Really...? Nobody...?

For all the strong opinions on here, I'm surprised that nobody has any feedback on Stander-X's, or John Deere Standers... LOL

 

Gonna have to step up to the ZK series to get faster ground speed and more power and 24/12" wide tires.

I have a 636m which is a Stander I equivalent. In cold season grasses here in NY the aerocore deck is less than ideal for wet or damp grass imo, starts spitting out wads while my 60" 7 iron on the z994 is still dispersing cleanly. I only use the 636m for small gates etc. If I needed a second prime producer I'd have to get another 7 iron ztr, the 661r wouldn't cut it for me. The aerocore deck had potential but they focused on making it shorter/more compact to get overall machine length down but too big a tradeoff imo.

 

Gonna have to step up to the ZK series to get faster ground speed and more power and 24/12" wide tires.

Sort of the conclusion that I'm coming too. Unfortunately, higher hour ZK's are twice as expensive on the used market, as good condition Stander X's.

 

If you like the X series, have you looked at the S or E series ? They all use the same 60" deck, same belts to the blades and pumps. They have the same hydros, 12 cc, same tires and all the Exmarks we have have the FX 801 engine.......The only difference I have found are the spindles are different.......

But if I had to choose between a Stander or Deere, I would go with the Stander. One of our guys has 2 of them, a 36"? and 52"? He has had them for about 3-4 years now, loves them. The only thing I have ordered for him is a few belts and filters.

As for Deere, I have dealt with them, parts cost more. I can not get Kaw or Kubota parts from my normal dealers, only Deere dealers. So if you need some thing from Deere, take some Vaseline with you........
.

 

Get the Ferris. Great price great unit.

 

What Ferris?

 

Z2 or Z3 depending on what you need. Cant beat bang for the buck with Ferris units here and their Standers are the nicest ride I've used.

Prefer the Wright Walks over the FW's but Standers, Ferris

 

Z2 or Z3 depending on what you need. Cant beat bang for the buck with Ferris units here and their Standers are the nicest ride I've used.

Prefer the Wright Walks over the FW's but Standers, Ferris

A brief 15 minute search of Ferris' website, and I'm not so excited about their Standers. It appears that the Z3 has a pivoting front axle - A huge turnoff for me. I understand that they're known for their suspension, but I despise pivoting axles. On a normal mower with rigid frame, the front tires aren't trying to fall into every little divot. Not so with a pivoting axle. They'll fall into anything.

Plus, there's nothing else attractive or standout about the Z2's Z3's. The suspension, while it seems nice, is littered with extra parts, that quite frankly I don't care much for the idea of. Plus, I have to hop a lot of curbs, and I don't see the Ferris' suspension handling this as well over the years.

The Z3 doesn't seem to excel in any specific area above a Wright ZK. The Z2 doesn't seem to excel in any specific area above a Wright Stander-X.

Couple that with the fact that I have a Wright/Hustler/Exmark dealer minutes away, and I don't care for our Ferris dealer.

It would have to be one heck of a smoking deal for me to consider a Ferris.

 

I don't have experience with the 661, only the 652r. Between the two I probably would get the deere - there's no wright dealer within a few hundred miles

also I find that wrights and scags look ratted out quickly unless you stay on top of cleaning them but just imho

 

Haven’t heard anyone having these issues. Lots guys run them here. Yup priced much better than the Wrights

 

Let's see.

• Wright invented the stander.
• Wright's game is the stander.
• Wright used to make stander for Deere.
• Wright was copied by Exmark when Exmark's Staris was deemed a failure.

Get the Wright.

John Deere Vs Wright Standers

John Deere 652R vs Wright 52X vs Wright 52XK what do you own and why did you choose one vs the other? Dealer support is same. Both dealers are close by. I drove them all. 52XK is a power house lol. Seems like the 652R is more comparable to the 52X when going spec to spec.

www.lawnsite.com

 

If it's going to be just a back up mower, consider a Bradley 60 stander, it will be new, decent cut, at about 6k.....

 

I thought Great Dane invented the stander mower?

 

Bill Wright 'invented' it, but Dane Scag beat Wright to market.

Our Guide To Stand-On Commercial Mowers

In terms of commercial mowers, stand-on mowers fit between mid-sized walk-behinds and zero-turns.

turfmagazine.com

Dane Scag started Bob-Cat but sold to Ransomes. Scag then started Scag Equipment, but sold to Metalcraft. Scag then started Great Dane, but sold to Deere.
Wright has stayed in Wright hands all along. I think Scag & Wright are both considered mechanical 'geniuses' in the business.

