Bad Boy rubber shock suspension - effective?

[sprinter]

I've been looking at all the commercial grade or near-commercial grade zero turn mowers with dealers near me. One of these is a BadBoy Lightning (last year's) and new Outlaw XP. These have rubber shocks on the front. I intend to also look at Ferris or Simplicity models with spring suspension which everyone seems to love for rough terrain.

Can anyone tell me if the rubber shocks actually help, and how they might compare with the Ferris/Simplicity system? My terrain (3.5 acres) is a bit rough and I'd like as comfortable ride as possible and it seems like a suspension might allow a bit faster speeds also.

Thanks

[retrodog]

The suspension system has rubber compression shocks in the front and rear, has a flex axle shaft on both rear axles, and has the michigan suspension seat on the lightning. On the XP, it also has the balloon sidewall tires, paired with a nearly 2 foot longer frame is smoother. Also if you get the grammer air ride seat on the xp........wow is all I have to say on the ride. Drive system on xp is also alot smoother... Amazing mower hands down brotha, just delivered a 72" 36hp XP to a guy wholla go with a grammer on it, I mowed half his yard in like 3 passes...lol. must be nice i dont even have time to mow anymore.....

[sprinter]

Originally Posted by retrodog

The suspension system has rubber compression shocks in the front and rear, has a flex axle shaft on both rear axles, and has the michigan suspension seat on the lightning. On the XP, it also has the balloon sidewall tires, paired with a nearly 2 foot longer frame is smoother. Also if you get the grammer air ride seat on the xp........wow is all I have to say on the ride. Drive system on xp is also alot smoother... Amazing mower hands down brotha, just delivered a 72" 36hp XP to a guy wholla go with a grammer on it, I mowed half his yard in like 3 passes...lol. must be nice i dont even have time to mow anymore.....

Thanks for the reply. Those shocks looked kind of hokey to me compared with the springs on the Ferris, but it sounds like they work pretty well. Yeah, I noticed the tires on the XP. Very fat.

I was about to ask you what a grammer seat was, but I looked it up. How would the grammer's compare with Michigan seats? Is it actually available for the XP, or strictly after market?

[dwost]

I agree with retro, there is a marked difference with the isolators paired with a Michigan seat. I can't comment on the new Outlaw as I've not had any seat time on it. while I've also not driven the Ferris, based on the ur reviews on here I'm pretty sure it will have the smoothest ride of the bunch. It's hard to beat a true full suspension setup. My suggestion would be to demo all that you can on your property and select the one you feel provides the best combination of features and ride.

[White Gardens]

Originally Posted by dwost

I agree with retro, there is a marked difference with the isolators paired with a Michigan seat. I can't comment on the new Outlaw as I've not had any seat time on it. while I've also not driven the Ferris, based on the ur reviews on here I'm pretty sure it will have the smoothest ride of the bunch. It's hard to beat a true full suspension setup. My suggestion would be to demo all that you can on your property and select the one you feel provides the best combination of features and ride.

Ditto on the Demo.

Only other mower you might consider is a Dixie Chopper with the springer front casters, high floatation rear tires and suspension seat. Very nice ride on bumpy terrain.

...

[retrodog]

Grammer is standard on the diesel, but available as an upgrade on all the other mowers. $300 to $450upgrade extra depending on your dealer if ordered that way. If you buy afterwards, the grammer retails for $1104, i have seen it for $600 online. It has alot more travel and features that the michogan i think its worlds better. Just mowed on a 33.5 cat ferris stock last week and it was honestly rougher than the xp with grammer, but i am sure of the ferris had a suspension seat it would have been as smooth. Badboy started out with springs, but the rubber compression shocks are much lpwer to replace and dont rust and go bad as easy as the springs do.
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[sprinter]

Excellent advice, guys. Thanks. I've only demo'd stuff on dealer lots and I'd love to take a couple onto the property, but we're like 28 miles from the dealers. I have no way to transport these things myself. Still, I will ask if there's any way to do that.

Interesting that the seats are cheaper as upgrades than after market. I'll keep that in mind.

Have no Dixie Chopper dealers around here. My choices are Exmark, Gravely, BadBoy and Deere. Simplicity is about 75 miles. May go there for the Ferris-like stuff. All nice, pretty comparable at each price point, seem like good dealers. Suspension may be the deciding factor.