Kubota Ztr

[IBGreen]

Anyone tried one? I've got a demo set up for this Wedsnesday. The dealer here has a good mechanic and a friend of ours is the sales guy. I've never thought about one because of the price, seems a little rediculous, but we'll see I guess. Its the 21hp with the 60 in deck.

[fatboy5803]

Don't have one but have talked to some people with Kubotas.
And like them very much, don't recall the sizes,they were Diesel.
Whats the going price? The closest dealer is 25-30 miles.


Lou

[IBGreen]

$10,500 for a 21hp w/ a 60 in deck.

[grassdaddy]

TOO MUCH!!! 21/60 is 8900-9200.the new fab dec is 250 more.You can get a 28hp,fab dec for 10500-10700.Chattanooga,tn or Rome,ga either one.:)

[fatboy5803]

Wow !


Their supposed to be good stuff.. I sure hope so! Wish I could be of more help, let us know how the Demo goes.


Lou

[Mowingman]

Too much money in my opinion. You can get the same diesel engine in a 321D Grasshopper midmount for about $9300.00. Our Kubota dealer here also sells Grasshoppers and Scags. He said he has not sold any of the Kubotas to commercial cutters, only to homeowners. Commercial guys are all buying the Grasshoppers or Scags.:confused:

[bob]

My friend has three of them. 21hp, 60"ers. He paid around $9000 for them.

[JCLandWerks]

The Kubota is worth the extra money. I saw that machine go head to head with every comparable z mower. It cut better and has less maint. The best thing is that you only have one belt on the machine. They are pretty simple to work on and they are smooth driving compared to some others. Good Luck with your demo!!!!:D

[farmer58]

I purchased a Kubota ZD18 in July of last year. Only aspect of the machine that I was disappointed in was the grass clippings would clump and the deck would not clean out properly. I tried high lift blades but did not seem to help very much as blade tip speed is only 15,600. I was looking on the Kubota web site and noticed that the new ZD21 Pro has a fabricated deck instead of the old stamped deck. The new deck on the ZD21 is 7 gauge (10 gauge on ZD18). The new ZD21 also has a blade tip speed of 17,500 as opposed to 15,600 on the ZD18. It also has mulching baffles which I hope will tear up the grass clippings better. I called my local dealer where I had purchased my ZD18 wondering how much it would take to trade up to a ZD21 with a 60 in deck as opposed to my current 54 in on ZD18. He made me an offer I couldn't refuse. So.... it is being delivered later this week. The new ZD21 also has pivoting anti-scalping wheels on the front of the deck whereas the old deck the wheels were fixed. The ZD21 can be purchased with either the stamped or fabricated deck. Everything else on the ZD18 I really liked. Power, fuel economy, and comfort of ride. My wife told me Happy Valentines Day.....only now she wants the same in return! Hope your demo goes well and this info helps.

[marvinlee]

I bought a new Kubota ZD-21 in 2001. It performs very well for mowing grass at our home in Oregon's Willamette Valley. I had a high speed gear kit installed by the dealer before the mower was delivered. The blades are standard. I run about seven eighths throttle and never lack for poweror discharge performance. If I mowed heavy, wet, tall grass then I would try full throttle as many equipment owners use. I like the machine because it is reliable, has agreeable styling, and numerous features. Other machines are also desirable, and sometimes less cost. Our's was $8700 on a cold, wet, and dark November afternoon. I customized our machine in several ways. Marvin <marvin@proaxis.com>

[barnard]

Another advantage to the Kubota - no cheesy electric clutch, deck heigth adjustment while seated, hydraulic deck lift.

[IBGreen]

Thanks for all the replies guys! I'll let you all know how the demo turns out.

[WREBELMACHINE]

Demoed a kubota zd28 nice machine overall. Very underpowered! I also did not care for all the gadgets, but a decent machine. There are much beter diesel mower options on the market in my opinion!

[IBGreen]

How bad underpowered? I hate the underpowered word. Did it by chance have the fab. deck on it?

[Albemarle Lawn]

Then I guess my 72" Gravely w/ 25 HP Kohler is REALLY underpowered.

I was looking to replace my Gravely 260 Z machines (3 of them) with the Kubotas.

I didn't consider it until now that the fabricated deck is offered.

Anyone had trouble with the casters? I used to have "crazy wheel" (like on the Kubota ZD series) casters on my 1999 Gravely--nothing but trouble.

Replaced them with solid wheels on brackets--no more trouble, just the occasional divot.

KB

[strickdad]

farmer58, if im not mistaken kubota offers a speedup kit to bring blade tip speed up to 18500.. check your dealer

[farmer58]

strickdad, yes i believe you are correct on the deck speed up kit. hope the fabricated deck does a good enough that i will not need the kit.

thanks wayne:alien:

[johnhenry]

What WREBELMACHINE said pretty much sums it up for kubota.Plus very pricey for what you get

[Envy Lawn Service]

Well, that might explain why my Kubota dealer has one sitting with no deck right now. I heard about the new deck but I didn't know it was out yet.

Kubota makes quality stuff. I'm glad to see them improving their product with a better deck, for better cut, not strength. The stamped deck was plenty strong in my opinion. I know a few guys with tractors that drop the deck and back over it when they need it off.

[Strawbridge Lawn]

If I am going to pay that much for a mower it will be a Walker with all the extras. And yes it will cost more also..

[beck]

I was at an open house and they had one there. They have taken the exmark deck and copied it, they also took the swivel castors(anti-scalp) from ferris and put them on it and increased the bracing for those. If those get bent you hit something pretty hard.
The 21hp diesel with the 60" inch deck priced for $10,000. They are also offering 3 years 0% financing and compared that to a 25Hp gas with a 60 inch deck for 8500 with 10% interest the difference was about $700 i think.
It is something I am going to schedule a demo for before I buy my next ZTR.

[Envy Lawn Service]

All I've seen of this deck was in a pick on the inside cover of Feb 03 Turf Mag. The deck looks good and the ad says it's 7 Gauge, 5.5" deep and has 18,500 fpm blade tip speed.

In the local paper I saw the finance offer. If I were inclinded to finance equipment, I'd have to give the 60" a hard look.

At $10,000 compairing this machine to a Walker is like compairing squash & oranges don't you think?......:D

[jsaunders]

How did the demo go? I'm also looking at picking one up.
Thanks Joel

[rwleigh]

I looked at one at the local lawn and garden show last weekend. the deck looks good but it has NO reinforcment on the top of the deck! Without the double plating it will eventually crack due to vibration and hitting objects. The deck actually looked almost identical to the encore deck without the top plate. Nice machine but it has a long ways to go if it is going to perform with the other machines on the market.

[IBGreen]

rwleigh, how do you know, did you mow with it?

[WREBELMACHINE]

I agree with rw on this one the deck does not have a top plate on it! In time it will crack out. I have demoed one but I just could not get use to the lack of power. Maybe they will have a turbo or a larger cc engine in the future, also they might be able to run at a faster speed then.