I demoed one a couple of years ago. It had some nice features, but I thought it seemed more like a top-of-the-line homeowner machine. Not qiute heavy duty enough for commercial use. The thing that really bothered me, was that they use pretty small HP engines on big decks. Seems like their 60" and 72" machines had only about a 22HP or 25HP engine. Maybe you can get bigger engines now, I have not checked them out lately. I did like the flip-up deck.

 

The smaller horsepower does not hurt that mower at all new deck runs off of its own hydraulic motor and motor is not bogged down at all in high grass and motors will last forever on these machines because they never idle up at full throttle the motor is sounds like it's idling they do not like hills very well they mow them good but the wheels being in the middle if you pull back on the handles too fast it will flip you straight up in the air with a deck not locking where it stands up when you pick up on it the deck will not stop you it will flip up onto its nose gets a little scary that is only downfall I've seen about this mower if you mow slow and you don't pull back fast you won't have no problem they do good on heels but you have to remember that

 

They look like Ingersoll Grazer's or 5000's.....

 

I ordered a video on them and they didn't impress me. They use a 18 hp on a 60" deck and a 20 hp on a 72". The max speed is 7 mph on the chain drive units and 7.5 mph on the hydro drive units. IMO there are much much better choices out there.

 

Talked to dealer. He told me that company is comfortable w/ hp choices. i.e. when other ztrs originally came out they had 18-25 hp engines as well. Higher hp has happened only recently and they apparently perform well with the current choices. I do like the out front deck designs, it does cut down on trim time and that probably equalizes the somewhat slower speed. May only be noticeable on large open properties. I don't mow at full speed w/ my other ztr(Bad Boy 60" /27hp - 13mph) unless I am doing soccer or baseball fields. For slightly higher price than good quality WB I can get one of these. Just inquiring on durability really. Will it last if used everyday?

 

Marty J claims they are commercial mowers so I would guess that they would hold up to everyday use.

How do you like your Bad Boy? How well does it cut and stripe? Will it cut good at full speed?

 

I love it! The only problem I had is a head gasket at 250hrs on the 27 liquid cooled Kawi. I am a Kohler man and bought it simply because it was an 03 leftover and was $2k cheaper than the Kohler powered one. Before all is said and done, I may repower it with a 28 Kohler EFI. Depends on how smoothly the warranty claim with Kawi goes! Mows very well at full speed. Striping is comparable to the Exmark I had previously. I am fashioning a rubber flap stripe kit on the trailing edge of the deck this winter. So the stripes should be even better next season. Very heavy duty mower. I would highly recommend one. I have used it on stuff that probably should have had a bush hog and it did well. I used double Gator blades this fall and made leaves disappear with minimal drag on the engine.

 

Appreciate the post. We don't hear enough about the Bad Boy mowers.
They seem like a great value. But to me they look to have a high center of gravity in pics.
How do they run out on slopes and things?

 

I demoed one several years ago. It cut really well! and was smooth machine. I did not buy it instead I went with Choppers. There are a few of them running around and most people that have them like them. I do know they were the first to have a flip up deck on them. There are some copies of them as well like the Ingersal, M&W, Grazer/White. and most recent Zipper.

 

Bad Boy is terrific on slopes. Will climb anything without tip-up. Center of gravity isn't a problem. Very wide wheelbase. It does have its limitations going down hill though. Will lose traction just like any other ztr. I can back down most anything though. Still have need for a WB for some severe stuff.

 

Yeah, I never really thought all that much about how wide they are. Also, looks can be deceiving, especially in pictures. I've never seen one in the flesh. They probably look taller than they actually are in pictures, mostly because they have different styling than most ZTR's.

 

Marty J's are tough, easy to work on and last forever. I have two units from the 70's that we still use daily and my dad has one also. Mine have the 14 horse motor with the 40" deck. I mow at full speed without any problems, pull a 25 gallon sprayer, drag rocks out of the yard and brush to the pile.

 

I own one. But I will not own another. Problems , Problems, Problems. High maintenance, underpowered. And, resale! HA! Can't give it away!!! Stay away from this machine unless you want to go broke!!
I have switched to Grasshopper and could not be happier . The Marty J is parked and I plan to keep it that way!It was a $7000 mistake that I will never do again!:hammerhead: The Grasshopper has nothing but uptime and keeps me making money and is a very dependable machine. It is a small one,616 but has been a good machine. My next replacement will be a grasshopper but bigger! I have had the 616 since 1993 and just last year I had to put a new hydro pump on it! Very low maintenance and very dependable! I wish I had an hour meter on it so I could tell you how many hours it has but I don't. But, I know it is over 3000 just by taking a yearly average. I have always taken care of everything I own so both machines have been treated with care.

 

Time traveler, perhaps?
Did keyboards have periods in 2004?

 

Did keyboards have periods in 2004?

Apparently not. Would have thought people would have typed better back then. 🙄

 

I am surprised that company has survived all these years. They certainly can not sell many/year. I guess there is a place for the small American manufacturer in the world of ZTR's. It would be interesting though, to know what their annual unit sales/year is.

 

Honestly it’s pretty impressive that after 20 years you are still on this site and posting.

 

So why was "Robert" banned?
I'm curious if that was literally a BOT posting that up above because it didn't "sound" like bot-speak.

Bot? or No bot? That is the question.

 

Not a bot. More than 1 account..

 

Low budget bot… types like a 10 year old.