Scag Freedom, with Briggs or Kawasaki?

[Skyhawk]

Hi all,

I'm considering a Scag Freedom ZTR with 48" deck, and I'm undecided about which engine to go with. The dealer stocks it with the 26hp Briggs ELS, or for $200 more, he can get it with a 19hp Kawasaki. The Briggs is 725cc, and the Kawasaki is 675cc (I think), and both are v-twins. I'm assuming the Kawasaki will last longer, but how will its performance compare to the 26hp ELS? Any thoughts?

Also, does anyone know the blade tip speed of the Freedom? (I forgot to ask the dealer.)

Thanks.

 

[HeyNow]

Skyhawk,

I will have a Scag Tiger Cub delivered to me tomorrow. I have never used a ZRT before. I had concerns with the Briggs motor vs. the Kawasaki. The general manager assured me that they have had very few problems with the Briggs that was introduced last year. However, when I spoke with the service manager he said he would go with the Kawasaki. The only problem is that it would cost me $500 bucks more. I will be using my Tiger Cub strickly for residential use. So instead of upgrading to the Kaw, I opted for the hydrolic seat . I figure with my limited use the briggs should be okay.

From what I have read, commercial outfits opt for the Kawasaki's. You may want to figure that in if you want to ever resell your unit.

I saw online somewhere about blade speeds. Check out the Scag website.

 

[Oleozz]

Quite a few of the commercial guys like the Kawasaki over the Briggs. Sometimes I think it's just a name thing with them or else someone says something bad about a Briggs and it has a mushrooming effect, before long everyone is saying they are bad engines.
I have a 21 hp. twin cylinder Kawasaki on my Ferris 48" ZTR. This will be my third season of mowing with it and so far it has worked well with plenty of power for that size deck. It almost seems like the 26 hp would be overkill.

 

[Fordlords]

Just my humble opinion here, for only $200 more I'd go with the Kwack. Should have more than ample power for the 48" mower, along with long life, smoothness, low fuel consumption, all the things they are famous for. I like the Briggs Vanguards (as they are not made by Briggs), but the ESS/Inteks are the least expensive entry level engines on the market, and a Kawi is top shelf outstanding.

-Fordlords-

 

[HeyNow]

I just spent about four hours on my new Tiger Cub. First time on a ZTR and I'll admit that the first hour was really weird. I went very slow on very flat areas. After the first couple of hours, I began to feel very comfortable. It handled my hills with ease. The briggs engine did a very good job in the upper field of very tall grass. It was tossing the grass several yards without bogging down. I mowed about 5 or 6 acres and I kept looking around for more to mow. The Cub is a tank. One thing I noticed is that compared to my old JD Sabre, this thing is very quiet. Someone please slap the smile off my face. I hope this is not a hijack of this thread.

I just love new equipment....

 

[Nasty135]

Skyhawk, If you haven't purchased yet, I would consider the torque rating in the rpm range of both engines. The suggested mowing rpm that you will be cutting with may show little difference in torque at that given rpm regardless of Hp.... ie: When I was looking at Z's I was looking between 27hp kohler and 25hp kawasaki, Well the kawasaki had more torque through the rpm range I would be cutting at so I opted for the kawasaki and I don't regret it... Good luck with your decision...

 

[gkk2001]

I agree, Nasty, HP rating is not the entire story. Torque of the 19hp Kawa motor is probably just as good as the B&S motor. My impression is that companies (particularly B&S) know the most of the public looks at the HP rating, so they figure out ways of measuring HP to make their motor look good, of they build it such to generate HP but not necessarily torque.
The engineers at Scag factor that in when deciding which engines they will put on their mowers.
I have a tiger Cub, 48" deck with the 19hp Kawa engine. It works great. A bit of a gas hog, a little more than I expected but then again, I don't exactly mow slow, I mow as fast as possible.

 

[crbr]

Kawasaki, hands down. I have three small machines with the 14 and 17 HP Kawas. Not one moment of disappointment in any of those motors. They all run like a well-oiled Singer sewing machine. I think my newest is a 95 model. Still going.

 

[Fordlords]

My thought is if you are investing in a top of the line mower like a Scag, get it with a top of the line engine. A Briggs Intek is fine for a Craftsman LT, but putting one on a Scag mower is like Tavern on the Green serving Wild Irish Rose.

-Fordlords-