I can fix anything that breaks. After tax this mower was quoted at $4,100 kohler + $150 for the kow. Ariens model is Identical from what I see. Thanks for reading.

Not familiar with these mowers but personally I'd shell out the extra $ for the Kawi engine - I always do.

A friend of mine purchased a Hustler Raptor SD 48” w/ Kawasaki. Available Kolhler and 42” also.(all Hydro 2800s)
$3700+taxView attachment 42720

I have a Snapper 360Z 25hp/52” w/Briggs, and HydroGear2800 $3699+ tax. I happy with.

Gravely and Ariens are the same company.
One you go to a ZTR, you will never go back.

I did a quick comparison to the Raptor sd 42 and the two differences I see are the raptor has 2 blades instead of 3, and weighs 73 lb less than the Ariens. 587 vs 661 lb. 74 lb. is quite a bit of extra something. I will take a look at it for a better comparison. Keeping my options open. What's better 2 blades or 3? The Ariens only comes with a Kohler where the gravely you get a choice Kohler or Kow. I did get a good quote on the Ariens for $3,500 +tax.. Thanks again for everyone's input.

Raptor has a C channel weak frame.

I was on a kick last year where I wanted an Ariens Ikon X but what ultimately steered me away was the narrow tires. I believe the XL has wider tires which is crucial for keeping such a heavy machine from rutting up your lawn in the spring and fall when the ground is softer. The Gravely and Ariens have a nice deck height adjustment and have a very solid feel about them. Also, I am not sure if the number of blades under the deck matters more than having one more blade to sharpen or buy and one more spindle to replace if and when they go bad. The debate of Kawasaki vs Kohler is one that will never die or "prove" to show one better than the other. There are certainly better Kawasaki engines than those in the FR lineup and better Kohler's than those in the 7000 series.

With all of that being said, you have to determine your needs and wants, and then justfy whatever price you are willing to pay. Either mower with either engine will serve you and your 1/2 acre well.

My neighbors yard is badly rutted, He had a Toro Z-Master & seems to have only mowed same directions. :confused2:

mikeroc said:

I did a quick comparison to the Raptor sd 42 and the two differences I see are the raptor has 2 blades instead of 3, and weighs 73 lb less than the Ariens. 587 vs 661 lb. 74 lb. is quite a bit of extra something. I will take a look at it for a better comparison. Keeping my options open. What's better 2 blades or 3? The Ariens only comes with a Kohler where the gravely you get a choice Kohler or Kow. I did get a good quote on the Ariens for $3,500 +tax.. Thanks again for everyone's input.

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A 3 blade deck will be a lot chaper to run in the long run.
Blades are cheaper.
They are the same width & thickness bit are shorter so far less likely to bend .
OTOH being lighter, they have less momentum in very long grass or heavy mowing.
The spindle bearings are the same but have less load on a 3 bade deck so tend to last longer.
Similar story for the belt & clutch, both under less load on a 3 blade deck so both will last longer.
Better air flow and better overlap so fewer mowhawks when turning .

7394 said:

My neighbors yard is badly rutted, He had a Toro Z-Master & seems to have only mowed same directions. :confused2:

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I have a 48" zero turn that weighs 912 lbs without me on it (so add another 200 lbs to that). I never cut when the grass is even close to damp or wet but sometimes that ground just doesn't want to firm up; I still get ruts. I do alternate mowing patters which is when I notice the ruts the most. My mower has absolutely no suspension or give anywhere so I feel every single bump and rut in my lawn. Other than having it rolled out, I will always have a rut here and there.

As for the 2 vs 3 blades, just a quick Google search found a new set of Ikon X blades (similar to Gravely ZT) for 39.99 whereas Raptor blades are around $32.99. Local dealer charges $3 per blade to sharpen regardless of blade size. 3 blades will always cost more to sharpen than 2. As for the other stuff, it's all relative. If one spindle goes bad on either it's the cost of one spindle, if you want to replace them all after one goes bad as a preventative maintenance, it will cost more to do 3.

This may not matter at all since that size machine on half of an acre is only seeing 25-30 hours of use per year.