Air Cooled Engines: Kawasaki vs Kohler

Ledgemere Farm · Jul 18, 2005

I had a 9HP Kawasaki on my John Deere rider. It performed well and reliably. The tractor was 15 years old when I got rid of it. All I did was routine fluid/filter changes. I have a one-year-old John Deere 225 with a 16 HP Kohler. It has 60 or so hours on it. I have been very satisfied with it thus far.

jcmseven · Jul 18, 2005

Chris,

Having owned and operated various models of both, it is my opinion that the Kawasaki is a better engine in most areas. It is also more expensive, and I have found, more thirsty for fuel. The big question will be to honestly assess the number of hours and severity of duty you are likely to put on the machine. If those numbers are extremely high, I would go with the Kawasaki, if not, go with the Kohler and save the money. I do not believe the difference between these two is as great as in the past, as with most things, competition improves the breed.

John M

hobbyfarm · Jul 18, 2005

Like Spiffy says,
( Don't think you have a wrong choice! )

Both are top drawer engines, but the parts thing, Kohler may have an edge in distribution.

GeneD14 · Jul 19, 2005

We have a new Kawasaki Mule 610 with a 401 cc engine and in the first 7 hours it used just under 4 gallons of gas. That is amazing to me. It runs as smooth as a sewing machine.
Our ZT mower has a 23 HP Kohler and it always starts and runs smooth. I think either one is a winner.
How about a group hug? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

slowrev · Jul 19, 2005

Kawasaki engines are good. However I would go with a Kohler because of parts availability. This is the same reason that most people tend to go with the major brands of tractors.

Ben

Tevi · Jul 19, 2005

When I was looking for a replacement engine.Kaw offered a 4 year warranty if I bought a 6 pack of their synthetic oil

65hoss · Jul 19, 2005

My mowers run Kawi motors only. I make my living running them. I rely on them. The power is better and I've never had a motor problem. The parts availibility is better than it was. Kawi has been working on their network to get parts were they are needed better and faster.

bczoom · Jul 20, 2005

( My mowers run Kawi motors only. I make my living running them. )

If you rely on the engine for your living, I'd go Kaw. For a ZTR being used for mowing a persons lawn, I couldn't justify the extra $. Remember, you probably put more hours on a ZTR used commercially in 1 year than we do in 20-30 years of mowing our lawns.

Simpkinc · Jul 20, 2005

Thanks to all for the responses. I really appreciate you guys. Great discussion!

klm · Jul 29, 2005

I would appreciate feedback from you about your new Bush Hog ZTR. I have been checking them out and have been very impressed.
They seem to be very well built and reasonably priced.