Are Kubota Z-turn mowers good products?

candersen10 · Jun 19, 2009

Does anyone have a 54 inch or 60 inch Kubota Diesel Z-turn mower? I've heard that they overheat sometime, has anyone had this issue? Does the mower have enough traction on slopes? Can you get ag tires for it rather than turf tires?

Are there any manufacturers that I should look at instead of Kubota? Scag, John Deere, Exmark etc?

Diamondpilot · Jun 19, 2009

Check out Ferris.

Chris

Dozernut · Jun 19, 2009

I have a ZD21 60" that I have used for six years, it has yet to overheat! Great mower, pretty much bullet proof but they are heavy and a little pricey. They work well on gentle slopes but don't do well around the edge of the pond (don't ask). They are not an all terrain mower but excel on flat and gently sloped ground.
I have heard the Scags do really well on the slopes but have no experience with them. Our local Rural King carries the Scag but are switching to Hustler. This is not due to quality but a change in company policy. Scag will not let them order a single mower or a small number. They (Rural King) were told they would have to order in batches of 20-30 mowers, which is not feasible for a small rural community, their loss.

avgguy · Jun 19, 2009

I also have the ZD21 60". Have had it 3 yrs, it has never overheated...yet anyways. It is a very pricey mower, but seems to be worth it in my opinion. Make sure it has the retro-fitted pump reservior (which gives it more hydro fluid capacity). The reservior took care of the weak responsiveness the machine had without the retro-fit. I had to take it back three times to the dealer before they installed the larger reservior under the right rear fender. Made all the difference in the world !!!! Like Dozernut stated.... it does not like very steep slopes, it will slide away with you and does not slow down on steep slopes. But on gentle slopes, it is a fantastic machine. Good luck with your selection.

FTCKUBOTA · Jun 19, 2009

very good product!!!

Redneck in training · Jun 20, 2009

We have old Grasshopper 725 with high traction tires and wide back that we bought used for $7000. It does fairly well on the slopes up to about 25 to 30 deg. It doesn't have enough traction on steeper slopes. We are mowing a pond dam where we have to go around to the top and diagonally down. The slope is about 45 to 50 deg. I tried to mow the dam sideways but the mower slides. The mower is used about 10 to 15 hours a week during the season. 200 to 250 hours a year. My wife also uses it to pull a trailer around the place with dirt and gardening supply. I bought Grasshopper because it looks like made by a village blacksmith. I was thinking that I could make most of the parts when something breaks. So far in past five years it had several repairs: Generator died due to corrosion, electromagnetic clutch failed and a valve seat in the engine fell out. The mower has bunch of grease points.

MessickFarmEqu · Jun 20, 2009

If you've actually priced a diesel mower from any other company you'd find the Kubota diesels are priced very well and are much more tractor like than many 'mowers'. Still alot of money just to mow grass though. I also sell Ferris. I'd own a Ferris 500/1500 over a Kubota ZG, but once you hit the price range of a 2000 (still gas) you can basicly go buy a Kubota ZD which is a heck of a lot more machine.

coobie · Jun 20, 2009

candersen10 said:
Does anyone have a 54 inch or 60 inch Kubota Diesel Z-turn mower? I've heard that they overheat sometime, has anyone had this issue? Does the mower have enough traction on slopes? Can you get ag tires for it rather than turf tires?

Are there any manufacturers that I should look at instead of Kubota? Scag, John Deere, Exmark etc?

I have a 2007 kubota ZD 326 pro commerical with 60 inch deck and NEVER have had a overheating problem.coobie

kubota bob · Jun 20, 2009

I have a ZD21 with a 60-inch pro-deck with 320 hours that I purchased new in 2004. I mow 5 acres of nearly level lawn - some of it is pretty rough - all of it is pretty thich grass. The rough part was a field that a couple beef cattle fed on, and afer that, I used to bush hog monthly. I usually mow 2 times/week in the spring and early summer, then once a week in the late summer through fall.

Previous to the ZD, I had a JD 445 with 60-inch deck for 7 years. Nice tractor, but I wanted to finish mowing in less than 3-1/2 hours. Before I bought the Kubota, I looked at Xmark, Toro, and Scag. I really wanted the diesel engine for fuel efficiency and longevity. The guys selling gasoline powered mowers said that they recommended a 27 or 28 HP engine for their 60-inch decks and that the 21 HP diesel would underpower the 60-inch deck. My 445 had a 22 HP gas engine and did fine. I must say that the diesel does terrific in tall wet grass - lots of torque.

I have never had an over-heating problem. I recently had an issue where the engine would slow down when just starting to mow, almost like someone pushed the throttle back. I changed both fuel filters and that fixed the problem. I have a few maple tree roots to mow over and kept breaking the rear gage wheel axles on the mower deck. I had them adjusted to the recommended height according to the book. My dealer advised me to set them to the next higher hole - no more problem.

Before I purchased I test mowed my place with a Toro and Kubota. Both dealers brought them out the same week and left them for me to use. Great side-by-side test. Both had 60-inch decks. The Toro had a 28 HP air cooled gas engine. Both had plenty of power. One of the things that sold me on the Kubota was the articulating (pivoting) front axle. I have a couple of gentle swales that run approximately 400 feet down through the wide lawn beside my house. I like to mow diagonally and the Kubota made a nice smooth even cut over the swales where the Toro with the fixed front axle made scallops when cutting diagonally accross the swales - looked really bad.

One thing that I learned when I got the ZD21 is that it doesn't like soft ground, especially if there is no sod/grass to gain traction. I have gotten tuck on level wet ground where there was very little or no grass for traction.

Happy mowing!
Bob