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JAshley's Wright Zk Adventure...

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Jashley73

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
I've mentioned it before in another thread, that this year I picked up a used Wright ZK stander, for a backup/2nd mower. I figured I'd make this thread as sort of an ongoing review of the mower.

But first, why? Why would I care to give an honest review of this machine?

Answer - Because there's a strong, and dangit I mean strong cult-following of these Wright Standers, especially the ZK model. So I want to inject some honesty into these machines, with some somewhat relevant comparison.

OK, with that out of the way, let me give context by saying that I'm a solo part-timer with a mix of residential & commercial accounts. Very few "easy" yards. My main mower has been a 2011 model Exmark X-series 60" ZTR, with a 26.5hp Kohler EFI engine. I added AT101 tires for better hillside performance.



The stander that I bought is a 2020 model Wright ZK, 61" with the 37hp Vanguard, and the AeroCore deck.

I've made this mower my "main" mower for a few weeks. It's not really been fun...



To be continued...
 
#2 ·
What other mowers do you have experience running or is it just the exmark vs the stander?

Standers aren't for everybody, but I do agree with you, the Wright following is ridiculous and I too don't see the hype. They need to do some work on the new aerocore decks, they don't do well especially where grass grows fairly lush and thick like in the midwest or the northern areas. I often wondered if they designed their decks for the southern states and the first thing I did on mine was pull the baffles and open it up. In stock form the 52" left a crappy cut. I'm on high lift blades now with no baffles and it's acceptable, but still not up to snuff with my other mowers. The 32" wright with the old fixed deck mows very well and hasn't needed any deck modifications to do so. It seems to be popular opinion that the older wright decks, (pre aerocore) did much better.

I am fairly picky about cut quality as I think most of us are, so maybe I'm just too picky, but the fact that I had to modify a brand new mower as well as the complaints I see from other seems to prove that the aerocore deck is inferior.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
Learning the "stander" hasn't been fun. Granted, I expect to be uncomfortable on a new machine like this, so I'm trying to be patient, and give this machine the benefit of the doubt.

Honestly though, this mower is starting to feel more like a pain in the butt in use.

First, and most annoying, is using the GrassFlap, foot-powered chute blocker - meaning, standing on one foot, and operating the GrassFlap with the other foot, while moving. This is made worse by the pedal on the GrassFlap. It turns out, they don't have a "good" pedal to use on the standers. This makes it awkward to reach the pedal in the first place. Then, using it, while in motion isn't necessarily easy, especially if you want to "throttle" the chute partly open. Throttling the chute is necessary when you want to limit how far the clippings are thrown, but can't close the chute altogether. Which means holding pressure on the pedal with one foot, and standing with the other.
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My next biggest gripe, is the deck lift. Having a hand-operated deck lift makes lifting/feathering the deck a challenge. I find myself either stopping to raise the deck in spots, or trusting the anti-scalp wheels, and then gouging areas. Having a foot-lifted deck on a rider makes this a non-issue.



And perhaps the biggest dissapointment, which everyone that I've spoken to seems convinced of - is the hillside performance. I can't call it poor. But in almost no way is it superior to my current ZTR. Being fair, it seems to have slightly more down-hill control than my ZTR, on one specific account. But that's it. No better up-hill performance. No better side-to-side performance.

Now, to be fair, the ZK has turf tires. My Exmark has AT101's. I cannot overstate how much better the AT101 tires are than turf tires. Cannot be overstated. A part of me is considering putting AT101's on the stander to make things a little more even. So, in the interest of fairness, I should put some AT101's on it before ruling a final judgement on the ZK's hillside performance.



Next up, I'll talk about the deck design.
 

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Discussion starter · #4 · (Edited)
Edit: I've since changed my opinion on the exterior deck design, particularly in the area shown in purple. My updated thoughts are on post # on page 3.

Next, is deck design. I'm on the fence about the AeroCore deck's grass cutting performance, but I can say that the exterior deck design leaves a lot to be desired, specifically with the trim side, and the anti-scalp wheels.

Image


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Those front anti-scalp wheels stick WAY too far out the front of the deck. Their extra length means that I can't drive in those last few inches, and thus, must string-trim more.

Next, the trim-side anti-scalp wheel sticks WAY too far off the front, and is too close to the trim edge of the deck. I mow a lot of chainlink fence. Trying to rub the chainlink with the Wright deck can easily grab the chain-link, and either damage it, or of cause the mower to "crash." Honestly, Wright should have shifted this trim-side wheel an inch or two away from the trim edge, and recessed it WAY farther back into the deck. Look at the under picture - Look how much room they have from that trim-side wheel, to the front blade baffle - plenty of room to scoot that wheel back.

