Springfield,Mo. Lawn show

[T A]

Just came from the lawn and garden show here in Springfield Mo.There were all the usual companies,Exmark,Grasshopper,Toro,Deere,Dixie,even Bad Boy,nice looking machine but it needs to go on a serious diet.The machine that really impressed me was the Blade Runner.Ive seen some of the posts about it but this was my first real looksee.As much as i wanted to walk away with a new Dixie i think this will be my next machine.Would like to hear others responce that was there.

[AZT]

To quote one of the other mfg reps "have you ever seen such an ABORTION".
I agree with him that they need to rename it the Abortion. It will have to go
a long way to be even in the game. Exmark,Grasshopper,Scag,Kubota,Hustler,
Toro and others there are much cleaner and have alot more to offer a customer.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

I'm sorry i missed it, was looking forwards to meeting some of you.

[ow man]

Sure, other mfg's reps will talk bad about it----WHEN THEY ARE NOT THE SALESMAN FOR IT. I know there are many z's out there today, but give it a chance. The other reps should drive it before they mouth it!!!! I got the chance to drive one this year, I thought it was a nice mower. Smooth ride, well built, quiet and powerful. Other reps should try it before they knock it. I feel the same about Bad Boy, give it a while in the field, then we'll see.

[tlcgrounds]

I drove over 2 1/2 hours to see the show and I was very disappointed. I had more fun at the bass pro shop and I don't liek fishing. I expected something a lot larger from a city with over 151,000 people in it.

[walker-talker]

I got ya beat, I drove 3.5 hours (from Wichita) to the show. I agree, it was small and I was done looking in 45 minutes. My main purpose for going was not actually to attend the show, but to make a business transaction. I would like to attend the show in KY.

MATT

[Fivestar]

We drove from Columbia Mo. What a waste of time. We saw everything in about 25 min. My advice to anyone wanting to see any and all of the toys of their dreams is to go to Louisville KY. in July. It wasn`t a total lost though as we went to Bass Pro Shops and saw all of the Big Boys toys you could every hope for.

[accuratelawn]

It was a lawn and garden show in the middle of February. It was not billed as a power equipment show with demo areas and etc.
How many different peices of equipment were there to see?
In one area there was the Bad Boy, Bladerunner and Dixie Chopper. For the thousands of post on these three mowers, I would have thaught it to be a good chance to compair.
Walker,Husky,J.D.,Toro,Yazoo/Kees,Hustler,Cub Cadet,Exmark,Grasshopper,Kabota,Zipper,Scag,and alot of homeowner brands were on display in addition to the first three mentioned.
BTW, most do not have time to travel to Ky. in the middle of the season.
I enjoy the show every year....Spring is almost here!

[1stclasslawns]

Well we went to the show on saterday, and as far as a lawn and garden show I thought it was good. As far as an equipment show it had quite a bit there, but it didnt cater to the commercial cutter like we are.

I looked at the dixies and they look nice, I also had a chance wendsday to look the Bad Boy over and again on Sat. I like it, seems well built, and rugged with a nice finish on the metal. Jim was very knowledgeable and friendly. He told me it was not desingned to stripe either.

The only things I liked about the blade runner is the left discharge and the guage on the hydros to tell you when to change the filter. I think the deck belt is a joke it seems very weak to me and if it did brake the possability of all those little pieces to link back together and to shorten it after it streaches, come on an ideler pully and spring is better. IMHO The finish is sub par and noone was there to talk to about it. And as my wife said all of them are ugly but it takes the prize. In short this machine needs some MAJOR refinement in the asthetics department.

MY DISCLAMER: I have not operated either of these machines this is just from a look and a talk.

Jim

[WREBELMACHINE]

Natural lawn

Did you not talk to Alex when you were there he worked all three days and took only one break on saturday for lunch. The reason I know that is because I took him to lunch! I ran my diesel last year and the belt on the deck is great no wear so far! Also did you not see the pump that machine uses? The frame is the best that I have seen. For someone to say that the bladerunner does'nt compare is right it would be more fair to say the other's do not compare to the bladerunner! The bad boy looks heavy duty but when you really look at it is it really stronger than the others? I do know that the saturday when I was there they were by far the most looked at machine at that show.

