Are Ferris zero-turn mowers really smoother?

[Dadnatron]

I demoed a 3200Z WITHOUT the fancy seat. I have to say, I was impressed with the suspension of the machine itself. I have a LOT of tough fenceline/farm mowing. No lawn work to speak of, and I was extremely happy with the smoothness. If I get one, I'd get the suspension seat as well... but honestly, I wouldn't be disappointed with only using the machine suspension. My only comparison is an old Gravely without any suspension and a 10yr old beaten down seat. But, I can honestly say, the machine suspension was fantastic.

And on a side note, I have many big trees scattered throughout my pastures. I was just mowing around the trees and leaving everything else alone. So I would have 50-100yds between trees over smooth pasture. When I 'put the hammer down' those 37 ponies would kick into gear enough to put me on the verge of backing off. I've never been frightened of the speed of a ZTR... but without blades spinning and just moving from one place to another... those things really move.

 

[fgsiii]

I demoed a 3200Z WITHOUT the fancy seat. I have to say, I was impressed with the suspension of the machine itself. I have a LOT of tough fenceline/farm mowing. No lawn work to speak of, and I was extremely happy with the smoothness. If I get one, I'd get the suspension seat as well... but honestly, I wouldn't be disappointed with only using the machine suspension. My only comparison is an old Gravely without any suspension and a 10yr old beaten down seat. But, I can honestly say, the machine suspension was fantastic.

And on a side note, I have many big trees scattered throughout my pastures. I was just mowing around the trees and leaving everything else alone. So I would have 50-100yds between trees over smooth pasture. When I 'put the hammer down' those 37 ponies would kick into gear enough to put me on the verge of backing off. I've never been frightened of the speed of a ZTR... but without blades spinning and just moving from one place to another... those things really move.

I have a 13 year old Ferris Z1500 that does not have any suspension in the seat, just the shock absorbers on each wheel and I find that it rides much smoother than my neighbor's Toro that has no suspension. That said, I have ordered a suspension seat from HF to make my ride even smoother. I'll post a review once I get it installed and I use it a time or two.