Review of my new Kubota ZG227

[Toad]

Originally Posted by grassman177

they are ok on hills if you know what you are doing, not bad, but def not great. too high of a center of gravity, but i cut some scary hills with it so......

i have yet to see any rear discharge deck do anything buyt create hay out the back end so of course not

Well said, once you get the feel for the machine you wont be afraid to take it most places. I am on crazy hills and sidebanks all the time with mine. Soft spots scare me more than any hill!!!! LOL

Grassman: what are you up to in hrs on your Kubota. 800 hrs here and running like new? I wonder what the most hrs is on some of these 300 series ZDs. Bought mine in 07 when they just came out so going on fourth season.

[grassman177]

well, we deal with an Independance, MO located dealer called Odell tractor co.

they are awesome and have a superior staff and mechanics. they have a sister partly owned by the same family in Smitheville,MO. they both carry Kubota and then differ from there and combined they sell exmark , toro, wright, scag, encore i think still and walker. they used to sell everride and we have many of those and love them, but the distributor is rreally bac and they switched and no longer carry them(for now maybe!).


TOAD, what is up man!
have about 800 hrs on mine as well and are doing great and run super, but did have two of them within days of each other develop oil pan gasket leaks and were repaird b4 warranty was up. other than that, perfect. we lost some of the larger accounts i used them on so they are seeing less work this year and more stander work coming in so they will last us longer than expected year wise. we were planning on getting at least 2000-2500 hrs on them b4 selling and replacing these and they should have no issues doing so especially due to the diesels and oiver all build quality. currently we have never put more than 1200 hrs on one but then traded for newer and better(old zd21-old zd28-new zd326) but other Kubotra mowers have lasted than long with care and maintenance.

[rsp1961]

Originally Posted by ertb

What dealer are working with ? I purchased mine from Tyler Brothers in Maryville.

Same people. Never dealt with them before. Any insight? Which mower are you using? Any problems with this dealer for service or follow through?

[rsp1961]

Toad, by soft spot do you mean you worry more about getting stuck in mud? The only machine I found that I dont worry about soft spots with is a WB.

[ertb]

I went to three dealers in the area. They were in Athens, Knoxville, and Maryville. Two of the dealers had great prices over the phone but when I got there the machines had been in the weather and were faded and one was so bad,they were going to have to put new stickers in it. At Tyler Brothers in Maryville I called them up on a Saturday morning, told them what I wanted they had it new in the steel shipping crate. They worked right up til closing time to get set-up and ready to go. Great family owned business.

[Scagmower48]

Just a little update to the thread I started.

300 hours and running excellent

The kubota bagging system also worked good in the fall and spring.

I got to change the tranny oil in 100 hours.

[grassman177]

how do you like the kubota gasser so far as compared to other engines you have had on machines b4?

[eagle107]

I saw your quote about the 21hp diesel vs. a high hp gas engine. I think the 21hp diesel would be enough hp for your needs, but it would not be bad to have a 23 or 24hp diesel either. Usually, diesel has higher torque than a gas with the same hp value. For example, take a Kohler Command engine at 22hp and a Kubota diesel engine at 22hp.

The Kohler engine will reach its peak 22hp at 3600 RPM but its only able to creat 32 ft lbs of torque at that speed. When put under a light load, such as heavier grass, the engine is unable to maintain its speed and will progressively slow down and loose power. The Kohler engine torque will only peak at 37 ft/lbs @ 2400 RPM where it generates 17Hp and slipping much lower will cause this engine to stall.

The Kubota diesel engine will give different results when put under load. Just like the Kohler gas engine, the Kubota diesel has less torque when running at full throttle, however the results under heavier grass loads are not nearly as dramatic. At a full 3600 RPM the Kubota engine has about ~37 ft lbs of torque which is still more than the Kohler can create. When the Kubota engine is pushed harder and slows to 2400 RPM, the engine will be at 19.5 Hp and 41 ft lbs of torque. Given the torque difference between the Kubota diesel engine and the Kohler Command engine, the Kubota diesel engine will take much more strain and even more strain to bring it to its knees.

Another issue that is largely ignored is the way in which these engines are rated. These companies realize that consumers are easily swayed by horsepower ratings and so they do their best to always stay ahead of their competition. Kohler bench tests using the "SAE J1340" standard which has no air cleaner, exhaust, charging, cooling or fuel pump. Once the tractor manufacturer (Scag, Exmark, Gravely and etc.) adds on the rest of the components a substantial drop in performance occurs that skews the gas engine specs even further. By using Kohler's bench test instead of real world performance the tractor company can make it appear as if they have more power than they really do. This is a very common practice and can be easily spotted on spec sheets where "As rated by the manufacturer" is in fine print. Kubota along with Yanmar (John Deere's engine), Shibaura (Case/New Holland's engine) and etc., used the "SAE J1349" standard which includes standard accessories needed for real world use. Going through engine performance data from Kubota would be what you find in a production tractor (such as there BX and L series compact tractors). You will also find that Kubota's 22hp and higher hp engines are actually capable of producing higher hp if its RPM's are further increased. The key to remember is that if you have higher demanding tasks to do with your tractor, such as cutting thicker grass, high/wet grass and etc., high torque is more important than high horsepower.

This is just my opinion.

[grassman177]

that was a superior informative post

[rsp1961]

Thank you Eagle, I agree with Grassman, that was an excellent informative post and very helpful for me. I had been wondering about HP and bogging, and without that knowledge, I had been leaning away from the Kubota diesel. Just wondering where Kawasaki engines falls under the testing guidelines. Do they test under real world conditions or do their own bench test? I currently have one mower with a Kohler 23 hp and it indeed does bog under light loads almost to a point of stalling. Also, thanks Scagman for allowing us to hijack your thread, it has been very helpful.