FLEX FORKS 2nd SET @ 152 HRS.

[puppypaws]

My dealer came to my farm today and replaced my flex forks, I had absolutely no idea how much tension they actually lost because you don,t notice anything as much when it is a gradual change over a long period of time. I checked my cutting height and it was raised 1/2" with the new flex forks, that means the rubber had fatigued and settled that much. With the old flex forks on flat concrete it measured 2 1/8" in hole four from the front and with the new ones it measured 2 5/8". I could tell I was not able to run wide open as much as I did when they were new and the front end was moving up and down easier like riding over small swells in the ocean with a boat. The people that talked about dipping and crop circles lost me because I had never seen this until they got weak over time. I did not realize how good this mower did ride before because they were getting weak gradually, it is unbelievable how much better this mower rides and cuts now because the front end does not wave slowly up and down and this also makes the cut better. This is a wonderful addition to the Hustler mowers and I personally don't want to think about running one without them, they can solve this problem by getting the correct rubber composition inside the flex forks. It may be just a matter of making them 20% stronger to begin with so when they settle into there wear pattern it will come back and stay in the position they are in now when new. These things make a tremendous difference in the way the mower rides and handles, with the addition of the new flex component that is added under the suspension seat it should be by far the best riding zero turn mower built today.

[HenryB]

Question how much do you weigh? Could your weight be a factor. Our flex forks have two hundred hours and no wear yet.

[Drew Gemma]

go ferris 600 hours no suspension problems just clutch problems. LOL

[puppypaws]

Originally Posted by HenryB

Question how much do you weigh? Could your weight be a factor. Our flex forks have two hundred hours and no wear yet.

I weigh 205 lbs. and I have a friend that mows commercially and they just changed his out also with a little over 200 hrs. on them. I talked with him and he saw the exact same thing I did, it raised his mower up about 3/8" enough that he had to change his settings from where he normally cut. It may be that the rubber is a little stronger in some of the flex forks than others, I really did not notice any change until about 100 hrs., keep yours checked closely it may be the problem want show up for you but I believe it will eventually. It just gradually slipped up on me.

[kc2006]

They need to toss some poly in there. Or poly pregnanted rubber. Straight poly might be too stiff.

[gene gls]

Originally Posted by Drew Gemma

go ferris 600 hours no suspension problems just clutch problems. LOL

What sort of clutch problems? What brand of clutch? I like the looks of the Ferris suspension but the dealer is 1 hour away. I have the Borg-Warner in my Hustler and it needs replacing between 300 -500 hours.