Oh Wrooster, you may be sorry you asked!
We got moved in at the new place and, sure enough, the grass kept growing. We hadn't been here a week and the lawn needed mowing. I wanted to buy the 1026R, but I really don't have a place to put it, yet. I can't leave a $15K machine sitting out in the weather. But it would be silly to move a car out of the garage to make room for a tractor, right? So, short term, we paid somebody to mow the lawn once.
Since my last post on this topic, I've continued to read everything I can get my hands on, and I found some posts on another forum by a couple different folks that had mowed with both X700s and 1026Rs. In both cases, they said the X700 is a much better mower, both in terms of usability and quality of cut. It wasn't long before I found myself back on the fence about what to get.
Upon expressing my quandary to my dad last month, he said that he had a Husqvarna GT2254 riding mower that he bought a few years ago that wasn't strong enough to handle his rough mountainside property. It had started falling apart and he had spent some time trying to repair it, but he got frustrated with it, threw a tarp over it, and let it sit for about 18 months. He suggested that I borrow it and get it fixed, and he'd "probably forget where he left it". It's got a 54" deck, so I drove up to NC and picked it up that night. I figured that would get me through the winter before I had to make any big decisions, at least. That weekend, I sent the Husky to the shop for a battery, spindle, and a couple deck wheels to replace the ones that had gone missing. The shop replaced the spark plug, greased all the appropriate points, and generally got it running again. $275 spent. But, I only got one mow out of it before it started making a horrendous noise when the blades were engaged, so I stopped using it. I thought I might have bent the deck when I loaded it on my dad's pickup truck, since most of the tractor's weight was on the deck, which partially straddled the wheel wells of the truck. So I found a closer shop that would do pickup/delivery, and had them come get it for a second repair.
In the meantime, the grass kept growing, so I pulled out the only mower I own. A little Honda push mower with a broken transmission (all push, no self-propel). It took me almost 3 hours to mow the front and side yards (but they looked great!). Then a friend down the street had mercy on me and let me borrow his Kubota BXsomething diesel with a 60" deck for the back yard. I think I finished the back yard in about 20 minutes. SO MUCH FASTER than a 24" manual push mower!
I got the Husqvarna back from the shop yesterday. They had replaced another spindle, a pulley mandrel, and the belt. Another $215 spent. Unfortunately, they did not fix the problem. By the time I got the front lawn mowed last night, the mower deck was making so much noise that my ears were ringing for an hour afterwards. I called the shop and they came back to get it this morning. I'm supposed to have it back again tomorrow. We'll see what happens with that. I'm approaching $500 in repairs for the free mower that's probably not worth more than about $500. So, I'm concerned that I may still have to buy a tractor sooner rather than later.
Lots of lessons learned, however:
1. Turning radius is a big deal on a riding mower. Interestingly, my friend's big Kubota with the 60" deck has a tighter turning radius than the Husqvarna with the 54" deck. More importantly, according to the JD website, the X700 has a ~25" turning radius and the 1026R has a ~7.2 FOOT turning radius. That is a HUGE win for the X700 in my book.
2. I probably don't really need 4WD. My yard is flat enough that I can mow with a manual push mower. And the Husqvarna and Kubota both have no problem with the biggest "hills" I can find in my yard. They just go right up 'em without even slowing down.
3. My yard is bumpier than it looks. I'll need to smooth it out somehow to really be able to mow as fast as I'd like.
4. I can mow with a push mower in a pinch.
5. I think I like mowing. Weird. I never used to.
6. I am not impressed with Husqvarna riding mower at all. Yes, the one I have hasn't had the best care, but it doesn't seem like it's built very well, either. The engine starts and runs nicely, though. My issue is the deck.
7. Traveling back and forth to the shop and waiting for them to actually work on the tractor is a big inconvenience. Better buy something reliable so I don't have to do that very often.
8. While I'd really like to have a FEL for all the reasons mentioned earlier in this thread, it probably won't get used very often. And I'll need more space to store it.
9. I really need a shed with a minimum 70" wide door. That way I can fit whatever deck I want to. The door should probably be high enough to accommodate a ROPS, too. You know, just in case.
In summary, to answer your question, I got a used Husqvarna GT2254 riding mower. Once I get it fixed, it will probably do the job. But, I plan to replace it just as soon as I can. I sure would like to have an X748!
Matt