Which Engine for 52 inch ZTR

[fireman gus]

I have always had good luck with Kohler.

[hammmerhead]

I have had good luck with both over the years. The Kawa probably has close to the same torque as the Kohler even though its labeled to have less HP. 10 years ago I would have leaned towards the Kohler. Today I would take the Kawa over the Kohler without doubt.

[retrodog]

Kawasaki all the way, this is coming from a dealer that offers all!
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[lawnspecialties]

Need more info. on your mower choice. Is this a large frame mower or a small frame mower?

I for one only buy Kawasaki. But my 252 Gravely has a 27hp Kawasaki. My 152 Gravely has a 24hp Kawasaki. Wouldn't change my choice on either machine.

[groverandson]

get the kawi and maintain it at 300 hrs adjust the valves then once a year in winter maintainence and ull never have a problem with it

[dahammer]

I assume this is in regard to the Scag Tiger Cat, which offers them both on the 52”? If so we are comparing the FX691V to the CV740. Interestingly, Kawasaki has recently redone the ratings on the FX line and they now show the FX691V as a 22 hp engine with 39.4 ft lbs of torque. The CV740 is spec’d at 27hp with 42 ft lbs of torque. They both have about the same displacement.

Kawasaki uses the SAE J1995 measurements, while Kohler uses the SAE J1940 measurements.

At any rate, the truth is the 2 engines are probably very close to each other power wise and it’s going to come down to which one you like better. The Kohler has hydraulic lifters that never require adjustment, where the Kawasaki requires adjustment. Kawasaki has also had a lot of problems with the FX line dropping valves, especially the larger ones like the 37hp. But there have been reports posted here of the same issues on some smaller engines as well. To my knowledge, Kawasaki has yet to publically claim they have fixed the issue.

Anyway, I recently made this very decision and choose the Kohler. Partly because of my previous good experiences with the Kohler Command engines, but mostly because of all the problems with the FX line. Thus far, my only complaint is that once the Kohler is hot, you must turn it off while it’s at half throttle or more, or it will backfire every time. I also have a CH730 and it does it too, but only occasionally. For me, the only problem with this is retraining myself not to throttle down before killing it and sometimes it’s difficult to teach old dogs new tricks.

[blake101]

bump bump bump

[weeze]

do you guys adjust the valves yourself or do you take it to the dealer? how much does it cost to let the dealer do it? my mower has 125hrs so far on the kawi 26hp engine. i really like the engine.

[Grassmaster9]

I have used both. Both are great, but I prefer Kohler.

[DJLS]

cow for me!