Here's a blip on Dane Scag:

Dane Scag passes away

The industry’s consummate serial entrepreneur, Scag invented or improved much of the equipment landscapers use yet today.

www.lawnandlandscape.com

 

Surfers had the operator behind the drive wheels. Wright held the over-the-drive-wheel patent until recently which is why a few years ago the Stander choices exploded.

Wright's are great but they are pricey.

 

Digging this back up, as I'm hoping to get some more feedback from Wright Stander X, or JD 661r machines.

To be clear, I'm not asking for a Stander-X vs. JD 661r comparison. I'm aware that they're the same machine. (Minus paint colors, and the control levers.)

Does anyone here operate a Stander-X, or JD 661r?

If so, can you make any comparisons to other commercial mowers?

Are they slow? Underpowered? Hold hillsides as well or better than a 60" ZTR?

Thanks

 

for regular mowing the 61" isnt underpowered at all, even at full sticks. when the grass is wet it can bog a big but the kawis are powerful. I would feel more comfortable taking the stander x on a hill than most riders. and they dont feel terribly slow... mowing more than 10 mph you sacrifice cut quality anyway.

have you considered the exmark vertex? youll be able to get it at the same dealer you got your lazer x(building better dealer relationships) , its very similar to the wright stander x but with the exmark deck(just as reliable as a wright stander but cuts as good as your other exmark) , and itll be nicer having matching mowers(possibly more professional, uniform look)

 

I'm buying used. $3,500-$5,550 range.

My local dealer sells eXmark, Wright & Hustler. I'm not in love with the eXmark deck. Does great when conditions are right, but struggles in taller & wet grass.

Considering another Lazer-Z, a Wright Stander (John Deere), or Hustler Hyperdrive. Easy enough to find another Lazer or Hyperdrive in that price. 61" Wrights are HARD to find under 10k. 52" Wrights are a dime a dozen it seems, but 61's are far more rare second-hand.

Unfortunately, I can't fit (2) mowers on my 12' trailer, so it'll be one at a time on the route. (I'm a solo part-timer.)

I love the idea of a Hyperdrive on my larger commercial properties. Especially the extra HP. However, I have a newer commercial account where my Lazer-Z with AT101's can't really hang onto the hillside during downhill turns. I think a Hyperdrive would suffer even more here due to the extra weight, longer overall length, and higher center-of-gravity. I'm thinking the stander(s) would do just fine, especially with a tire upgrade.


As much as I'd like to have all (3), that's not really an option, for many reasons.

 

if your dealing with steep hills, have you considered a 60" walk behind with sulky at all?

 

Any new word on the 661R? Im switching from Wright to Deere over time and was looking at these.

 

Deere has revamped their standers. They now come with the 7 iron deck. Check out the 800 series.

 

long drawn out post but here goes.

I was looking at the 661R but only because I didnt know they were coming out with new ones. I did a search and saw you had made a post about them so I was reading up on it. I went to the local dealers website and didnt see the new ones till @sjessen mentioned them so I took a brief look at them and will probably inquire about them at my local deere dealer. I wanted a 60 inch deck because we have taken on some big properties and I feel like we could cut some time off them bumping up from 52s to 60s. I asked a couple of my guys if they wanted ZTR's or Standers and they said Standers.

My Wrights are X's and a few fixed decks from before they went away from it.

As far as why Im going away..

I spent 20 years at the same dealer. They were close, fair priced, but best of all they would always get my machines in quickly if I could not figure something out. A few years ago they closed their doors. Mainly due to Amazon or other online places selling stuff cheaper.

I floated to another dealer a little further and had a couple bad experiences. The last one being a $500 purchase I made, not even opening the box, returning it, and them wanted to charge me a 20% restocking fee because the fat guy at the counter had to walk 10 feet to put something back on the shelf. That was the last straw.

I found another Wright dealer and decided to go with them. Its not a short drive. About 30 minutes. I did it anyway. I have 3 Deere dealers closer and ExMark dealer within 10 minutes but I still stuck with Wright. In the last 2 years I have bought 2 new mowers and a lot in parts and equipment. I think I deserved a little latitude with them when I brought a mower in with a blown motor. He asked me what brand oil I used and I told him Valvoline. Well apparently, he told KAW that and they shot me down. He also saw an aftermarket air filter in it and the problems compounded. I told him that I had bought 2 new mowers from them in the last 2 years and to go bat for me. He said nope. I then called KAW and they told me to pound sand. I then called Wright and spoke to a guy and he said he would look into it and I never heard back.

