deere m665 ztr

[lee b]

what do ya'll think of new ztr's from deere? i have a 335 jd tractor that i use because 1 large commercial account has extreme slopes. i really like jd tractor type mowers but, need a ztr. only dealers close to me sell grasshopper and dixon, and i don't really like either. my jd dealer gives me great service and pretty good discounts. i am wary of the 25hp kohler engine which comes in the m665. i wish they used a kawasaki i think their great engines. your opinions would be appreciated.

 

[Eric ELM]

I used to mow a steep sloped commercial lawn with my 430 JD and a 60" deck. I thought it would be the only way to mow something this steep too. I ended up getting 2 60" DC ZTR's that handled it just fine.

The 25 HP Kohler is supposed to have the fix on the head gasket problem. If not, it has a 2 year warantee and the gaskets normally go at below 100 hours from what I've heard. I haven't used a JD ZTR, but I think Kees makes the main part and JD makes the deck. Is Douglas and Douglasville close together?

 

[lee b]

douglas is in south ga, douglasville is approximately 200 miles north of here , around atlanta. is there anything wrong,that you can think of, with the m665's design or components. i've had no experience with ztr mowers, the m665 seems to handle nice and has plenty of power, but i have nothing to compare it with. from reading other posts i think i would like a lazer z, but nearest dealer is over a hour away.

 

[MJB]

Lee, I have a Lazer Z and my dealer is 80 miles away. I have yet to go back. But they provide great service if it goes down. They have delivered a demo to one of my competitors when his Lazer was acting up. I would at least compare it with JD. In fact my Lazer was purchased from a JD Dealer. They sell more Lazers than anything right now.

 

[Eric ELM]

Lee, if you want a Lazer, go to your nearest dealer and demo one. I know I would drive several hundred miles to a DC dealer if I had to. Get what you want, not what is available. This is my opinion though, so do what you think is best. I have to drive 30 minutes or more to my dealer. I just get extra filters, blades, belts in the spring at the open house, so they last me all summer.

 

[gorrell]

Lee, don't let distance from a dealer influence your buying decision. My closest dealer for any of my 6 machines is 110 miles away. It just takes a little bit of planning as Eric said in keeping some extra blades, belts, etc. Buy the machine that will fit your needs, not one that is necessarily the closest proximity.In my opinion, you can do a lot better that the JD mid mount if you're looking for a ztr. Lynn