My Gravely loaner is gone....

[Crapgame]

Well, the Gravely 148Z loaner has gone home, and has been replaced by.... a 2004 Exmark 52" Lazer Z HP with 23 Kohler and striping roller. What a machine!

The HP is sweet. The cut and striping are incredible, even at top speed (in the few spots I can use it). The low center of gravity really helped hold it up when cutting the side of the berm on my yard. It dispersed clippings very well, and the deck setting adjustment works well. It's compact size left plenty of room in my shed.

Gripes with my HP? I like the control handles on the Gravely better. I liked the cooling fan under the seat on the Gravely. The Exmark did not have the anti-scalp wheel on the front right of the deck, and even though the deck is really close to the front caster, it still seemed to want to scalp more than the Gravely. And petty as it seems, the keys were nicer on the 148 as well.

I love my Exmark. Now, can anyone tell me if you can use an ultra-vac on a machine that has a masterchute ocdc?

[craigs lawncare]

My guess is the extra horsepower the Exmark model has over the Gravely model is where you are seeing most of your difference in performance. Having a striping attachment helps the over-all final cut appearance as well. Kind of like adding more options to a new car and expecting the other less equipped model to compare with it.
I own a 260Z and the features I like are the hydraulically adjustable deck. It can be adjusted just fractions of an inch at a time. I have driven Scags and Toro Z's as well and I think Gravely's hydraulic system wins hands down. Of course this is what I am most used to. The swivel front-end helps prevent scalping as much as the decks anti-scalping rollers. I am surprised other manufactures don't use this.

Craig

[Tider6972]

" I like the control handles on the Gravely better."

Just a personal preference issue, of course, but as I demoed the little 34Z I found the handles awkward and actually in the way and restrictive, particularly getting on and off the mower.

[Crapgame]

Craig,

I really liked that Gravely. A lot. The hydraulic deck lift was a very slick feature.. Once the little black plastic (rubber?) spacers were set up to make the height setting repeatable, it was a snap to raise or lower the deck without having to look at it. It certainly seemed to me that the 21 Kawasaki on the Gravely was a little quieter than the 23 Kohler on my HP as well. That's not a scientific measurement by any means. The Gravely did seem to be generally bigger in every dimension, as well as sitting up higher, which gave me a bit of a better view.

Tider,

I think it was just that the foam on the Gravely handles was a little thicker that made me like them. The Exmark ones are very close to one another on my HP, maybe 1/2 inch apart. The Gravely handles were more like 1 1/2 inches apart. I was less afraid of them hitting each other on the Gravely. So I guess there is some part of dealer assembly with those?