I love Wright. They are easy to work on. They are well made. My dealer sells millions every year, Wright sells tens of millions, KAW did almost half a billion last year.

Cut the little guy some slack.

 

long drawn out post but here goes.

I was looking at the 661R but only because I didnt know they were coming out with new ones. I did a search and saw you had made a post about them so I was reading up on it. I went to the local dealers website and didnt see the new ones till @sjessen mentioned them so I took a brief look at them and will probably inquire about them at my local deere dealer. I wanted a 60 inch deck because we have taken on some big properties and I feel like we could cut some time off them bumping up from 52s to 60s. I asked a couple of my guys if they wanted ZTR's or Standers and they said Standers.

My Wrights are X's and a few fixed decks from before they went away from it.

As far as why Im going away..

I spent 20 years at the same dealer. They were close, fair priced, but best of all they would always get my machines in quickly if I could not figure something out. A few years ago they closed their doors. Mainly due to Amazon or other online places selling stuff cheaper.

I floated to another deal a little further and had a couple bad experiences. The last one being a $500 purchase I made, not even opening the box, returning it, and them wanted to charge me a 20% restocking fee because the fat guy at the counter had to walk 10 feet to put something back on the shelf. That was the last straw.

I found another Wright dealer and decided to go with them. Its not a short drive. About 30 minutes. I did it anyway. I have 3 Deere dealers closer and ExMark dealer within 10 minutes but I still stuck with Wright. In the last 2 years I have bought 2 new mowers and a lot in parts and equipment. I think I deserved a little latitude with them when I brought a mower in with a blown motor. He asked me what brand oil I used and I told him Valvoline. Well apparently, he told KAW that and they shot me down. He also saw an aftermarket air filter in it and the problems compounded. I told him that I had bought 2 new mowers from them in the last 2 years and to go bat for me. He said nope. I then called KAW and they told me to pound sand. I then called Wright and spoke to a guy and he said he would look into it and I never heard back.

I love Wright. They are easy to work on. They are well made. My dealer sells millions every year, Wright sells tens of millions, KAW did almost half a billion last year.

Cut me some slack.

That's one thing if you go with JD the entire machine is warrantied by them you don't have to f about getting Kawasakis blessing etc if there's a problem.

 

For them to deny warranty stuff, they have to prove the Valvoline oil is what caused the failure, not a failure from the engine. Just like they can’t say you didn’t use X service for your tuneups so they won’t honor warranty or using aftermarket products in place of manufacturer branded. Denying warranty claims for any of those reasons is illegal.

I don’t know the details but if an engine blew under warranty and I had done all the sevicing, I’m pretty sure I’d have ended up with a new engine.

 

You are referring to the Magnuson -Moss Act of 1975. There is some wiggle room for manu's to deny warranty.




If you read this link Businessperson's Guide to Federal Warranty Law , it does not apply to commercial products. See this section - What the Magnuson-Moss act does not require. From that section we find this-

"Finally, the Act does not apply to warranties on products sold for resale or for commercial purposes. The Act covers only warranties on consumer products. This means that only warranties on tangible property normally used for personal, family, or household purposes are covered. (This includes property attached to or installed on real property.) Note that applicability of the Act to a particular product does not, however, depend upon how an individual buyer will use it. "

 

They would not be able to wiggle enough to free themselves of a blown motor under warranty for saying valvoline was an inferior product and thus the reason for failure vs kawi branded oil.

 

No, probably not, but you can bet they'd try to use that as an excuse and the law doesn't deny them the ability to do just that.

 

Laws don’t stop anybody from trying stuff. End of the day, I’d have a new engine, like their warranty states. It wouldn’t be denied for wrong brand of oil.

 

Look, I ain't a lawyer. Neither are you. What the law clearly states is that the M-M act doesn't apply to commercial products so they'd have a very good case for making your life miserable if not outright deny your claim. You may win in the end, but at what cost before you did? Therein lies the rub, These companies have teams of lawyers well versed in this stuff. You're gonna have to pay for your own at a very high rate p/hr. Ever been through something like this with one of these companies and all the lawyers? I have. I know what you are in for if you buck them. It isn't fun.

