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waving from a ZT mower

Started by Den Socling, April 09, 2017, 02:52:59 PM

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Den Socling

I think my neighbors get a kick out of waving at me while I'm mowing. They can't be smiling like that just because they are happy to see me.  :D The first one today got me. When I waved back, the mower took a sharp dive to the right. But I saw the next one coming and I carefully positioned my right hand between the two bars so that I was able to wave back.  :)

gspren

   Most of my mowing is so far from the road that the neighbors don't see me. I would like to try a ZT someday.
Stihl 041, 044 & 261, Kubota 400 RTV, Kubota BX 2670, Ferris Zero turn

Den Socling

Once you have used a ZT, you will never again consider a conventional mower.

TKehl

Had the same trouble on a skid steer once.   :D  At least it turned to the ditch instead of the car.   ::)

Much more cautious now.   :)
In the long run, you make your own luck – good, bad, or indifferent. Loretta Lynn

sawguy21

 :D :D They tend to do that without both hands on the controls.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

Ox

Quote from: Den Socling on April 09, 2017, 03:33:46 PM
Once you have used a ZT, you will never again consider a conventional mower.
How very true.  What's worse is having one then having to sell it cause you needed the money then can only afford a garbage rider.
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

Kbeitz

I love drifting around trees with them but it sure is hard on the lawn.
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

gww

I have so many moles and tire tracks in my yard that all the scuff marks I make with the tires on my mower really don't hurt the looks of my yard.  Mine does 12 miles per hour and that is the speed I like to try and mow at.  Gives a whole new meaning to the term "shake, rattle and roll".  I can get done in an hour plus what used to be a 4 hour lawn as long as my kidneys can take it.

using it is like going to the go cart track and is more fun then the ole pull forward, back up, pull forward to go around trees and stuff.

Cheers
gww

Deese

Cutting grass at 12mph is gettin' after it.
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

Ox

Is waving from a zero turn like being a one legged man in a butt kicking contest?  Or a scuba diver with one flipper?
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

gww

Deese
QuoteCutting grass at 12mph is gettin' after it.

Yes, sometimes I get off the mower and it seems like the ground is moving while I am standing still.  If I add the three acre field behind my house, I can get car sick, but I do get-r-done.
Cheers
gww

slider

Vick and I looked at one last year.I priced one at our local saw shop.They were dang close to lows and I wanted to support this business . My question to him was how do you have a beer and mow with this thing ? After a short demonstration we bought the mower. After all he is like most of us, you get home have a beer and mow grass. I love the dang thing. At her place in Brunswick Ga we went from 2 and one half hrs to I hr and 15 minutes.
The best part for me was buying from some one that we trust.
al glenn

Deese

Quote from: gww on April 10, 2017, 05:35:16 PM
Deese
QuoteCutting grass at 12mph is gettin' after it.

Yes, sometimes I get off the mower and it seems like the ground is moving while I am standing still.  If I add the three acre field behind my house, I can get car sick, but I do get-r-done.
Cheers
gww

Oh yeah. I used to cut grass for a living after college and have had 2 hydrostatic zt John Deere mowers since. After riding all day, yes--everything is still moving in the distance. Wierd.
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

gww

I went through two and a half big store mowers in about 15 years and I am not one of them 2nd or 3rd gear mowers.  Top speed all the time.  The ztr is an unbelieveable time saver compared to my old riders in high gear.
It is rough but worth it.  I can't believe it took me so long to figure that out.
Cheers
gww

Ps It does seem like it is a gas hog compared to the riders and amount of ground mowed.  I might have a leak at the carb though.

Den Socling

I've thought the same thing about mine. It does burn through a gallon of gas quickly but if you compare that to the amount of work it is doing, it probably isn't worse than other riders.

Kbeitz

I put a Ferris in a pond one time when one of the steering sticks snapped off.
Collector and builder of many things.
Love machine shop work
and Wood work shop work
And now a saw mill work

Roxie

Cowboy Bob has a Woods mower, and unless he is pulling 7 G's on the turns, he ain't happy.  I refuse to watch.   :D

You can take the man out of the rodeo, but you'll never take the rodeo out of that man.
Say when

21incher

I went out to buy a ZT and the dealer talked me out of it because my yard has a steep hill with a pond at the bottom.  :o
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

sandhills

Our old landlord had a zt, I don't recall the brand but had never heard of it before.  Built like a tank, way over powered, and yes, you can mow at 12 mph  ;D.

Deese

Quote from: 21incher on April 11, 2017, 08:17:16 AM
I went out to buy a ZT and the dealer talked me out of it because my yard has a steep hill with a pond at the bottom.  :o

21incher, you need one of those new remote control mowers  ;D 8)
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

Ox

Quote from: Kbeitz on April 11, 2017, 07:23:17 AM
I put a Ferris in a pond one time when one of the steering sticks snapped off.
:D :D :D  That sucks...
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

petefrom bearswamp

My lawn is not all level and the slopes scare me.
I'll stick to my JD 728 which mows, blows snow and vacuums up clippings and leaves.
Regarding the beer I find i have to drink pretty  fast or it goes flat from the vibration.
BUT I do it anyway.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

Den Socling

I was curious about all of the talk about ZT's on slopes. Mine is wide and I sit relatively low so I couldn't see how it would be more likely to tip on a slope than a conventional riding mower. If you Google "is it safe to use a ZT on a slope", you'll find that the problem is actually the front wheels. You don't have control of them. If you aren't good at controlling the back wheels, the front can spin downhill and out of control.

sawguy21

They steer like a shopping cart and need to be controlled by judicious use of the sticks. They also can be rolled but it takes some effort and considerable inattention. Toro and others have models with two short sticks placed between the thighs, they are designed to be operated one handed with a twisting motion which takes getting used to. My first time on one didn't end well, it was a demo at a sales meeting held at a hotel. I ended up in the flower bed with the Christmas lights tangled in the blades. :embarassed: Hotel management either didn't notice or quietly billed our distributor but the sales rep never let me forget it.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

ScottAR

Slopes on a zt can be spooky at first,  Just have to remember the downhill tire has the traction. Keep the back tire pressure equal as they drive funny if one gets low. Go slow on slopes...  less than 12 mph anyway.  Flatter ground; warp speed Mr. Sulu....

Also, one thing I've noticed...  I get less scuffing if I back up a few inches to swivel the front caster wheels the direction I want to go before I make the turn.  Overcoming the direction change can sometimes make a back tire spin and bit and then there's a bare spot.  ::)
Scott
"There is much that I need to do, even more that I want to do, and even less that I can do."
[Magicman]

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