[Grass Stain]

I attended the show and I was most impressed with the Blade Runner. Besides, mowers aren't designed to be show vehicles are they? I look for the productivity in a machine, not its looks. I would be purchasing a Blade Runner if there was a dealer close to me. I spoke with a young gentleman about the Blade Runner and he was very helpful and knowledgeable. I told him that he would have a customer if they could get a dealer close by. :blob2:

[MONTE]

What I heard from all of the other manufactures was talk about the bladerunner and they were doing a lot of bad mouthing. I wonder why? could it be that they were jealous of the machine. I talked to alex about the machine and got an education of what works and what dosnt. I realy like this man he would not bad mouth anyone of his competitors, even after I told him about some of the things that they were saying about the bladerunner mower. To call the bladerunner an abortion is pretty bad and I did here some really bad comments from hustler and grasshopper.
Scag and Toro really slammed the mower but the fun thing was this they really never could pin anything on the machine that was bad! I reallly like the drive unit on this mower it is the best on the market! I like the one piece frame and it is really a simple easy to work on machine. If I would change one thing it would be the size of the gas tanks, I would make them smaller. I also would go for the kawasaki engine after talking to the kawasaki rep. However I would say that the 25hp robin engine would be another good choice. I also liked how clean the mower was similar to a dixie!

[1stclasslawns]

Reb,

I was there Sat. and he wasn't around, possably bad timing on my part.

And yes I looked at the machine, mechanicaly it looks stronger then most that are on the market period. It is the asthetics that need to be addressed at this point in time. And as far as the belt goes it might be the best thing besides sliced bread! It just hasn't been proven to ME yet. It reminds me ot the belt kits I used to get when I was a kid.

And btw where did I say it didn't compair?

If I did miss you I am sorry I wanted to meet y'all while I was there.

Jim

[ow man]

Monte, I will have to agree with you. I have known Alex a long time and have NEVER heard him bad mouth another mower mfg.
What I have heard him say, "Sure, that company has a good mower, but let me point out the features that I've got" I find this a very professional way to do business. Heck, he cant bad mouth others, did you see the size of his booth at the show?!! He sells many other brands too. Like I said earlier, all new products need time to prove themselves, regardless of the mfg. Good luck with your Bladerunner, keep us informed on its performance.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

What did you guys do, stand aroung the Bladerunner all day?

There wasn't any thing else there?

[gorrell]

I, too, attended the show in Springfield on Saturday and was somewhat impressed. It's obviously geared more to the homeowner than the commercial guys, but that's ok. There's no way they could compete with the Louisville Expo. I was amazed at the amount of work the landscape design companies did for their booths. There must be a lot of landscape competition in the Springfield area. As far as the bladerunner and the bad boy, again, somewhat impressed. I saw and drove the bad boy at Louisville and thought it to be a fairly well designed machine(not enough power for a 72" deck, and very bad choice of seat manufacturers). The bladerunner also has a ways to go in the area of fit and finish, but they have a nice machine to start with. I'll still stick with my choppers for now and the immediate future, but never say never.................Lynn

[captdevo]

i was there too!!

it was a homeowner geared show, but it's good to have a variety.

90% of my Walker, Dixie and Bob-cat sales are to home owners who are tired of the cheaper equipment out there.

It's funny dealers would bad mouth the BladeRunner, there was a challenge from a Hustler rep to race his SuperZ against the BladeRunner after the show....lol

Funny thing is, he was nowhere to be found.

Guess he didn't want to be embarrassed!!!

i wish we could have set up a meeting place, i would have liked to have met some of you.

I was with Alex quite a while off and on Saturday, he is a very professional gentleman.

i was supposed to bring a BladeRunner here, but they had a few problems at the factory.

if anyone in the area is interested in running one, Alex is bringing a few to the outdoor show here in Burlington this weekend. Feb. 22, 23, & 24.

Competition is great!!! i don't understand why all the crying.....

