walk behind or keep my jd???

[Hunter Landscape]

ok here goes, and i will try to keep it as short as possibe.

i started my bus. last yr. and my initial mower purchase was a john deere F525 48" with bagger. it goes frwd at about 5mph and is the steering wheel type of front deck mower.
it didn't take me long to figure out that the deere just wouldn't "cut it", so i purchased a grasshopper and found that the quality of cut and much more was superior to the deere. i don't even like unloading it into lawns due to it's cutting quality. oh yeah and it ain't a piece of cake to work on either!!
i would like to get rid of this mower, possibly make a little money on the sale, and purchase another mower. i initially put about $5500 into the deere with the bagger.
i am considering going to a walkbehind mower. (goes faster, hopefully easier to maintain, and hopefully leaves a better cut, etc) i have checked out an Exmark Viking Hydro, and would probably go with the sulky.

any comments on this possible transaction?? would it be worth it? anyone use a Viking? anyone ever had similar experiences with the deere F525?, etc etc. :)

THANKS YOU ALL :)

[Eric ELM]

I demoed that JD you have and wasn't impressed. I used to use JD's for several years and didn't realize that other mowers could cut better until I got ZTR's. When I was told I could cut at 8 to 10 MPH with my DC, I thought, sure you can, but I agree it will do the job. My JD didn't cut to good at lot slower speeds. I'm not sure if it's just the slower blade tip speed on the JD or what it is, but I feel that is the problem.

[awm]

If the grasshopper is a ztr then a walk behind
would seem to be much more practical for you.
Mabe even a gate mower .No guarantees but
the z would probably pull any pull tools you have.

[BufalinoLand]

In my opinion John Deere has been slipping in recent years. Im not sure if they ever had a decent line of commercial mowers. As for the homeowner, JD is ok(Overpriced in my opinion). Ill get to the point. Im entering my 3rd season in the business and am growing in leaps and bounds. I started out with one 48" Scag walk behind (no sulky, to ensure a workout)and 2 21" Honda baggers. the hondas almost never come out and I just purchased a 61" Scag turf tiger. I am all into walk behinds and will let you know how I enjoy this 0 turn. I have looked at them all and am very impressed with what the Scag Line up has to offer. They are truly, BULLET PROOF!!!

[Scag48]

I'd say buy the walk-behind. If the mower is as bad as you're decscribing it, I would lose it in a second! Don't hold onto things that annoy you or for that matter, might hurt your business quality wise. Anything that hurts your business will hurt you later. I'd say the walk-behind is your best choice. Good luck! :)

[bob]

Definately dump the Deere. If you plan on expanding your business, maybe get another ZTR for a helper to use. I've got 2 Grasshoppers and together they'll cut a lot of grass. Now is the time to start selling your Deere.