Hey, I was in your shoes 5 years ago, but had never heard of a Bad Boy. I bought a 2006 Grasshopper 722D 61" for nearly $13000. The front deck takes alot of torque away from the small diesel, and wet grass was my number 1 issue. When I started growing I bought a BB Lightning with a 26hp LC Kawasaki w/ a 52" Deck. I went to another world, and the funny thing was it only cost $7500, It would run circles around the hopper, especially before 9:30 in the morning when the dew was still on the ground. Yards with sprinklers I didn't have to go back and blow off with the BR600 blower I had to buy, I was really impressed with the speed and ride too. It is funny, I would leave my $13000 mower at the house when I just needed one, and while mowing big properties the GH was my backup. My Lightning fell off my trailer going 70mph down the hwy and totaled out, I was sick. The actual mower factory that built it actually fixed my machine for me, and I became a dealer for them after the fact. You are the exact person I would strongly advise you to demo both for atleast a few hours for the seat time. The other direction you could go in, you can get a 28hp Cat diesel from BB for $9999, or the monster 35hp Cat 4 cylinder diesel for $12000 if you find a hungry dealer, you are talking another world. A good example would be a dealer in Kansas that sells just Grasshopper and Bad Boys. He sold 30 something GH's and nearly 400 Bad Boys this year if that tells you anything. Here locally, Grasshoppers have been here since day one. After talking to the dealer here, I have sold more Bad Boys in 3 seasons of selling them than he has in 15 years. I do admit they eliminated most of the issues I had with my 06. There is no hydro belt anymore (mine broke all the time a pain to change out too), and the underpowered issue is no more (unless you get a front mount with a 21 or 22 diesel). Now they have the 31hp Diesel, and the big block Vanguard gas units. I would strongly recommend that if you do go front mount get a bigger engine, or a 48" deck to be happy. IF you wan the 21, go with the mid mount hopper on a 52" deck. You are welcome to pm me or give me a call, I would like to tell you my story, and love to help people out.... You are going to be sick when you and your buddy compare your mowers together. With the front mount mower you actually lose nearly 30% of your power as opposed to the same set up mid-mount. Don't get me wrong, the front deck comes in handy cleaning the deck, changing blades, under bushes, and over pools, but they need to discontinue the small engine choices on the fm, I thought they were this year, but I guess not. Not just to get you to buy a badboy, just get a mid mount hopper instead. I know yall have some thick grasses down there, and its really damp on your yards, just don't want you to be unhappy. Mowingman will prolly back me up on that, and I would recommend that if you have a chance to get BB again, I would strongly consider it. Our GH dealer sold 6 units this year, and I sold over 100 BB's, and they are nearly all commercial $8000 and up! I wouldn't mind visiting with you about it....
