[kbalthazor]

Looking at purchasing a New 2022 Z997R with side discharge deck. Looking for all the good and bad info on them.

 

[Brucey]

Looking at purchasing a New 2022 Z997R with side discharge deck. Looking for all the good and bad info on them.

Paging @StuartR and @CGros31

I only have a 994 with 60" deck with tweels (25hp), are you getting them or standard tires? Only thing of note, at around 1700 lbs they can rut soft turf easier than a 1300 lbs gas model z900. But can't beat the diesels for long life and fuel efficiency. No regrets. If I had more lawns to mow I'd definitely have a 997r with 72" side discharge as a contender.

 

[StuartR]

My wife has a 2021 Z997R with rear discharge, we love the mower's cut. It is slow and unresponsive compared to our Hustler HyperDrive, but it cuts better and gets great fuel economy. We have only filled the tank 2 times and it has 17 hours on it. With fuel I believe it to weigh just over 1900 lbs about 250 heavier than the Hustler. The rear tweels are great and soften the ride, the solid front tires are a pain, they are rock hard, aftermarket suspension and tweels are coming our way soon. The roof with the cooling fan is worth every penny but you should probably tow it in an enclosed trailer.

 

[Prestigious1]

Other than being heavy, that diesel model is a BEAST!!

 

[Brucey]

My wife has a 2021 Z997R with rear discharge, we love the mower's cut. It is slow and unresponsive compared to our Hustler HyperDrive, but it cuts better and gets great fuel economy. We have only filled the tank 2 times and it has 17 hours on it. With fuel I believe it to weigh just over 1900 lbs about 250 heavier than the Hustler. The rear tweels are great and soften the ride, the solid front tires are a pain, they are rock hard, aftermarket suspension and tweels are coming our way soon. The roof with the cooling fan is worth every penny but you should probably tow it in an enclosed trailer.

Are you doing front tweels and zglides combined?

 

[StuartR]

Are you doing front tweels and zglides combined?

I'm seriously thinking about it, if I used it all the time I would for sure. I got the flex forks on the Hustler and with air filled tires, it rides much better than the Deere. Don't get me wrong, the Deere is a fine mower.

 

[Brucey]

Might go with front tweels this season at least when the bagger is off. Things are bouncy on the seat no issues with back but my legs and knees have problems when I've been running for a couple hours on a rough property.

 

[StuartR]

Might go with front tweels this season at least when the bagger is off. Things are bouncy on the seat no issues with back but my legs and knees have problems when I've been running for a couple hours on a rough property.

My wife's feet dangle when mowing, if she points her toes, she can touch.

 

[Brucey]

My wife's feet dangle when mowing, if she points her toes, she can touch.

I want to build something so my feet are supported by the seat as well. So I'm fully isolated from the chassis apart from the sticks.

 

[CGros31]

The only downside of the 997r in my experience is the price. However, you get what you pay for. The power is UNREAL. It's also extremely fuel efficient. The weight has never been an issue for me. The only thing I've changed out is the tires. I put bar tires on it to help it chug through the sometimes soupy South Louisiana land. Even in tall grass the engine never bogs. It's the perfect compliment to my 994r.

 

[CGros31]

Another thing I should mention, I have the 997r with a 60 inch deck. If you choose to get the 72 inch deck it will still run that deck with no power loss. The engine is a torque monster.

 

[Wolfgang]

Great choice of machine I would recommend it. We run 997R mowers along with other John Deere products, I drive a 997r 60inch RD most days and it is an absolute tank of a machine, well made and very robust, good quality finish and fast as well. No good on banks and it gets stuck easily being 2 wheel drive. We usually run a 997R and a F1580 together on soft/wet sites as the 1580 will recover the 997r every time if needed. We also fit bar grip tyres for the start of our season but move as quickly as we can to regular turf tyres as these damage the ground less.

 

[vgodenwa]

I bought one of these with a 72” deck based on advice from this forum and love it. It is not as good in wet grass as my Turf Tigers (sounds like the grass gets balled up under the deck) and doesn’t do quite as well running over stuff you shouldn’t run over (I cut in wooded areas a lot), but for cutting large pastures it is fast and comfortable. I do not recommend the tweels at all with the diesel. With a canopy and a custom rear bumper they are overloaded. Ended up getting some bar tires that can support the weight. If JD would increase the clutch pressure to the Scag 350”#. Otherwise it’s a great reliable high quality high volume machine.

 

[vgodenwa]

Update: my mower was improperly adjusted from the factory on the blade spindle belt tensioner (a spring) on top of the deck locked in by two bolts. Once this was tightened up the mower now cuts like it should wet or dry grass. My bad for not noticing it, but I was aware of the lower clutch spec compared to the Scag and I just assumed it was the clutch since it was a brand new mower. Highly recommend the Z997R if you can afford it. BTW I see some have problems with the height adjustment - I've had none, but only about 300 hours. Others say they'd prefer a foot peg to the button lift???!!! I LOVE the button lift as I constantly float over limbs (I should have picked up!).

 

[Wolfgang]

Update: Others say they'd prefer a foot peg to the button lift???!!! I LOVE the button lift as I constantly float over limbs (I should have picked up!).

The lift button is the business, mowing over manhole covers is sooo easy, Our 997R is coming up on 3K hours now and the switch will be changed at the next service as its becoming a little intermittent, great service considering the amount of times we use it every day.