Kubota MMM

[organ grinder]

I have a B7510 with an RCK60-248 Mid-Mount Mower. My old B7200 MMM had a large roller in the center of the rear of the deck. This mower replaced that roller with two solid rubber wheels. In dry weather, they leave an unsightly appearance when mowing. In damp conditions, they tend to dig in and leave ruts. Kubota suggested a roller to replace the wheels, but it would not work. The local dealer and Kubota USA in California have not been able to find a solution. I am so unhappy with this situation that I am thinking of selling the tractor. Has anyone encountered this and been able to solve it?

 

[art]

The deck you have is a ground engaging deck. You might want to try and find one from a turf special which is a suspened deck.

 

[organ grinder]

Actually, I had a BX2200 with a suspended deck. It did a poor job of mowing. Neither the dealer nor the factory service rep could ever get it to cut evenly or to figure out why it wouldn't. That's when I went back to the ground engaging deck like I had on my old B7200 from 1987. Unfortunately, the brightest minds in the Kubota engineering kingdom redesigned the deck, removed the big roller, and substitued two solid rubber tires. Based on my experience, Kubota has not mastered the suspended deck and should have left well enough alone on the ground-engaging deck. Short of finding a solution, I'm ready to sell the tractor and move on to something else outside the Kubota line. Thanks. . . .

 

[Raddad]

Check me if I'm wrong but I think all mowers are suspended or ground engaging. I have the 54" on my B7610 and have noticed the same issue. On my grass I don't think it's bad enough me to want to do anything about. Both decks are about the same weight. Please upload some pictures of the rollers with a tape measure in the picture?

On my deck I would replace the axel with a longer bolt and add two more wheels if I thought it was bad enough? This would put two wheels inside the bracket and two outside increasing weight distribution by 100%. Do you have enough clearance for the additional rollers on a B7510?

 

[Volfandt]

Kubota has not mastered the suspended deck and should have left well enough alone on the ground-engaging deck.

I'll have to respectfully disagree on you on that.
I'm very happy w/the finish cut that the 60" suspended MMM on my BX23 produces. It's as good or better than my 3 previous dedicated lawn & garden tractors, a JD, a Wheel Horse and a Craftsman.
Those MMM's can be a bear to setup correctly but I found that by following the directions that came w/the MMM that I was able to get it setup correctly. With the gatorblades I'm now running in it I'd say it's the best mower I've had to finish mow my lawn, field and former pasture.

Anyways re. your ground engagement MMM. There was a poster on here that had a either a B7510 or B7610 that complained of the exact same situation you have with the rear center wheels leaving marks. How he corrected it was to completely remove those center wheels and make up two chains to "suspend" the rear of the deck. He measured everything up and was very happy with it's performance. He basically had a combination suspended/ground engagement MMM
Sorry that I can't recall his moniker but a search for either "B7510 suspended MMM" or "B7610 suspended MMM" may turn it up. It was a year or so ago.
And like has been mentioned, you may be able to find a B7510 Turf Special MMM and linkage for sale also. There was a poster that sold his setup here within the last year.

Good luck
Volfandt

 

[ihookem]

I also have a 7510 and the only things I don't like are the wimpy 4 ply turf tires and the rollers on the mmm. I asked the dealer and he said I am supposed to keep the rollers off the ground a half inch or so, then it won't dig ruts in the mud. I don't believe them, I think they are making excusses. I decided lift the deck a little when I turn around and run striaght cuts. It looks better anyway. I wouldn't sell the tractor cause the next tractor will only have somthing else that isn't perfect.

 

[proudestmonkey]

I'll have to respectfully disagree on you on that.
I'm very happy w/the finish cut that the 60" suspended MMM on my BX23 produces. It's as good or better than my 3 previous dedicated lawn & garden tractors, a JD, a Wheel Horse and a Craftsman.
Volfandt

I'll second that. The 60" suspended deck on my BX 2230 is far and away better at a good cut, while reducing scalping, than the ground engaging deck on my old JD dedicated lawn tractor.

 

[Toolguy]

I have a B3030 with a 60" MMM and I did not like the tracks that the two center wheels left in the lawn, either. I made some brackets out of angle iron and bolted them to existing holes in the frame of the tractor. I used j-hooks and chains to carry the rear of the mower. The pictures show how the chains are attached to the mower. The front wheels still carry the front of the mower like normal. It will scalp just a little if the ground is very uneven but I really don't have that problem. To adjust the chains to length I put the tractor on a level concrete slab and lowered the mower until the front wheels just touched. I then adjusted the slack out of the chains. I love the way the mower cuts, now I like the way the cut grass looks, too. I did this in the fall of '05 and used it all of '06. It works well. The last picture is of my front lawn. As you can see there are no center wheel tracks now. Since the pictures were taken, I have completely removed the center wheels and the adjusting mechanism from the mower. It is even easier to remove and install under the tractor now.