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Ok so my 24 year old toro wheelhorse 314 hydro is finally starting to show some age and I'm thinking of a new zero turn. I have really only looked at two models
1. Hustler Raptor HD 54" 25 Hp Kawasaki engine
2. Simplicity Courier 52" 23hp Briggs professional series engine

They both are close in price right around $4k. I know the simplicity has a few more features than the hustler but the hustler is little more on the commercial side. They Re both running hydro gear 2800 trains as well. I'm just not sure is there is anything else out there work looking at at that price. Any suggestions would be great.

Bobcat CRZ

that works great because I am going to look at the simplicity on Saturday and the same dealer carries the bob-cat as well.

I just bought a Raptor SD 54 three weeks ago after shopping for several months and looking at many different mowers. I liked the Courier 52", the suspension and payload bed made it unique to the other mowers I was looking at. I would love to add the Courier bed to the Raptor SD! I also looked at the Scag Liberty. Same 2800 hydros, Kohler engine, but a 5 year warranty where other mowers (including the Raptor SD) were 3 years. I paid $3800 for the Raptor SD vs $4000 for the Courier vs $4400 for the Scag. The Bobcat CRZ also offers a 5 year warranty. I could not find a dealer who had one, so I did not consider it, but it seems to be a comparable mower at a comparable price. I think it often comes down to color! Yellow for Hustler, Red for Simplicity, Tan for Scag and Green for Bobcat! I chose the Raptor SD because it came with a Kasawaski engine, was lower priced and I really liked working with the dealer, very customer service oriented.

I am leaning more towards the hustler. They come with Koehler engines now but the dealer bought a bunch of he kawasaki versions before they quit making them so all the ones he has are the Kawasaki version.

I bought an Raptor SD48 this spring for the same reason. I liked it best of all the ones I looked at and my dealer also bought a bunch of them with the Kawaski engine. I have been very happy with it so far.

I will still say the toro timecutter is a better mower for a grand less.

If I was to get a SD ( I never will till they fix them) I would go with the kohlor engine. They have more usable power then the Kawasaki.

Hustler all the way!!

Hustler Fastback Sd with the 21hp., Honda and the 48" cut, roll bar and now it is consuming 1 gallon of gas for 2 1/2 hour of use. (sorry that is good from what I have heard)

Go with Service and not by price.

Good luck!:thumbsup:

neetan said:

Hustler all the way!!

Hustler Fastback Sd with the 21hp., Honda and the 48" cut, roll bar and now it is consuming 1 gallon of gas for 2 1/2 hour of use. (sorry that is good from what I have heard)

Go with Service and not by price.

Good luck!:thumbsup:

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My Hustler Raptor SD 60" will be delivered tomorrow morning :smile:

Welcome to the Hustler Nation! :thumbsup:

Lets us know how you like it. I added a digital tachometer to mine, along with the flex forks (mowing for the first time with them after work today), muffler shield and engine guard. Your 60" should come with the engine shield and an upgraded seat standard. I also swapped the standard blades for Oregon G5 blades which I have used with my lawn tractor with great results. So far I have been very pleased.

BoylermanCT said:

Welcome to the Hustler Nation! :thumbsup:

Lets us know how you like it. I added a digital tachometer to mine, along with the flex forks (mowing for the first time with them after work today), muffler shield and engine guard. Your 60" should come with the engine shield and an upgraded seat standard. I also swapped the standard blades for Oregon G5 blades which I have used with my lawn tractor with great results. So far I have been very pleased.

Click to expand...

I will definitely. Yes it does come with the engine guard and the dealer threw I. He striping kit although over winter I am going to work on making one like you can get on big league lawns. Let me know about the flex forks. That was so ring I was looking at as well. I'm excited that the dealer still had a few with the Kawasaki engine on them.

Lowerider4 said:

My Hustler Raptor SD 60" will be delivered tomorrow morning :smile:

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Congratulations !!!! :thumbsup: You have done well, young ZTRrider(Joke)...:laughing:
Now enjoy the ride! Good music, lock the kids inside and pick up all the junk off the lawn.

We will be waiting for your field report on the unit after your first oil change. :smile:

Mowed with the flex forks today, and was able to mow at full speed in most places. It was a smoother ride and the results look great. Almost thinking I should have gone with the SD60 instead of the 54.

Let me know how the 60 mows, as far as smoothness and not scalping. I wish for a little more deck overhang. I have a couple of circular stone wall gardens around a flagpole and the well, and I can't go as close to the wall as I would like. The rear tires clips the stone wall and mess it up. The 60" wouldn't have that issue.

There have been mixed reviews with the flex forks. I am glade they worked for you.

As I was mowing, I was watching the forks rapidly going up and down, absorbing tons of bumps. That's less stress on my poor tired back! The lawn also looked smoother, no circles in the thick grass where you can see the blade went deeper from hitting a dip without suspension. The real test will be moving the back field, which is bumpier than the lawn. Its been in the mid-90's with high humidity for the past few days (heat index of 105), so I am staying in the AC as much as possible. The field can wait!

Don't know how Southerners and Floridians do it all summer long! My northern blood must be too thick!

Glad to see our mods are right on top of things. Not really surprised.