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New Gravely 460 Questions

8K views 34 replies 11 participants last post by  Ridin' Green 
#1 ·
Took home new Gravely 460 today, and not really impressed.

Few questions if someone can answer them for me.

1. Does the adjustable baffles only come on 452?
2. Mine says it has Hydro-Gear® ZT-3400 Transaxles on sticker behind seat, but has 5400 written on Hydro gear underneath. Is that just a wrong sticker placed on machine?
3. Had a lot stragglers after 1 medium speed pass. Deck had no pitch, so I will adjust that. Is 1/4" pitch best?

Will be picking up Scag Turf Tiger 61" with 29HP EFI Monday and comparing it to decide which to purchase. Drove Scag some today and LOVED the cut, but liked the 31 HP Kawasaki better on Gravely.

For what it is worth, Gravely dealer is the largest in this region but had no idea about adjustable baffle or larger discharge chute. For that reason alone I almost went ahead and purchased the Scag but decided to wait till Monday to do a side by side comparison, only because of the high reviews I have seen on this site for Gravely.
 
#2 · (Edited)
I demoed a 460 Last Tuesday by cutting half my yard. It cut very well at about three-quarter speed in very tall thick grass, with "not very sharp" blades. No stragglers.

I think it was a 36 Vanguard. I know the transmissions were 5400's.

I ended up buying the Scag Cheetah 61" Kawasaki 31 hp. I demoed the Cheetah the day after the 460. I found the Cheetah cut just as well, The suspension platform of the Cheetah performed just as well as the 460 Air Seat, and the cost was $2000 less.

Oppssss forgot..... 3.5 acres

I feel that I saved a serious chuck of change.....


:usflag: *trucewhiteflag* :usflag:
 
#3 ·
Took home new Gravely 460 today, and not really impressed.

Few questions if someone can answer them for me.

1. Does the adjustable baffles only come on 452?
2. Mine says it has Hydro-Gear® ZT-3400 Transaxles on sticker behind seat, but has 5400 written on Hydro gear underneath. Is that just a wrong sticker placed on machine?
3. Had a lot stragglers after 1 medium speed pass. Deck had no pitch, so I will adjust that. Is 1/4" pitch best?
.
1. If it does not have a adjustable baffle, then it is a older mower. Last year the X-Factor was not adjustable.
2. No idea
3. The best mower in the world, can leave a less than desirable cut, if not set up properly. It amazes me that on a demo, which the purpose of is to impress a potential buyer that dealers do not do more to make sure it will give the best results possible. So pitch the deck, 1/4" is usually the area to be, and make sure the blades are sharpened properly. Probably check your tire pressures as well while your at it.
 
#4 ·
Hawkshot99 summed it up perfect.

Sounds like last years model with the X-Factor 1 deck but it should still leave an amazing cut. The 400 series does come with 5400's. I will also add check for proper belt tension.

This is the cut quality you should be getting.

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=382404
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#6 ·
It is this years model, with serial number greater than 20,000. Dealer is a pretty good friend of family and called regional rep for Gravely since he said he had no idea about new deck or adjustable baffles. Rep said all new machines had new deck now and told dealer this is the newest deck and machine. Dealer said the adjustable baffle must only come on 452, but that doesn't sound right to me. Is anybody SURE that the adjustable baffles come on a 460, and could somebody please provide me a picture of that on a 460.

GMLC, you and PROSTREETCAMARO and 2 of the reasons on this site that I was so stuck on getting a Gravely. The other is how quick a Gravely Rep on this site is always pretty quick to respond. But I must admit, I pretty aggravated with this machine already. Didn't think I should have to bring a brand new machine home, just to learn how to adjust the deck myself.

And HAWKSHOT99, thanks for the reply. Blades are brand new, actually the machine is brand new, only had .4 hours on meter when I got home with it. I can understand some things not being perfect, like a scratch or something, but you would think a dealer would have the deck SPOT ON since that is what everybody is really comparing. Unless the dealer's shop just don't know anything about pitch.
 
#8 ·
All X-Factor 2 decks have adjustable front baffles. ProStreet has them on his 460 and Mag360 does on his 472. And as you know I do on my 452. In fact all 100, 200, and 400 series machines do.

You would be surprised how many dealers have no clue on how to prep a machine correctly. If he doesnt even know about the new deck thats already a red flag!! Some dont even know about fleet pricing.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the link GMLC, I had saw that post before but couldn't find it again. Dealer had me doubting that the 460 was included, especially when he called the regional rep in front of me.

Think I will call Gravely my self tomo. Really pisses me off when the dealer and rep tell me I don't know what I'm talking about when I KNOW I have read and looked at the stuff here on Lawnsite!
 
#13 ·
Southern lawn, Centipede and St. Augustine primarily, and the common southern weeds...dandelion, wild onion, dallisgrass.

Like I said earlier, if it weren't for this site and what I have come to like about Gravely from here, I would take this machine back Monday and NEVER look at another Gravely. But I realize its not entirely Gravely's fault and don't want to hold this against them. Not until I talk to Gravely myself tomo and find out who the regional rep is for this area, and why he told me that I was incorrect about the baffles.
 
#17 ·
Oh the ride is spot on, almost too comfortable. Good steering control positions, great seat height and arm rest support. Machine feels good and planted in ditch banks. Kawi 31 HP has plenty of power, pretty bad on gas but it is brand new and the deck is not pitched right, so that is probably not a fair evaluation.

Love everything about the machine except the deck right now, but Im sure that will get fixed tomo.
 
#22 ·
lol, probably didn't forget, just didn't know what they were in the crate :hammerhead:

doesn't everything come with leftover parts and bolts :laugh:
I've had the exact same situation here in AU comobrute, and came to that conclusion too.
It was definitely the new xf2 deck with the larger discharge, red spindles, and holes in the front skirt but the dealer didn't know what I was talking about when I mentioned the adjustable baffle. He checked with the area rep and he was just as clueless. Said we probably don't need them here with our different grasses etc.
For the 'lawns' I mow, the baffles wouldn't be the deal breaker, but the fact that the Gravely staff aren't up to date with their product, would be.
 
#24 ·
The deal breaker for me EDBEEK is the fact that both the dealer and rep told me I was wrong, not that they would check into it. I am in the process of buying either 2 Gravely 460's or 2 Scag Turf Tiger 61" EFI, and the more I think about how I was made to look stupid at the dealership is really pissing me off.

I am going to give Gravely the benefit of the doubt and call them directly tomo and go from there.

GMLC, I don't know who puts the baffles on but the dealer had a 452 WITH baffles, sitting right beside 2 460s without them. That is when he told me the baffles came on the 452 and not 460 with the rep on the phone.

I think the baffles should help a lot with the cut. Those of you with the baffles, do you think it gives you a better cut?
 
#25 ·
Sounds like it could be possible that your dealer may have sold the baffles to one of his friends or larger customers who had an older style deck and wanted the new baffles, and just lied to you about them not being on the 460. Maybe it wan't a rep on the phone at all, but the guy he sold them too.:laugh:

Don't judge Gravely by one bad dealer and possible rep. Not all reps actually know that much about thier products. I was talking with a Stihl rep this spring about some of their chainsaws and why I no longer run them, and when I brought up the MS650, he said they never made that model. I told him they darn well did, because the very shelf we were standing in front of had just had one sitting on it a couple months earlier. He then started changing his story all around after he insisted I was wrong and I had told him I could produce their own brochure with it pictured along with the specs. He tried to then say it was only in production for a few months, at which point I had to interrupt him again and correct him that it had been in production for at least a few years before being dropped last year.
 
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