Does this attachment look right?

geneP · Nov 1, 2005

I agree with beenthere's suggestion, but with one more modification. Consider that if the top link connection is moved the the bottom hole, the bolt will have to be left loose so the connection can swivel. This can cause wear on the bolt and rear support arms. Move the rear support arms to the top holes so they can be attached tightly. This will cause the three point triangle to be slightly tilted to the rear and you will have to remove or redrill the attaching points for the lower braces from the hitch frame back to the mower deck.

JRobyn · Nov 1, 2005

Or look at the design/connection on one of the manuals on BushHog's website. Mine is a model 280, and the "flex-link" setup is shown on page 8. Your design appears to be almost identical. Per BushHog, it should run at about a 45 deg angle when on flat level ground. The "flex-link" then allows the hog to pivot on the lower 3pt pins to track on uneven ground.

tlbuser · Nov 2, 2005

( If you want more freedom of movement, you might want to lower that U-shaped link to the lower position, where the braces are connected. I'd suggest removing the pin at "A", and placing it at "B" along with the U-shaped link. )
Why not just remove the bolt at "A" , toss the link and place the toplink in "A" ?

Berniep · Nov 2, 2005

I borrowed my neighbors "Green" rotary mower the other day for use on my BX23 and it had two plates instead of a "U" but it did allow the top link to pivot back under the frame of the mower. I still had enough lift to get the tail wheel about a foot off the ground. If It didn't pivot under I think I would have bent something when going over uneven ground. I would move the "U" to the lower hole.

djradz · Nov 2, 2005

RobJ, I have to agree with beenthere, your setup really limits the motion. I've often seen it just as he describes, using the lower hole for the toggle. You'll get 2 to 3 times the motion in that lower position.

RobJ · Nov 2, 2005

Well I thought I posted this yesterday but I guess I got busy and didn't hit post... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I reviewed in detail the BH and KK manuals. Both seem to do about the same but in a different manor. The BH uses the swivel under the Y as mentioned. The manual states to use a top link pin short enought to not hit the Y under the attachment point. This allows free motion under the Y(ok upside down Y). However the KK (as mentioned) has a stop on it to limit the swivel from pointing forward. If you look at the KK mower on its web site you can see it's standing straight up. This stop or limit allowes the mower to be picked up and keep the motion in one direction. IE with the KK it will allow the mower to move up in the rear (think of the tractor and cutter forming a smile /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif, but will not let the mower fall below parrellel with the tractor, think if the tractor and mower forming a frown /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif. I can see why you wouldn't want a frown, picture coming out of a small ditch or depression, if the mower was allowed to move down then it would probably scrape the ground and mow dirt. So in this case the KK would stop the downward travel and the rear wheel would come off the ground for a moment. The BH would probably do the same because the link should be adjusted for this, and whel pulled at the 45 degree angle the mower would not be allowed to fall. I think it's making sense to me...yall??? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Either way reading the manuals brought to my attention there are specific ways the manufactors of these things want you to set up the links. If you read through the manuals you will see this. I've got my printed copies on file now. It did seem that on the KK this "flex" link was NOT an option but part of the standard mower kit. If you go to the KK web site and download the rotary cutter PDF file you can clearly see where they say to attach the flex link and you can clearly see the stop bar on the flex link itself, figure G.

Any better??? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

geneP · Nov 2, 2005

I can see why you wouldn't want a frown

Actually, a little frown is not bad. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I have a Fred Cain brush hog and it was designed like the KK and didn't allow the top link bracket to swing forward. I turned it around as shown in the attachment. Now the front of the mower is suspended on the lower link pins and the movement of the top link bracket allows the tail wheel to follow the contour of the ground within reason. Previously when the front wheels went down the mower would raise, leaving uncut grass.

On your KK mower, moving the "U" shaped bracket to the lower bolt hole and leaving the top bolt out would work well because the sleeve that goes over the bolt and inside the "U" will allow you to tighten the bolt up on the rear support arms.

beenthere · Nov 2, 2005

Getting to the problem, which all is solved easily by fixing the top link connection pinned to the top link, and just adding chains to the braces going to the rear of the deck.

Chains solve the problem and don't create any new problems. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

djradz · Nov 2, 2005

All I can say is that the manufacturers don't always know what is right. In fact, many a designer of these pieces of equipment have never used one. So take that for what it's worth and use or modify it to your liking. fyi, KK didn't even provide a toggle assembly on their first decks back in the late 80s/early 90s.