Yep, Ferris is one of the few that still used separate hydro pump and wheel motor drive systems, even on their starting model ZTR. Any of those babies has got to ride nice with the front suspension!
Joel
I got to mow my neighbor's yard a few times earlier this month while they were on vacation with his IS1500Z - 48" deck with the Kawi engine. Prior to that I did a full PM job for him - oil, lube, filter, sharpen, deck adjust and level.
Needless to say, it's an impressive machine. Takes a little practice to drive so it doesn't look like a spastic fool cut the grass:confused2:, and don't grab those levers and give 'em a big shove because you'll end up with a giant case if PIO (pilot induced oscillations) and look like a spastic fool again.
But, that machine chowed through some thick, tall (~6") grass taking it down to 3-1/2" or so and hardly missing a grass blade. I didn't push the speed much beyond normal "old school" tractor speeds, but it would have easily gone quite a bit faster, and still cut better than my 2544.
A few things I noticed - it's LOUD. The deck howls louder than my Cub and the hydros whine a lot louder, too. I suppose having the engine out in the open and then sitting on top of the whole works makes it seem worse than my '05 with the full metal hood.
Also, the blade cutting edges are almost level with the bottom lip at the front of the deck so the deck doesn't bend the grass down and away from the blades as much. My deck has at least 1/2" of deck lower than the blade cutting edges.
Lastly, the Ferris blades are shaped like this: ___---- ----___ with the cutting edges lower than the non-cutting portions. My Cub blades are flat: _____ _____ and that just causes the blunt portion of the blades to beat up whatever grass gets missed by the front cutting pass of the deck, hog power, and make the cut look ragged. After realizing this, I re-leveled the deck last weekend and took it up to 1/4" slope from front to back from the 1/8" that it was (lower in front, that is). Lift of the Cub vs. Ferris blades is similar, and while the Ferris deck is deeper, they both are similarly baffled.
So, I'm going to start looking for a set of blades that has the Ferris profile which will drop down the cutting edges a bit and keep the rest of the blade out of grass. I'd love to improve the cut quality a bit and get rid of that center "mohawk" it always seems to leave - being worse the higher I cut - setting 4 in the fall and spring, 5 in the summer.
