Beast 54ZB Commercial ZTR

[Ridin' Green]

Originally Posted by IS500Z

If you do buy it make sure you post reviews. Obviously a lot of people have some interest in the product. ............................. Hope you make the decision that works out best for you and meets your needs. Remember to post that review if you do purchase the Beast.

To this I'll add-

it would also be greatly beneficial to all who are interested if you could post pics of any lawn you mow with it. I have no intention of buying one simply because of my previously stated reasons, but I am always interested in learning how different machines do overall, especially new designs that are trying to make inroads into the market. Pics will no doubt help others who are contemplating making their own "beast" purchase.

[TWerner]

Originally Posted by GordonwJackson

For comparative quality and warranty tracking, the commercial mower market data is not published. there is no central 3rd party that collects comprehensive comparative data and releases it to the industry. Generally, dealers perform the work and make claims back to the manufacturers. The large retailers collect data on all of their OPE so we have this as a benchmark to test against but the comparables are the Toro, Ariens and MTD mowers sold through retail channels. GXi's OPE tracks favorably in this regard and it is all 3rd party data that we receive.

For enterprising data researches as some posters seem to be, a good indication of serious quality issues is the cspc.gov site since clutch, engine, blade and fuel system quality issues often force recalls due to posing a potential safety hazard. I think you will find many of the mower incumbents names in the long list of recalls. This seems like a reliable 3rd party list to use as a starting point at least...if you are genuinely looking for solid 3rd party data on commercial mowers.

Thanks Gordon,
This tracking makes sense, and it's nice that you track favorably with with the Toro, Aries, and MTD mowers sold in the large retail chains. That makes me believe you have a great mower option there for any residential owners, because long term, I think your mower should do well given it's built more heavily. I don't think, however, that comparing well to the residential mowers sold in the large chains, given the mowers they track for you are also sold to mostly residential users, is the same result I would expect from a professional grade mower. I think a Skag, Hustler, Snapper Pro, Exmark, Ferris, Yazoo Kees, or any of the other many commercial mower would do better. Once you get through these early issues we've seen crop up on the beast, I think you could trounce the residential mower reliability as tracked by the big retailers. Even so, everything I've seen makes me think I'll pass and get a commercial mower. That may be overkill for my 11 acres, but I bought a residential mower 8 years ago, and hated it for 8 years. I don't want to do it again.

Good luck with your product!
Todd

[nepatsfan]

I am not sure about the beast mower but I have never ran into someone who handles a barrage of questions(a lot of them stupid) more professionally than Gordon. I appreciate your candor. F.Y.I. If you had just said that there were legal reasons why you couldn't post the video, I believe a lot of us would have stopped asking.

The beast may have some flaws but if every mower company were this open and approachable it would make our lives a lot easier.

[TWerner]

Agreed. The recent buy experience with Beast Mowers here hasn't been great, and Gordon has been very forthcoming and professional despite a lot of posts and questions that were not polite or fair.
Hats off to Gordon for that.
Todd

[Patriot Services]

You guys might be too young to remember the rumblings about the new "midmount" ztr's. They were junk, no way could they work, scalp prone. Funny how they quickly put the huge front mounts in 2nd place. That was well before the internet as well.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Greybeard Shepherd]

I think it is time to post my review of the beast that I received a little more than a month ago. First let me say that the people at GXi are very nice and are willing to work with the customer. Gordon, Shawn, Jonathan have all been helpful. Now for the bad news. I can only conclude that the mower I received is either a lemon or the model itself is not ready for prime time.

It all started with the delivery. Yellow Freight damaged the mower - we suspect it was dropped off the back of a truck, however the damage appeared to be only cosmetic, so I took delivery, documenting the damage with photos. Customer Service agreed to send touch-up paint and a new headlight.

The mower did not track straight from the beginning constantly needing steering compensation while moving. Eventually the right drive stopped working due to a sheared bolt on the steering shaft. I reported the problem and replaced the bolt. Speaking of bolts, at one point in time the seat back stopped standing up, falling on the top of the engine. Two of the bolts holding the seat back adjustment mechanism had fallen out. The mower bogged down cutting in thick grass so Customer Service sent me a new air filter assembly (actually the one that came with the engine- apparently the "commercial" grade air filter that was added to the mower was blocking airflow and causing power issues. I was told that I would see a significant increase in power with the new air filter assembly - did not see any change in the power under strain.

A few days later the mower wouldn't start. There is a solenoid controlled needle valve on the carb and it wasn't getting power. The ignition switch was bad. There is a work-around to hook a wire from the battery to the carb solenoid to get it to run. At about that time I started hearing some strange noises from the transmissions, the mower belt was slipping significantly, the hour meter stopped working. After hearing about these issues, GXi flew out a factory technician to bring this unit back to factory specifications. I think the tech concluded that the shipping damage was more significant than originally thought. They picked it up on a Sunday, working on it all week, delivering it on the following Saturday (Memorial Day Weekend).

Within one hour of cutting after being in the shop for 6 days, the right main steering shaft bolt sheared (again). I replaced it, however there are still problems.

Does not steer straight without compensation – right side has less power than left side.
hours meter not working
Overall the mower does not seem to be going as fast as it should – as a commercial grade mower speed should be up to 11 mph. – (Is RPM correct at “full” throttle? – this could impact cutting capability too)
Mower bogs down cutting thick grass – 3 of my acres are field that I keep at 4-5 inches. Cutting 7 inch grass at 4 inches, mower needs to be slowed down significantly to get through it.

