I would say go with the scag. I own a pro-turn 460 but it seems they Gravely cheapened things up in the last year or two.

 

There's absolutely no contest here. Scags V+ deck is light years superior to gravelys xfactor decks.

 

Any concerns with the Kohler motor?

 

Which kohler comes on it? We've had great luck overall with kohler and that's what we go with when we can. But that's all down to personal preference really.

 

It's has the 25hp Command Pro -efi

 

Heck yeah great engine. Sips fuel. Had that (when the same engine was labeled as 29hp) on our first 61" tiger cat. Under powered on the 61 but should be great on the 52". Our current 61 has the big Kohler 29 efi and my own personal TC2 I bought in the spring for my 2 acre lawn has the 32hp Briggs. That thing drinks fuel like it's going out of style but boy does it make some serious power.

 

Haven't cut grass in 10 years but I've had Cub cadets, gravely, exmark, grasshopper, Hustler, John Deere. By far Scag was worth the money. Exmark close 2nd. Check the the size difference of the hydraulic motors. The thickness of the decks. The height of the decks. Also idler pulley's some of the above mention commercial mowers had plastic idler pulleys. At one time I was running 10 mowers from 36 in to 72 in. Idler pulleys, pulleys, ignition switch, clutch, wheel motors, hydraulic pumps, clutch switches, and wheel bearings would all fit each other. $5,000 worth of parts in the shop and I could keep anything going. Just my observation but everybody has their favorite mower. It was nothing to get 4,000 hours out of a mower. Not saying I didn't have to put new a motor on it. But never had to get rid of a mower because the frame or deck was falling to pieces. And for my personal 3/4 acre yard I purchased new in 2020 a 61-in v-ride. 54 now hope I live to be 101 and that mower I will be able to leave to my kids

 

Ive run gravely commercial for over a decade. But if the extra $2k doesn't hurt your pocket book even I would go scag.

 

Thank you all for the input… definitely helps making my decision. Originally wasn’t planning spending quite that much but I really do like the Scag and it appears from the comments that it’s worth the difference.

 

Thank you all for the input… definitely helps making my decision. Originally wasn't planning spending quite that much but I really do like the Scag and it appears from the comments that it's worth the difference.

The only thing worth the difference is the deck. Don't get me wrong the machine's themselves are built well. But so are many machines these days. Gravely builds a great machine. We used them for many years. The deck though! That's where it's at.

 

Well I decided to get the Tiger Cat 2 with the Kohler efi motor. I think the dealer gave me a good deal on a last year model. ( He just uncrated it last week.) My only reservations were that according to the serial number it appears to be a late 2019 but I felt it was hard to pass up for $7400 out the door with a $500 trade in value for my old mower. ( I don't think I would have gotten more than that selling it myself, used riding mowers just don't go for much around here)

 

Check the pto switch. If it has metal flat blades on the bottom you'll need to get the updated switch with adaptor to keep on hand. That switch will fall rapidly. Likely with in the first 100 hours give or take.

 

To the best of my understanding, the 2019 Scag Tiger Cat 2 had either the all tan seat for the early models and then went to the 2 tone black & tan WITHOUT the orange in between later in the run. The 2020 & 21's have the Black, tan and orange seats. So it appears your unit is at least a 2020. And congrats!

 

I'm looking at buying a zero mower. For whatever reason they seem to be hard to come by lately. I have narrowed my choice down to 2...Scag Tiger Cat 2 or a Gravely Pro-turn zx. I think both dealers are giving me a decent price but I wanted to get some input on these. Both mowers are the 52" deck. The gravely has the Kawaski FX motor and the Scag has the Kohler. The Gravely is last years model while the Scag is a 21 model. The Gravely does come with the upgraded suspension seat. The cost on the Gravely out the door is $7500 the Scag out the door is $1900 more. My big question is ..... Is the Scag worth the extra $1900 ? I've had good experiences with Kawaski motors but never had a Kohler. Is that of any concern or are they reliable motors too?

Thank you in advance for any advice and input

RC

Scag tiger cat II cuts better even on bump landscape. The Scag is better built. One thing to consider, the Scag can be subject to repairs if you get a lemon. examples: I had to replace the grommets on the fuel tanks after 282 hours. They leaked air so the fuel was starved on a hot engine and would not restart until the engine cooled down. Also, v deck is great but I had to return mine because it was out of specification where the baffle plates were welded. Covered by warranty but took 8 weeks to get the deck. Additionally, the space between the motor with air vents (Kohler engine) scag plate (by back of the seat) is very tight. You must blow out debris or if it builds the engine will overheat and you will get oil leak through the gasket.

 

I just joined this forum so I'm late to post here.

I have a Scag Cheetah from 2018 and the Kohler engine has been wonderful.
The main thing that's a nightmare about this Scag is that everything about the mower deck is a total failure. I only mow 4-5 acres a week and brought it back for warranty work 3 times, but then the dealer went under (probably from doing too much Scag warranty work?!).

Belts break a lot. Tension springs fall off and are lost in the yard. Pulleys were worn out after 100 hours... I've spent more time fixing this crapola deck than I did in 17 years of owning a 2002 Scag Turf Tiger.

So, I won't recommend Scag anymore and it feels like another once proud American company that's gone in the toilet.

 

I just joined this forum so I'm late to post here.

I have a Scag Cheetah from 2018 and the Kohler engine has been wonderful.
The main thing that's a nightmare about this Scag is that everything about the mower deck is a total failure. I only mow 4-5 acres a week and brought it back for warranty work 3 times, but then the dealer went under (probably from doing too much Scag warranty work?!).

Belts break a lot. Tension springs fall off and are lost in the yard. Pulleys were worn out after 100 hours... I've spent more time fixing this crapola deck than I did in 17 years of owning a 2002 Scag Turf Tiger.

So, I won't recommend Scag anymore and it feels like another once proud American company that's gone in the toilet.

Thank you for your reply. Sorry to hear that you've had that much trouble with the deck. I don't have many hours on mine yet but I hope I don't run into those issues once I start using it again in the spring. Very good to hear the motor has been good though.

 

That's terrible. I just got a TC2 this year and have seen numerous posts about new equipment with all manner of issues like you describe, and it makes me nervous. I just rolled 116 hours on mine.