just read this thread, and glad it got woken up.
First Gravely was a 16G, second an older 8199 that I bought to restore.
Except for the ZTR's, I think it's fair to say that Gravelys are high effort machines. My rider gives me a workout and I keep it well greased.
My JD LX280 drives like a Lincoln compared to the Gravely. Softer ride, almost like power steering though it isn't.
But the Gravely will cut through places I'd never take the shiny green machine. Plus it weighs twice as much and has a different mission.
And I know every square inch of it, so if it stutters, I know exactly which nanny safety switch to clean and keep going.
I honestly believe the Gravely garden tractors were built to a standard no other garden tractor has even been.
Back in the seventies, Bolens and a few other brands had some great mini tractors, but having a Gravely
with a Kohler K engine in it is like owning a 56 Chevy with a small block in it. You know it will outlast you. No question of it...
Mine has the worst smelling exhaust, hydrocarbon city, I can't see it but boy can I smell it.
I still dream of replacing that ancient motor with a new Honda or Vanguard v twin, but my recent addition of
an electronic ignition gizmo seems to have perked up the engine and given it new life. I was getting seriously tired of
sticking points after it had sat for several weeks. No longer. Fires right up, wants to get going.
I watch the local CraigsList constantly for new Gravely equipment. We are in Gravely country here, there are old line dealers
all around me. So nice used ones do come up, just like the one I bought. But for fun, nothing beats walking the back lot, the bone yard where
the old equipment is. Where you will see old garden tractors of every make and model sinking into the soil. There can be some real gems in the
back and I bet I'm not the only one who has wandered into the boneyard.