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trainerboy · #1 07-19-2012, 07:10 PM

Just bought a new Scag Cheetah 61" w/31HP Kaw.

The good first then the bad.

******THE LIKES*******
1) The speed is unmatched by anything on the market. It isn't needed in 99% of the mowing I do but does come in very handy when I have some grass clippings that need to be spread out. I can raise the deck to transport height and fly through the areas needing spread. Also comes in handy to get back to the trailer FAST (people who see me flying do double takes, its hilarious).

2) The controls are like silk. I've never seen a ZTR control setup like the Cheetah. It use a very thick cable system of some kind. Someone else might be able to chime in and provide a more detailed description of exactly how it works. What I do know is that it works freakishly good at providing perfect control and responsiveness to the sticks. It is also worth mentioning that it has ZERO dead play in the sticks. If you move the sticks even a millimeter, the mower responds accordingly.

3) The build quality. It is crazy overbuilt!! They might be expensive but you are buying something that is built strong enough to pass on to your grad children's grand children.

4) The deck hanger adjustment and separate leveling adjustment are very well thought out and designed.

5) The seat is extremely comfortable. **Seat only, the suspension platform design is part of the dislike.

6) Cut quality is probably unmatched by anything on the market. I know this is a very subjective subject so I'll just stress that this is my opinion and nothing more. ***HOWEVER, there is one huge flaw in the cut quality in regards to scalping. I cover that in the dislikes.

******THE DISLIKES******
1) This is more of a HATE! It does not have rear anti-scalp rollers!!!! I didn't think it would be an issue since the rear tires are so close to the deck...
I was wrong.
Anybody that claims a commercial mower with a 61" deck doesn't need anti-scalp rollers on the rear of the deck is an absolute certified MORON. I don't care how close the drive tires are to the deck. The number of different ground contour situations commercial cutters face are countless. My other mower is a Bobcat Predator Pro 61". It has rollers on all four corners, two front/center, & one in the rear under the deck. Every one of the rollers has three positions to mount the rollers, even the one in the rear underneath. I don't think you could scalp a lawn with that Bobcat if you tried. I have never in three years of owning it scalped a lawn.
The Cheetah only has one in each front corner and a triple roller setup in front/center. It does have one in the rear underneath but it is not adjustable and does not offer any help in my opinion. All of the Cheetah's rollers only have two settings of adjustment (NOT ENOUGH!!!!)
In my opinion this is a monumental mistake on Scags part. Every time it scalps a lawn I get more and more furious with Scag.
**PARTIAL FIX: I drilled some additional holes in the scalp roller brackets to give me more adjustment options. I also removed the blade spacers and replaced them with some that were exactly 3/16" shorter to move the blades up into the deck a little more. I then readjusted the deck to cut at the right height. Those modifications have helped the situation by probably 50% but that isn't good enough to my standards. I live in Oklahoma where almost every lawn is Bermuda. Everyone wants it cut between 1.5"-2" with the exception of two customers that have Bermuda sod and water like crazy. They like it cut at 3". When you're cutting at 2" and below you have very little room for error when it comes to scalping.

2) The suspension platform doesn't really help that much at all. It still rides like a tank. My Bobcat is just as comfortable with its suspension seat (worn out) and pneumatic casters. I think the Cheetah would ride a lot better if I swap out the solid caster tires for some pneumatic but I don't really want to spend the money. Besides, I spent a huge chunk of money on a mower that is supposed to be an industry leader on ride comfort. It is a little irritating to even think about spending more money to improve the ride. I know Scag had to have spent a fortune on the development of that suspension platform but I think they seriously dropped the ball and came up short. They should have went the route Gravely did and used that new air ride suspension seat. Ironically, the Gravely Pro Turn 460 was my split decision choice when I bought this Cheetah. I went with the Cheetah because I liked the smoothness of the controls better and it was $500 cheaper.

I thought the suspension platform would be just as comfortable as the air ride on the Pro Turn 460... I was wrong.
I thought the lack of rear scalp rollers wouldn't be too big of an issue even though the Pro Turn 460 DID have rear rollers... I was wrong.

If I could afford the $1,200 price tag I would buy one of those air ride suspension seats and slap it on the Cheetah. I'm currently trying to figure out the best way to mount some rear scalp rollers on the Cheetah's deck (very small amount of room to work with because of drive tires being so close). I'm thinking about a swiveling caster type setup like Kubota's have.

If I could get the ride smoothed out and the scalp issue fixed with some rear mounted rollers I think I would have the perfect mower.

If anybody has any ideas or input on what to do about adding rear scalp rollers to the deck please chime in.

JParisan · #2 07-19-2012, 07:21 PM

You apparently have never cut with an Ex-Mark. Post redesign. 2008 i believe.

StihlBR600 · #3 07-19-2012, 07:24 PM

Easy fix for your scalping problem....put your foot on the deck lift and float the deck when you see uneven terrain. I dont have any problems with scalping and i have no complaints about my cheetah.

Puddle of Oil · #4 07-19-2012, 07:59 PM

"A poor worker blames he's tools."

Good detailed review though.

LibertyFarmLandscaping · #5 07-19-2012, 08:00 PM

Other than the scalping issues I found everything else the same as you after 30 hrs on a Cheetah demo. So I stuck with the TT's. Which is what I've had the majority of the 13 years I've been in business. However, the TT is actually heavier built than the Cheetah, and no rougher with the suspension seat.

Did you demo a TT before deciding on a Cheetah?
Did you demo the Cheetah before buying it ?
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sjessen · #6 07-19-2012, 09:01 PM

Put a striping roller on it. That should solve the scalping issue.

trainerboy · #7 07-19-2012, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StihlBR600

Easy fix for your scalping problem....put your foot on the deck lift and float the deck when you see uneven terrain. I dont have any problems with scalping and i have no complaints about my cheetah.

Go back and read the part about my Bobcat not scalping. I'm not mowing lawns with the Cheetah that I don't mow with the Bobcat. Same lawns, same patterns only difference is the Cheetah scalps, the Bobcat doesn't. After paying $10,000 for a mower I shouldn't need to change all my methods by baby sitting the equipment to help it do it's job. It's supposed to be one of the top 5 cutting edge best of the best mowers on the market. It should be able to perform as such on its own.

If the Bobcat scalped these lawns in the same places I wouldn't be complaining about the Cheetah like this. These areas getting scalped aren't really what I would consider bad enough to be trouble spots. They never were trouble spots using the bobcat before buying the Cheetah so they weren't on my radar to watch out for.
Don't get me wrong. Except for the scalping issue and a small issue about ride comfort I love the mower. On level ground it cuts 1,000% better than the Bobcat. I just have serious issues with scalping a customers lawn.
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trainerboy · #8 07-19-2012, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LibertyFarmLandscaping

Other than the scalping issues I found everything else the same as you after 30 hrs on a Cheetah demo. So I stuck with the TT's. Which is what I've had the majority of the 13 years I've been in business. However, the TT is actually heavier built than the Cheetah, and no rougher with the suspension seat.

Did you demo a TT before deciding on a Cheetah?
Did you demo the Cheetah before buying it ?
Posted via Mobile Device

Didn't have a choice to demo except around the parking lot.
Only dealer around here that doesn't laugh their a$$ off when you mention the word "demo" is a Snapper Pro dealer. Some of my local dealers genuinely don't understand why any dealer would want to let someone take a mower out of their shop and use it. I don't know if they are that stupid or my area is just that far behind the times.
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