Would you buy a 54" or 60" deck?

[Sawyer Rob]

I love Yamaha designs ect... BUT, they they just bought a Robin engine and are building it, so don't get hung up too much on how good Yamaha is...

Robin/Subaru sold a couple other engines to Kubota, the rest went to china...

SR

 

[BigBlue1]

Do you think a company with a solid reputation for quality is going to throw that to the wind by buying and just blindly building something that doesn't approach their own standards? I don't. I have no idea who 'Robin' is and never heard of them before this thread but I know Yamaha and I'm going to trust them until they give me a reason not to. Reputation is a powerful thing. Companies tend to protect it.

Rob

 

[RjCorazza]

In addition to my Kawasaki commercial walk behind, I have 2 Yamaha inverter generators. They are dead reliable and quiet.
I did notice a "Yamaha" generator for sale at a big box store that was advertised as xx brand, "engine by Yamaha". Something about it was off though.

 

[BigBlue1]

One other thing that factored into my consideration of engines was that Honda is a very desirable maker of small engines. Yamaha is a direct competitor in many areas and I don't feel there is much likelihood of them marketing a small engine competitor to Honda that would be much different in reliability than Honda.

Anyway, I suppose we beat this topic to death. Sorry to the OP, but my original mention of Yamaha was on topic and meant as useful info due to the engine supplier shortage.

Rob

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Do you think a company with a solid reputation for quality is going to throw that to the wind by buying and just blindly building something that doesn't approach their own standards? I don't. I have no idea who 'Robin' is and never heard of them before this thread but I know Yamaha and I'm going to trust them until they give me a reason not to. Reputation is a powerful thing. Companies tend to protect it.

Rob

I never said Robin engines weren't any good, but they sure aren't as good as an "original" Yamaha design...

Robin was owned by Subaru, then Subaru decided to get out of the small engines and sold the designs/sizes to three different company's, as I stated earlier.

SR

 

[rademamj1]

I never heard of Robin engines before, until this thread discussion on engines for outdoor power equipment came up. So I pulled up pictures of the Robin Subaru engines, and behold I actually own a Robin engine in my Dewalt power washer. Dewalt never actually identified the engine in its specification listing, but It's an unnamed klunky and klutzy type engine that gets the job done. Better than Briggs and Stratton, but not as good as a small honda engine, especially for starting and reliability.
View attachment 701696

 

[shooterdon]

I finally took delivery of my ZT today.

I had to settle for the Kohler Pro engine. Since ordering it in March there was a $450 price increase but the dealer took $250 off. I was BS'ing with the delivery driver (owners son) and mentioned I had recommend them to a guy here on TBN who bought an LS from them. About 5 minutes later the owner called and took another $150 off. So I wound up paying $50 more than the price quoted in March.

The dealer is Sumerix in Lachine MI. Good folks to deal with.

I had hoped to get the Kawasaki engine but there is nothing in MI and even with a nearly 10% price increase, dealers are selling these things fast. I did not want to wait any longer and took what I could get.

 

[iptman]

I doubt you'll have any issues with the Kohler. Got one in my Scag and in my old US made Craftsman from the early 2000s. Both are strong runners.

 

[hunt4570]

I doubt you'll have any issues with the Kohler. Got one in my Scag and in my old US made Craftsman from the early 2000s. Both are strong runners.

Yes I have a Kohler on my saw mill, no problems at all..

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Most of these Kohlers aren't a bad engine today, but they aren't like the old Kohlers.

These days, most Kohlers are made in china.

SR