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JD Z720a decent machine?

7K views 25 replies 3 participants last post by  Ridin' Green 
#1 · (Edited)
A dealer locally has one of these brand new for $6495. I have been researching it a bunch but I cannot seem to get a feel for it being a good deal for what I need. It needs to handle several acres, some of which may be thick weedy grass. Im reading reports that it might be underpowered. Then I see some that say the Kohler motor isnt as good as the Kawasaki in the 900 series.

Im mostly concerned with Kohler quality and whether this unit with a 60" deck is underpowered or not. Also, aside from thick grass, it is a sloped lawn, a pretty steep hill. Is this a good mower or should I look to the next model up?
 
#2 ·
Welcome to the forum!
I owned one in 2011 for the entire year. I bought it brand new. It had plenty of power for any normal cutting/mowing. It handled any hills that I cut with no problem, but how well it'll work on your properties depends on the hills and how big/long they are. It is a true commercial mower, with the exact same frame and many other features as the 900's, which I have now. The only reason I sold it and bought my 950 is I wanted the MOD deck and a little extra power to run it in thick grass and/or leaves. Unless your grasses are extremely thick and long it is plenty of engine for the deck. The deck on the 720 really works well with Oregon Gator G6 blades.

My original Kohler was a POS and had to be replaced under warranty at less than 50 hours, but the replacement engine was fine. The 700's ride better by a noticeable degree than the 900's due to the 700's having pneumatic front tires. Keep them at about 15 psi for the best ride, while still preventing them from popping them off going over curbs, roots etc. That is a very good price on it BTW.
 
#4 ·
I never had any trouble with grass like that when cutting it down to 3.25". I rarely mow at full sticks. Mainly at about 6-7 mph, and at that speed it always impressed me what it would really do. I went from the OEM medium lifts that come on them, to the OEM high lifts and it made a big difference. Then I switched to the G6's and they really shine under that deck. Once the engine gets broken in good, it will feel even stronger.

I would say to demo it if you can before you buy, but if they won't let you, I still think you'd be pretty happy with it overall.
 
#7 ·
I wouldn't do it. The 720 has the park-n-go foot brake which is really nice, the 915 doesn't. The 915 is a really stripped down 900. It doesn't have the cross porting, foot brake and a few other things I can't recall right off. The only real things it has that may or may not matter to you is slightly taller rear tires, a little better seat and maybe a few more ponies.

OTH, if you can get the 915 for anywhwere near the same price, there's no real reason not to go that way, but for a grand more I'd stay with the 720.
 
#9 ·
You should demo the machine on your property braz. I had a 830 that was a great machine, but didnt have a suspension seat, and it was tough on the back mowing over two hours
That's one reason I told him to demo if he can, but the 800's and 900's ride a lot rougher than the 720 does. He can always order the Michigan seat from northern tool as well if he needs it.
 
#10 ·
Im about 30 miles from the store. Keep in mind that the machine I currently use for my place is a 36" box store rider with a 12hp motor. It cuts the grass....barely. That machine handles the essential cutting close to the house....i was just asking about this mower since I would be going OUT a little further.
 
#13 ·
Does anyone know what the deal is on the engines for the Z720A? the 2010 have a 25HP, the 2012/13 have a 22.5 and then the new Z915B has a 24.5 or something. However, I am under the impression that the motors are all exactly the same. Did the government change the HP calculations or what?
 
#14 ·
Does anyone know what the deal is on the engines for the Z720A? the 2010 have a 25HP, the 2012/13 have a 22.5 and then the new Z915B has a 24.5 or something. However, I am under the impression that the motors are all exactly the same. Did the government change the HP calculations or what?
After the small engine manu's got sued a few years ago for over rating their engines, Kawi started rating them more accurately, and Kohler is slowly following their lead. B&S is still way behind and using over inflated numbers. The engines are all the exact same as they always were, and produce the same power.

BTW- that 25 Kohler is labeled at 22.5 by some sources, byt the stickers on the Deere engines says 21.9 :rolleyes: Regardless, it'll do the job.
 
#16 ·
Got my mower yesterday. Its a beast! It cuts really nice and does a great job. One thing I wanted to ask about the the whine when you turn or move. I assume its from the transmission pumps/motors. When at full throttle, you don't notice it as much. At low speeds, its loud and you can feel it. I assume this is normal. The left one is much louder than the right. I think I remember hearing this type of noise from hydrostatic type equipment, but wanted to check.
 
#17 ·
Yes, that is normal hydro whine. There are a ton of youtube videos in which you can hear a ZTR doing that. Even hydro drive utility tractors do that. However, keep an eye/ear on them. They should have the same sound. Are you hearing it louder on the left with the deck on, or off? If the left is louder to you while the deck isn't running, that may be something to have the dealer check out eventually if it doesn't seem to go away once you get some hours on the machine. If it is louder on the left with the deck on, it's usually because the air coming out of the discharge chute drowns out some of the whine.

BTW-
The 720 comes with std lift blades. try some OEM high lifts that come on the 900 series, or better yet, some Oregon Gator G6's. they really work well under that deck on that machine. They are what I ran almost always when I owned mine.
 
#18 ·
I just mean when I move the right stick, the whine is there, but not quite as loud as when I do the same thing with the left stick. This is when the deck is not running. When at full throttle, its not as pronounced, when the deck is running, you can't hear it at all. Im unfamiliar with the machine, but it cuts 12" grass without any problem at all. Seriously...its awesome.
 
#20 ·
Thanks for the tip on the blades. I may try those after these are ready for replacement. I didnt run it full speed, it goes WAY faster than I would ever need to mow, but with the speed I ran, it cut grass like crazy. Im going to bush hog the rest of the tall grass so I can find the hidden logs or sticks, but after that, the JD will handle it without tearing it up.
 
#21 ·
I found that running 15 psi in the front tires (which is also what JD recommends) and 10 or 12 psi (IIRC, they recommend 12, but I tried both) in the rears makes the ride very nice. Don't wait for the blades to need replacing. The G6's really make that mower come alive. Much better than the stock blades. Check the pitch of you deck on a nice flat surface too. The dealerships rarely get it set correctly. There should be at least 1/4" of pitch to the blades when they are lined up front to rear, with the rear being higher. You can buy a handy gauge at a Deere deaalership for bout $8-10 that makes checking the blade height and pitch easy.
 
#26 ·
They aren't designed to be used with any type of mulch kit, just side discharge or bagging, but they shred stuff up pretty well. Grass clippings are about 1/3 the size when they come out. They also have carbide infused into the bottom side of the cutting edge so that they stay sharper longer. You can still file them easily enough with a good old hand file though.
 
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