... They had none in stock and I was told they were back-ordered and to get one I would need to be on the 'list'. I asked why and was told that ALL the mowers were called back to the factory to replace some welds with brackets. This was a precaution the company took to make the units stronger in the area in question- and this had delayed production, hence the shortage.
I was also informed there is ongoing talk about bringing out a somewhat larger machine, but no specific date or schedule as to when this might happen. ...
I just called the company directly about this. I spoke with Peter in tech support and he denied knowledge of any of it. Now it's true he might not know of plans for a bigger machine even if they were in the works, but it seems pretty unlikely he wouldn't know about a recall. He said he's had a couple calls from people needing replacement keys--no surprise there, but nothing else major going on. And he tried to sell an extended warranty, which I politely declined.
Didn't surprise me, but it took me till I read the manual to figure out that the "impact zone" sticker is where you are supposed to hit the post. I thought that it was related to string length...One thing that surprised me when I saw the unit firsthand is that the black disc above the string cutter head did not spin. For some reason, I thought that disc rotated with the fencepost. I don't know why I thought that, but I did. It does not, it is fixed and rubs itself past each post.
My FIL just got one in this week. Took a look at it and realized that it has a composite gearbox. Will play with it this weekend and see how it handles our fencelines.
Coyote machine: if you are at the store again, would you mind asking if the pivot lock bolt has to be a bolt, or if a pin would work as well? I forsee losing the bolt and/or the wing nut fairly easily.
Aaron Z
I've thought of drilling the bolt and putting in a pin so that the wings on the wingnut can be like a castle nut, but I just got to look at it tonight, so I dont know how it will perform in real life.I'll look into it for you. I haven't seen a machine since they were backordered when I stopped in, but for the bolt wingnut, in the meantime, could you drill a small hole below where the wingnut is tight enough and slip a smaller size pin in the hole, with a string attached to keep it from disappearing if it got knocked loose?
Just a thought- I know I hate loosing stuff like that out in the field.
So as to a recall- I did NOT say they had one, I said they brought back the machines already in use to do the bracket upgrade.