 

That’s ok, I can cost them more than a cost of an engine with just a few letters from myself. I can make people miserable too, just ask my wife. And I have the most expensive lawyer one could have, also my wife lol

Anyway, I’ve been thru lots of stuff big and small. A warranty denial for valvoline vs kawi branded oil would end in my favor.

I was wrong about the commercial aspect, you win. I’d still have a new engine

 

I agree that if it was only the brand of oil up for argument, you'd win.

 

If i know it’s gonna be a while before my kid cuts with me, I’ll leave one in the garage. Or, if I’m by myself AND it’s a day i use the 21, then i back em bofe off and put the 21 up front and then pull a 61” on.

He graduates this Spring. So, if he wants to mow while he finds a job - great. I’ll keep em both. But there’s a good chance he’s moving out of the mowing bidness altogether, which means I’ll be down to one mower.

 

Might want to keep one for back up. Just think about my situation and you can understand why.

 

Yup i agree. We’ll see.

I made a deal with my kid years ago when he started doing real work with me. I told him when he was done mowing “for good” the choice was his: I’d keep “his” mower with me, store it, use it as a backup, maintain it, etc for as long as he liked if he thought he’d want or need to mow a little here and there on the side, or full time or whatever. I’d even hang onto it until he had a place of his own with a yard, and then give him the mower. Or, on the flip side, if he’s sure he’s done mowing, he can have it right now, sell it and use the bank anyway he liked. But if he sells it, and takes the cash, that’s it. I’m not purchasing another mower if he changes his mind and wants/needs to mow. He’ll have to go work at Amazon or something again.

When he first started mowing, he needed a lesson or two on “take care of my stuff you big dummy!!” And while he wasn’t bad at it, i thought he could do better. So i told him: “you know, that’s YOUR mower someday dude. And if you beat it, it ain’t gonna be worth squat. If you take care of it, one day you can have it and use it on your OWN property.” Totally changed his approach. He’s made himself and our company a lot of money. He’s done right but us and we’ll keep doing right by him in little ways like that.

I know that’s not for all fathers, but I don’t care. We’ve been hard on him and think he’s a good kid. If i can help him get over the hump a bit, i will. If he was a jerk, or EXPECTED us to do a bunch of things like that, i’d have one foot and one peg leg for snapping my foot off.

 

Yup i agree. We’ll see.

I made a deal with my kid years ago when he started doing real work with me. I told him when he was done mowing “for good” the choice was his: I’d keep “his” mower with me, store it, use it as a backup, maintain it, etc for as long as he liked if he thought he’d want or need to mow a little here and there on the side, or full time or whatever. I’d even hang onto it until he had a place of his own with a yard, and then give him the mower. Or, on the flip side, if he’s sure he’s done mowing, he can have it right now, sell it and use the bank anyway he liked. But if he sells it, and takes the cash, that’s it. I’m not purchasing another mower if he changes his mind and wants/needs to mow. He’ll have to go work at Amazon or something again.

When he first started mowing, he needed a lesson or two on “take care of my stuff you big dummy!!” And while he wasn’t bad at it, i thought he could do better. So i told him: “you know, that’s YOUR mower someday dude. And if you beat it, it ain’t gonna be worth squat. If you take care of it, one day you can have it and use it on your OWN property.” Totally changed his approach. He’s made himself and our company a lot of money. He’s done right but us and we’ll keep doing right by him in little ways like that.

I know that’s not for all fathers, but I don’t care. We’ve been hard on him and think he’s a good kid. If i can help him get over the hump a bit, i will. If he was a jerk, or EXPECTED us to do a bunch of things like that, i’d have one foot and one peg leg for snapping my foot off.

You sound like a great dad. When we are young most of us didn't understand the concept of unintended consequences. Being an owner is way different mindset than being a renter in the way we take care of stuff..................or , maybe it should be. Once someone starts doling out their shekels it begins to hit home.

My brother didn't want to follow in our dad's footsteps by becoming a farmer. He worked in a variety of jobs for several years until he decided farming didn't looks so bad after all. He retired at the end of 2022 after farming for 37 years.

It's interesting how men react to cutting grass. Some love it, some tolerate it but more hate it and vow to never cut another blade once they become an adult. Have heard lots of men say "I cut enough grass as a teenager to last me for the rest of my life."

Keep us posted about your son's decision.