Also, that trim-side wheel can easily dig into the dirt when turning left, and into a slight incline, meaning not very effective...



Contrast that to the Exmark deck. The front anti-scalp wheels are spread away from the center of the deck, and stick out very little. On the trim side, there's a very generous chamfer at the edge of the deck, which means I can graze against chainlink with no recourse. Also, the anti-scalp wheel is clear of that edge also. And the wheel itself is cone-shaped, which prevents it from digging in, on those up-incline, left-hand turns.

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And by far, my biggest gripe against the ZK - which is simultaneous praise for the Exmark - Is that the Wright's deck is fairly centered on the frame. I wasn't even aware how much I liked this 'feature' of the Exmark, until I got on the wright. Having those few extra inches of deck overhang on the trim-side is a game changer. That means the tires are a couple inches away from the edge of that drainage ditch, meaning less risk of going over the edge. Meaning I can usually avoid coming back with a string trimmer. Meaning I can trim closer to beds, again eliminating the need to string trim. I had no idea how much I'd come to love this 'feature' until I was without it.
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
rippinryno said:
What other mowers do you have experience running or is it just the exmark vs the stander?

I've used a Scag Turf Tiger a little bit. Going back in time, an older BadBoy rider (their first iterations that resembled Dixie Choppers) a small 48" zero turn, hydro-walkbehind. Owned a belt-drive walkbehind for years as personal mower.

Standers aren't for everybody, but I do agree with you, the Wright following is ridiculous and I too don't see the hype. They need to do some work on the new aerocore decks, they don't do well especially where grass grows fairly lush and thick like in the midwest or the northern areas. I often wondered if they designed their decks for the southern states and the first thing I did on mine was pull the baffles and open it up. In stock form the 52" left a crappy cut. I'm on high lift blades now with no baffles and it's acceptable, but still not up to snuff with my other mowers.
Click to expand...
I talked to the Wright folks last year at GIE about the deck, and specifically the guy whom supposedly designed it. He said it was targeted for 75% fescue 25% KBG grass, and half-way between the Scag & Exmark in terms of open/closed baffling. (My words on the last part, paraphrasing.) Looking at the underside of the deck, it looks FAR more like the Exmark's deck, and from my very brief observations, it seems to perform a lot closer to the Exmark deck than Scag's Velocity+ deck.

Yesterday, I was using it on some first mows of a few overgrown yards. I wasn't too impressed to be honest. The grass was wettish, and wanted to clump pretty bad. I haven't peaked under the deck to see how much was stuck to the underside, but I suspect a fair amount. I did notice some larger clumps dropping off later in the evening. I'm using moderate/high-lift blades BTW.

I'm also using (4) spacers on the underside of the spindle, to get the blade tips slightly below the baffle, to help with taller grass.



I'll be honest, I'm not seeing much advantage to the AeroCore deck, compared to the UltraCut 6 deck. It might be a little more open, although I'm not seeing clippings discharge some huge distance. Maybe 8-10 feet - about the same as the Exmark. Both blades are similar lift.
 
Discussion starter · #6 · (Edited)
Next up, controls & ground speed...

First, the controls themselves on the Exmark are just superior. Riders give the advantage of foot-lift decks. Foot powered chute blockers. This means I can be mowing, open & close the Grass-Flap without slowing down. I can feather the deck up easily & quickly. I can be driving, turning, feathering the deck, AND using the chute blocker at the same time, and I do...


But the Wright, and most standers, seem to place the key switch, throttle, and PTO UNDER? the control bars? Why? Just why?



And next, the ground speed...

This mower either has something wrong with it, somewhere, or Wright is lying. I will give Wright the benefit of the doubt and suggest that they are not liars...

I can't get close to the published ground-speed of 12.5mph forward, 7mph reverse. Best I can manage is 10.5ishmph forward, and 5mph reverse. I've called the Wright factory, and spoken with service on how to reset the control linkages to the factory measurements, and then adjust for extra speed. This is it. This is all I can get. If I try to adjust for more forward speed, then I lose reverse speed, but the control levers also begin interfering with the parking brake's lockout of the controls.

I feel like I'd also like this machine more, if it had only (2) control levers, vs. Wright's (4) lever setup. It's awkward switching from the rear, to the front control levers. But it's also awkward to do a whole lot of reversing using only the rear levers. Reversing would be a lot simpler with a (2) lever setup.
 
