Bad Boy mowers
 

My Kawasaki blew up in the JD so Im on the hunt for a new Zero turn, anyone have a BB mower, like dislike....any issues with the hydro pumps ? Im looking at the ZT and the Maverick 60" with the Kawi engine

TIA
Speedy

A few buds have BB mowers and they do fine. Have not heard them do any complaining yet. Not a full commercial mower like the Scag or Hustler. My Hustler has 23 years on it and only issue was deck bearings at about 20 years

John Sr worked for Toro for 44 years so their all I know and love them as a golf course owner for 25 years. 👌

We have a bad boy at the airport that is a couple of years old. I am not impressed. Not nearly the mower as our Skags or Hustlers. The hydraulics are so uneven from side to side it makes it very unpleasant to operate, wheels break off the deck constantly, just not a quality piece

what model is this and how old ??

If you want a real commercial mower get a scag. Ex mark and Ferris are real good also

How many hours on the JD?

My mom bought one last year, I'm not sure of the model and it had a kawi engine on it. She mows quite a few yards with her side business and wasn't impressed with it at all. She has always ran Hustler mower before trying this one out. It's sold and a new hustler was bought in it's place.

around 800 hrs on the GX345 I'm kind of surprised it crapped out, I tore the heads off and cant see an issue but when 1 of the pistons is on the down stroke it will move in the bore like rod is not tight on the crank, Im not looking for a commercial mower

Dad has a commercial duty bad boy with over 1K hours. Filters for the hydro system, general maintenance and spare hubs if you hit something. His has been great. It’s like 35HP, it’s a horse. My BIL has one with a little cat diesel and he said nothing but good things. I’m still running my Deere 495X :evilb:

Bad boys are not commercial mowers, that being said the higher models are pretty good for the money. I know some models had issues with the hydros but I think they have since worked them out. I mow 3 acres at home and have a commercial 60" Exmark and can't imagine going to any less of a mower, but I'm also one of those guys that is ocd about his yard.

I’m picking up my spartan HZ-HD,54” tomorrow.($6,000.00) plus $1,000.00 worth of options.

.

Toro, exmark or scag

Here’s the story of spartan.

https://www.landscapemanagement.net/...-off-in-court/.

Very pleased with my new eXmark Z-Series (Kohler powered) with 60" deck. A lot depends on how many acres you are cutting whether to go commercial grade.

It is a Outlaw XP, aprox 72" cut with a big Vanguard engine 35 or 36 hp I think. It is 2-3 years old. The guys that mow here claim that it has lots of power, but we only have one guy that will even use it. Everyone else hops on a Skag or the 104 Hustler. We have a new 15' Toro with an enclosed cab that is supposed to be delivered in a couple weeks, will see how it works out.

Any input on Gravely..............Id like to stay in the 5500 to 6k range..........

Thats definitely bs! 800 hours is nothing. That’s definitely not common. If I was you and the rest of the mower is good and it should be. I would replace it with a Briggs Van guard. I put almost 4K hours on my JD with the 22hp vg

love my gravely. this is my third summer with 125hrs

The commercial shop near me sells a lot of exmarks but they also have Ferris, which I’ve wanted to try.
They have full suspensions.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...f43702766.jpeg

Its a 2004 and looks almost new, new seat, hood,powder coated deck, new bumpers ect, Im going to repower it latter on, the issue is finding an engine the the correct bolt pattern and crank size for the clutch is the issue

what model ?

I have a Bad Boy ZT Elite 54". I love it and they aren't a light duty Lowes/Depot JD or Cub Cadet special. They're much more rugged and Made in the USA.
I had one major issue in the last eight years, but it wasn't the mower's fault. I had to park it in a temporary shelter for a little while and a mouse had built a nest that I couldn't see. It caused an upper crank oil seal to pop up leaking oil and starved the crank. It's a really bad design and common for Kohler apparently. By the time I got it across the yard to my garage it ended up seizing. From the time I noticed a problem to the time I shut it off was about 45 seconds. The Kohler wasn't rebuildable due to not using bushings. I found another brand new engine and installed it for $800 which is 1/2 what they're going for now. Other than that the motor never gave me a problem and the new one hasn't since I installed it.
I'd definitely buy one again. Like was mentioned, my model isn't commercial. The blades are slower than commercial. Since I bought it I put a mulching kit on and a roller for the lines. I probably wouldn't buy the roller again unless I was mowing a flat lawn with no contours.
Here are some pics of the seized engine. Someone will probably say I ran it too long after the start or they could have rebuilt it. The answer would be no on both accounts... It really took nothing for this to happen.
I also included a couple pics of the hydros on mine. Not a single problem and I'm sure you can tell I mow a lot. I have ten acres. Had ten in Michigan before I moved to. I bought it in 2014.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...c1425080da.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...fa42677029.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...04784d8599.jpg


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...8a56600e91.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...ef0b68519d.jpg

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...a3c3a9575b.jpg
Went to a local JD dealer to see a couple used tractors ( no warranty ) so I ordered a new one 4 year 500 hr warranty, should be here in a couple weeks, thanks for the input guys

Speedy

I cut about 6 acres with my Scag Turf Tiger, with the Kawasaki liquid cooled eng. and it runs great. One important thing to look at for longevity is the ground you cut on. In my case I have quite a few hills, some fairly steep, which is rough on any mower. If you are cutting flat ground and are not looking for speed most of the zero turns will work for you. If the conditions are like mine I would suggest looking for a used commercial mower like others have suggested. You will quickly trash anything else.

I guess it comes down to budget. I looked at a number of lines a couple of years ago and ended up going with the Simplicity. (Same as Ferris but is more of their consumer line) https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net...4f&oe=60D249CC

Ahh no

At least you got a long warranty with it. JD is completely offshore quality now for their consumer lawn equipment. Not the same JD from a few years back. I used to love them.
Good luck with it. Hope it works out well for you.

scag super z 62",,have had it since 1997,has over 4k hours.cuts close to 40k sq/ft every 4 days.motor blew(kohler) up 2yrs ago(replacd w/ brigs 25hp(have a 24hp honda as back up now) and had to replace bearing in one of the hydro drives(no longer available,,but easy to fix),,plus a couple of mandrels and belts.
good luck w/ the JD,,

the build quality is still there on the JD, Im not concerned

I have an uncle that has held contracts for cutting at number of parks and schools for over 25 years. He now only runs JD zero turns and the 11' bat-wing models and, has on occasion run into a dud that gives grief with one issue after another (flips units every other year). Every brand is susceptible.

"His" biggest reason for JD loyalty is service parts and availability with his dealer (the same as Merc power vs. custom).

Upkeep, proper and preventative maintenance goes hand in hand with the adage of you get what you pay for... in this case a cheaper big box store mower with a stamped deck is just that

As a contrary line of thought for loyalty, for my uncles farm tractors - ANYTHING but a Deer if it has a computer. Another case of "Proprietary property" and only Deere can diagnose and "when" they get around to getting to a service call over a cheap sensor.

Good Luck with the Deere.