[Smoker26]

I also attended both the Louisville and Springfield shows and it appears to me to be compating apples to oranges. The Springfield show is geared primarily for the homeowner. Louisville is set up for the commercial clients. Both shows are well done. As for the Blade Runner/ all other mowers controversy, just let time do its work. I believe Blade Runner and Bad Boy will be around a lot longer than Dixie, Exmark and all the would like. They offer an alterative to their products. I did compare the frame stuctures of Dixie, Bad Boy, Blade Runnerand Exmark. Blade Runner"s frame is made from 1" X 2" retangular tubing, quite similar to Dixie's. Bad Boy's frame is sturdy but the mower deck is heavy. I worked as a welder for 25 years building truck suspensions and look at things from a fabricator's perspective. Just give these two mower companies a chance to show what they can do before burying them!

[rwleigh]

I would like to say that I really enjoyed the show. I got to do some comparing side by side and got to here a lot of well lets say a lot of bs. I went and looked at the new dixie choppers and was suprized to see the bad boy and bladerunner machines there were you could really compare side by side. I like what dixie has done on the new models except on the efi model that wiring harness is terrible. I first got to talk to jim with bad boy only because bladerunner was to busy for me to talk to at that time. He was very nice and knowledgeable he even admited that he liked the way the bladerunner was made! That suprized me because all of the other manufactures were really slaming the machine. The bad boy does need a diet but overall its a nice machine. The bladerunner was most impressive especially when you really look at the mower. Most of the other guys try to sell you on electric clutches and garbage that really does not mean much. I remember when I bought my first dixie the other guys did a lot of bad mouthing so bladerunner must be on the right track. TA if you are thinking about one of the bladerunners I would say it would be a very good choice!


I do agree with some of the other posts grasshopper scag and hustler must be desperate for sales. However the local dealer said it best "all mower manufactures have a place in the market place" and I do agree with that.

[gorrell]

Smoker26, have you indeed been smoking something when you stated that bladerunner and bad boy will be around a lot longer than Dixie Chopper? They have to be around at ALL first(at least have an anniversary)before anyone could say that! Dixie Chopper has been here since the 80's and may not be the best seller in the marketplace, but it's definitely the most copied machine in the industry(BLADERUNNER-BAD BOY et al) I'll bet ExMark would like to make that claim. If the new boys on the block have enough investor capital(which I doubt), they may indeed one day be able to compete on a nationwide basis with Dixie Chopper. We'll see..................Lynn

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Originally posted by gorrell
Smoker26, have you indeed been smoking something when you stated that bladerunner and bad boy will be around a lot longer than Dixie Chopper? They have to be around at ALL first(at least have an anniversary)before anyone could say that! Dixie Chopper has been here since the 80's and may not be the best seller in the marketplace, but it's definitely the most copied machine in the industry(BLADERUNNER-BAD BOY et al) I'll bet ExMark would like to make that claim. If the new boys on the block have enough investor capital(which I doubt), they may indeed one day be able to compete on a nationwide basis with Dixie Chopper. We'll see..................Lynn

Exmark has been copied by ransome/bunton ztr 200, kees, bought by Toro so they could have a Z mid mount.

[Dick Myers]

gorrell, my statement was that Bad Boy and Blade Runner will be around longer than Dixie would like them to be. Check your facts before going off, you will save a lot of face in doing so!

[rwleigh]

Ok did we all forget TA's question?

TA if I was going to buy a new mower and I will be purchasing new next year I still have another year of depreciation on one of my choppers. I would sure try one no doubt about it! If I could not get one then I would stick with a dixie chopper.

As far as who copied who. I think all of them copy each other.

The thing is this the people or person who designed bladerunner has obviously spent a lot of time to come up with the superior components on that machine. I do agree it could use a make over on the fuel tanks but the rest of the machine is just outstanding in build and its efficient. And the man that I talked to was a true professional and when he did not bad mouth his competition, but his competition bad mouths him this tells me they will make it big and there competition knows it. Maybe not this year maybe not next year but give it time and look out competition! Look at what dixie chopper has become when I first bought mine all the other guys bad mouthed it said it would not cut always breaking down. Well they do not say that anymore at least in this area. In time I think bladerunner and I also think bad boy to will make there mark.