#9 ·
They get high regards on hills because of the lower COG and the ability for the operator to easily shift their weight. Unless the OP has a special exmark, at101 or not, his stander would do better on every hill. If the operator usnt comfortable that is a seperate issue . At101 are ok they arent the miracle tire that so many claim them to be.
 
#11 ·
Jashley73 said:
I talked to the Wright folks last year at GIE about the deck, and specifically the guy whom supposedly designed it. He said it was targeted for 75% fescue 25% KBG grass, and half-way between the Scag & Exmark in terms of open/closed baffling. (My words on the last part, paraphrasing.) Looking at the underside of the deck, it looks FAR more like the Exmark's deck, and from my very brief observations, it seems to perform a lot closer to the Exmark deck than Scag's Velocity+ deck.
Click to expand...
That's explains it, they went for a best of both worlds ended up with a master of none. Now keep in mind I only have experience with the 36" Aerocore and that doesn't have a front baffle like the larger Aerocores. Definitely sucks having the anti scalp wheel sticking out like that on the trim side poor design.
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
rippinryno said:
They get high regards on hills because of the lower COG and the ability for the operator to easily shift their weight. Unless the OP has a special exmark, at101 or not, his stander would do better on every hill. If the operator usnt comfortable that is a seperate issue . At101 are ok they arent the miracle tire that so many claim them to be.
Click to expand...
Exmark has done a good job on the Lazer's with getting the center of gravity down very low, but so has most of the industry. I'm willing to bet that the engine on the exmark is no higher than the Wright's when cutting. The fuel tank is much lower. Somehow, they've kept the seat very low. Honestly, at a component level, the only additional weight from components, would be the seat and the roll bar. (This would be true of any stander vs. any ZTR...)

Regarding operator comfort, you are exactly correct - I'm not as comfortable on the Wright yet, and I'm trying to keep that in mind. Some of that is reinforced however, because I can't do x________x thing on the Wright, that I can do on the Exmark.



The point of the thread though, was to inject some honesty into the topic, especially given all of the praise that I hear in regrards to Standers, and specifically the ZK's.

Let me also say, that I recognize that I sound like an Exmark fan-boy. If so, it's only after experience, and not from any previous bias. I practically stole my machine, and bought it ONLY because I knew it was cheap enough that I couldn't go wrong. It's not perfect. But the more mowers I look at, the more I appreciate it's design I guess.

I really don't have an axe to grind either way. My dealer of choice sells both Exmark and Wright. I paid for both machines, of course I want them to both to work well.
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
Brucey said:
That's explains it, they went for a best of both worlds ended up with a master of none. Now keep in mind I only have experience with the 36" Aerocore and that doesn't have a front baffle like the larger Aerocores. Definitely sucks having the anti scalp wheel sticking out like that on the trim side poor design.
Click to expand...
To Wright's credit, they offer a replacement, bolt-in "Northern Baffle" that pulls the front baffle in a little closer to the blades, for a more Exmark-like high-vacuum performance. I can't speak to it's performance as I have no experience.
 
#14 ·
Jashley73 said:
To Wright's credit, they offer a replacement, bolt-in "Northern Baffle" that pulls the front baffle in a little closer to the blades, for a more Exmark-like high-vacuum performance. I can't speak to it's performance as I have no experience.
Click to expand...
I think ultimately they sacrificed ultimate deck capability to get the deck "shorter" from front to back. What I would give for the old style Deere standers with the 7iron decks, but reports that the hydros would tend to give up the ghost with overall weight etc.
 
#15 ·
Jashley73 said:
I feel like I'd also like this machine more, if it had only (2) control levers, vs. Wright's (4) lever setup. It's awkward switching from the rear, to the front control levers. But it's also awkward to do a whole lot of reversing using only the rear levers. Reversing would be a lot simpler with a (2) lever setup.
Click to expand...
tdipaul doesnt like this lever setup either.
 
#16 ·
Dont confuse honesty with opinion. The praise you see are honest opinions not dishonest ones.

This is your first stander and you arent confident with it. I get it.

When you get better you will learn the trick of one handed steering and using deck lever. Your grass flap should be a qwikchute. Wright controls are hands down better than the one lever style. My honest opinion.
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
@rippinryno I'm assuming that you have a quick-chute? I can see the value of that a lot more on a stander vs. a Grass-Flap. Buy, this machine came with the GrassFlap already on it. Can you share a picture of where mounted the control for your quick-chute?
 
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