Old JD Rear Engine Rider

theboy2011 · Jun 12, 2011

Im a proud owner of a John Deere 56 rear engine rider. It has a little white motor not sure on the make. It has a 2 speed forward and 1 reverse transimission. It has the deck. im wondering if anyone has any info on these little mowers. some say im an idiot for buying it. they say they are junk. I would like to get it running and start mowing with it.

Tom Thomson · Jun 13, 2011

2011
I have what I believe is the same mower but in an electric version, It has not been used for several years and I would be willing to sell parts if you need.
tthomson@tls.net

Ledgemere Farm · Jun 20, 2011

The original motor was a 5 HP Tecumseh.

theboy2011 · Jun 21, 2011

Tom, You say yours is electric? how was that converted and would you consider selling the whole thing? GreenRules, you are correct. I purchased an owners manual online and thats what it says.

Ledgemere Farm · Jun 24, 2011

they are not junk. They were John deeres intro into the RER market: the 55, 56 & 57. Theyre not worth alot of money, but they have historical value. JD still has quite a few parts avaialable.

jd3020u · Jul 3, 2011

They're not much but I'm proud of mine too! It was my grandpas after all. If it has the original Techumsa sp?? engine go easy on the rpms and keep it full of oil as they like to throw rods. I repowered mine with a 8 hp Briggs. Its great for trimming around trees and I get the narrow strip between my fence and the corn field. Sometimes the weeds/grass/sunflowers gets so tall before I get to them that I have to lean back for more traction. Then the front wheels even come up! Quite the adventure but it keeps things interesting. When I replaced the engine I used whatever double pulley I had around -it cruises along in 3rd now.

Not sure if this is legal but these guys are more old lawn mower oriented and have a model info section.

Model Info - WeekendFreedomMachines.com

Tim

grnspot110 · Jul 4, 2011

The RER's have their place! I had a model 66 for a while, nice little mower for a small yard. :thumbsup: I bought mine for the engine, but decided it was to good of condition to scrap. Replaced the 6 HP Tecumseh with an 8 HP Briggs, same as was in the model 68. Used it for shows mostly, have since sold it.

The electric JD's were the model 90 & the rarer # 96. Wouldn't mind having a 90 or 96 for my collection, but wouldn't want to have to buy new batteries!

~~ grnspot