[johnhenry]

I forgot all about the show.I'm glad I didnt make the drive up to springfield now. The best thing about springfield is bass pro. I probaly would have spent too much there:)

[rwleigh]

There was a report on the news last night the attendance for the show was paid adults of 15,551. This did not include vendors sales reps or kids. Pretty good number. I heard that louisville expo was around 23,000 but that did have a demo area on it. Maybe if there was a demo area the springfield show would be much larger.

[WREBELMACHINE]

Hey captndevo

you said there was a race that was suppose to happen. Was it issued by the hustler rep or the bladerunner rep? Also was there anyone else going to race?

[captdevo]

heard the Hustler rep (Kaye corp.) challenged BladeRunner, then after the show he split.....lol

Go figure....




anywho, the show was not a waste of time, they had a lot of interesting things there other than equipment.

they need it in a bigger location though, it was crowded.


Dave

[WREBELMACHINE]

Thanks Capt. I was currious. I tested out a hustler last year it was fast but it would not cut grass as fast as my old choppers would. And my bladerunner well lets just say I know who would have won that race!

[Don B]

why would Dick Myers respond to a remark directed at Smoker26 and then talk about saving face.
Hmmmmm!

[sunlawn]

Wow! I cant believe there is such feedback from the show! Awesome! I agree the show had a lot of homeowner stuff but it was the lawn and garden show, not the commercial lawn and garden show. I thought it was great that we could see the Dixie, Bladerunner and Bad Boy right next to eachother. I got there early on Sun morning and had to wait forever to talk to the Bladerunner rep. There were 3 other people waiting to talk to him at 10:20am. However it was worth the wait. He took the time to show me everything and all the differences between the DC & Bladerunner, and never bad mouthed Dixie once. I talked to the Bad Boy rep while waiting. He was very informative and nice to talk to. I do think the mower is to heavy. I also enjoyed watching the Bad Boy rep sit on the Dixie Chopper everytime I walked by. I guess there seats are not quite as comfortable. The Bladerunner seat was excellent. Try sitting in sometime. You will FALL in LOVE! As long as I have run Dixies I think I might have to give the Bladerunner a try this season. Cant wait. Thanks to Bladerunner and Bad Boy for giving Dixie some competition!!

[T A]

I agree with you,probably cant go wrong with either machine.The good thing is Alex sells both machines so i could'nt go wrong with him as my dealer.

[WREBELMACHINE]

TA i tried to email you but could not get through so I thought I would try this. I was currious if you have bought your bladerunner yet? Also are you the individual that is mowing the target stores? If you are that is a fine strip job you are doing!

[Farmboy]

When was this show? I never heard anything about it.

[Farmboy]

Does anyone know if they are going to have this show again? If they are when is the show?

[walker-talker]

Probably not until next spring I reckon.

MATT

[Art Stubbs handy 58]

Darn I missed it, didnt hear anything about the show, my own brother didnt even tell me about the show, its my home town, would have been nice to go back home and visit w/family...

Will there be any posting about the next show ? maybe all you mo boys could let us know, thanks.... Sure do miss Springfield

Was home this summer looked like a lot of nice work around town, keep up the good work..:D

[BladeRunner Rep]

New show times are February 21-23. 2003. I am sure this will be announced later as the show creeps up on the calander:D

[Bob Minney]

Any blocks of rooms for us travelers? Sure would like to see a show other than Pro-green Expo in Denver. Give me a chance to see the Ozarks in winter also.

[walker-talker]

Originally posted by Bob Minney
Any blocks of rooms for us travelers? Sure would like to see a show other than Pro-green Expo in Denver. Give me a chance to see the Ozarks in winter also.

Don't waste your time going to this expo. It is just a small town expo. If you just want to go and look at some mower and talk with some reps, then ok. I went through the entire expo in about 30-45 minutes and was ready to come home. I drove about 3 hours to get there, but mainly to make a business transaction and used Springfield, MO as a meeting place. I would suggest going to one of the big expo's that offer seminars and roundtables if you really want to get something out of it.

MATT