I’m concluding this mower is not for me and my cutting needs. I bought it for reliability and cutting speed. It presently fails in both areas.

I have requested a return for refund or am willing to entertain a new replacement with hopes that this unit was a lemon. One other thing: don't expect your local Home Depot store to help at all with this (at least in part of the country) - all issues after delivery are referred to GXi. The only thing I've gotten from Home Depot for this mower is the credit card bill. I really like the strong frame and cutting deck of this mower, just can't handle the reliability issues.

[GMLC]

Originally Posted by Greybeard Shepherd

I think it is time to post my review of the beast that I received a little more than a month ago. First let me say that the people at GXi are very nice and are willing to work with the customer. Gordon, Shawn, Jonathan have all been helpful. Now for the bad news. I can only conclude that the mower I received is either a lemon or the model itself is not ready for prime time.

It all started with the delivery. Yellow Freight damaged the mower - we suspect it was dropped off the back of a truck, however the damage appeared to be only cosmetic, so I took delivery, documenting the damage with photos. Customer Service agreed to send touch-up paint and a new headlight.

The mower did not track straight from the beginning constantly needing steering compensation while moving. Eventually the right drive stopped working due to a sheared bolt on the steering shaft. I reported the problem and replaced the bolt. Speaking of bolts, at one point in time the seat back stopped standing up, falling on the top of the engine. Two of the bolts holding the seat back adjustment mechanism had fallen out. The mower bogged down cutting in thick grass so Customer Service sent me a new air filter assembly (actually the one that came with the engine- apparently the "commercial" grade air filter that was added to the mower was blocking airflow and causing power issues. I was told that I would see a significant increase in power with the new air filter assembly - did not see any change in the power under strain.

A few days later the mower wouldn't start. There is a solenoid controlled needle valve on the carb and it wasn't getting power. The ignition switch was bad. There is a work-around to hook a wire from the battery to the carb solenoid to get it to run. At about that time I started hearing some strange noises from the transmissions, the mower belt was slipping significantly, the hour meter stopped working. After hearing about these issues, GXi flew out a factory technician to bring this unit back to factory specifications. I think the tech concluded that the shipping damage was more significant than originally thought. They picked it up on a Sunday, working on it all week, delivering it on the following Saturday (Memorial Day Weekend).

Within one hour of cutting after being in the shop for 6 days, the right main steering shaft bolt sheared (again). I replaced it, however there are still problems.

Does not steer straight without compensation � right side has less power than left side.
hours meter not working
Overall the mower does not seem to be going as fast as it should � as a commercial grade mower speed should be up to 11 mph. � (Is RPM correct at �full� throttle? � this could impact cutting capability too)
Mower bogs down cutting thick grass � 3 of my acres are field that I keep at 4-5 inches. Cutting 7 inch grass at 4 inches, mower needs to be slowed down significantly to get through it.

I�m concluding this mower is not for me and my cutting needs. I bought it for reliability and cutting speed. It presently fails in both areas.

I have requested a return for refund or am willing to entertain a new replacement with hopes that this unit was a lemon. One other thing: don't expect your local Home Depot store to help at all with this (at least in part of the country) - all issues after delivery are referred to GXi. The only thing I've gotten from Home Depot for this mower is the credit card bill. I really like the strong frame and cutting deck of this mower, just can't handle the reliability issues.

Im sorry to here of the issues you have with your mower. I do appreciate the honest review. You were the ginnie pig for this mower and Im really not surprised with the problems. I hope you can still return it? Please do yourself a favor and buy a proven commercial mower(Its going to cost more). You should get many trouble free years of use out of it as I have over 3000 hard commercial hours on mine almost trouble free.

[samendolaro]

Wow... sorry to hear about your issues.. the fact that you sheared the same bolt twice means it wasn't a fluke and there is too much strain on that shaft . And they way you needed to hot wire it to run may be the same issue experienced in the HD one which wouldn't start. Hopefully they are learning from these real world trials.

[Ridin' Green]

Sorry to hear all that! All I can say is you are far more patient than I would be with that many problems, and no way in the world I would accept another in hopes of it not being another lemon.

One thing, and to be fair to the mower design itself- even though you say you are cutting from 7" down to 4", there is still 4" of uncut grass under the deck impeding airflow and discharge. That will put extra strain on any mower, so don't feel bad about it bogging down slightly in those conditions.

As for the rest, I agree with GMLC. Go buy a proven and well known mower. Even though it will cost more initially, in the end you will be thankful every time you get on it.

[TWerner]

Hi Greybeard,

GXI seems to be very responsive to their customers, and you were clearly giving them every chance to get it up spec for you. In fact, I think you were an ideal test subject since you're so self reliant on fixing small issues.

Hopefully you'll be allowed to return the mower even if it's post the 30 day trial. Obviously the reason you kept it past that 30 days was because they convinced you they could fix it and the issues wouldn't be recurrent. That wasn't the case, unfortunately. I am confident the company will solve these issues eventually, but you shouldn't have to keep the mower because you let them try.

Keep us informed on how your situation gets resolved, and good luck.
Todd

You know, you didn't have it for 30 working days yet, or even 30 days with the correct engine air filter. I think they'll take it back.