Lawn mower Hot Rods

Another out with the old and in with the new. My old trusty 718 Grasshopper finally decided it's had enough and the motor lost a cyl saturday. I can't complain, it has 2020 hours on an 18 horse Briggs and Stratton with a 61 inch deck so it's worked hard it's whole life. I thought about repowering the obsolete motor with a Vanguard but that was going to be $1300 for the kit and motor. I thought about overhauling mine but how much work and money do you put into a 20 yr old machine with that many hours. I bit the bullet and bought a new Kubota. It was actually off of a guy who bought it last year and never used it and it had 0.9 hours on it. I low balled him and got it for $1300 less than it was new, and the cool part is , it's the brand I was going to buy anyway from our local dealer. 4 yr 500 hour warranty left on it also. I think I'm going to part my Grasshopper out as I see 718 hydro's are selling on Fee Bay for $1000 a piece plus all the other goodies on them. This has been an expensive month, Work car, lawn mower and air compressor :(

Cool. This year I buckled under and finally got a new Poulon 42" hydrostatic transmission - got tired of fixing the craftsman.

I am SO pleased with the new mower. The hydrostatic transmission makes it as nimble as a mountain goat.

Of course, I had to work on it twice in the first two days I had it. I'm not gentle to my mower, and the first spring cut is brutal.

And the right side blade is shot already.

I'm planning to forgo my "retirement" and go back to work soon. Maybe next year I can upgrade to what you've got.

Can't go wrong with orange machines, we've got 4 or 5 running around my house.
But I still mow with my 1970 Model 73 Cub Cadet! It just keeps on working.

+1 on Kubota.

I've got a 16HP diesel Kubota sub-compact tractor that is about 30 years old. I bought it about 16 years ago and in all that time, all I have done to it is replace a worn steering gear and an ignition switch. The Woods belly mower rusted out about 6 years ago and I rebuilt it with slightly heavier steel .

I tried the zero turn thing and liked it because it was fast, but my ground is so rough that it beat my arthritic back up too bad. I traded the ZT in on a new 25 HP compact Kubota with a loader last year. Best decision I've made for lawn care. It takes a little longer to mow with the tractor over the ZT, but the loader is pretty handy.

Congrats on the new toy.

Firebird, your right, I remember when I got my first hydro, it's a day and night difference from a gear machine.
There is getting to be more and more orange things around me, everyone I talk to is really happy with the reliability. I am a bit concerned about the ride vs my Grasshopper but I got a suspension seat coming for it, I was told it makes a big difference.

Nice new mower! I have an old Kubota rider I mow my yard with. Parts are pricey for the antique so I'll probably use it to repower a John Deere this winter. :LOL:

How about this new one from Honda? Said they got tired of people asking so they're putting an end to the questions at 109HP and 130mph and yes, it's a fully functioning lawn mower - https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...tractor-review