Gator Blades

diydoug · Jul 12, 2008

Today I put the 96-612 BLADE, GM 3-IN-1 KUBOTA 20-9/16IN Gatorblades on my BX2230 60" deck. They are great! You can get the at baileysonline.com for about $45 with shipping for 3 blades. This is a lot better that the OEM fronm my dealer $18 + tax each.

orangebluegreen · Jul 14, 2008

diydoug said:
Today I put the 96-612 BLADE, GM 3-IN-1 KUBOTA 20-9/16IN Gatorblades on my BX2230 60" deck. They are great! You can get the at baileysonline.com for about $45 with shipping for 3 blades. This is a lot better that the OEM fronm my dealer $18 + tax each.

My set should be here this week, ordered from Baileys also.

Curious if you found the "lift" on the rear of the blade as much or more than the stock ones? I find it odd that Oregon shows the 96-612 as a replacement for the OEM 5371-34340 which in my understanding is the Kubota high lift blade. Perhaps they are sliding by on this because it is included in the Kubota mulching kit and the Gators are mulchers, but they are not designated as High Lift according to Oregon. I find it a bit misleading they are not high lift but replace a high lift part number.

orangebluegreen · Jul 18, 2008

For those of you that have been cutting bushings there is no longer a need to do this. The Oregon/Gator 96-612 is indeed a direct replacement.

They were about $5 per blade less than the OEM low/med lift K5371-99040 and about $10 per blade less than the OEM high lift K5371-34340.

Yesterday was their first test. We have had a week solid of rain and the grass was tall and wet, it was a worst case scenario. I would say they cut as good or better than the original low/med lift blades. Perhaps very slightly less discharge distance (I would guess 6-7' max) but the clippings were probably half the size and spread very evenly. I was probably expecting to see no clippings at all but then I realized just how thick and wet the grass was and the clippings could have been easily left to lay with just one pass, a second pass over the clippings (unnecessary) and the clippings were pretty much gone. Note that I cut my grass extremely low so most who cut at a normal height will probably have few clippings visible. I doubt the original blades would have handled these conditions without leaving more visible clippings. Hard to remember, I got two solid years out of them and they were 1" shorter than new from wear. It did seem the Gators were robbing a bit more HP from the tractor but then again it could have been the extreme wet conditions. Time will tell if I get two years out of these like I did the OEM Kubota's.

DCathome · Sep 3, 2011

I have read all the above, thanks for all the info. I assume from what I have read, that the gator blades at 20 9/16", are not an issue. Even though my factory blades are listed at 20 7/16" & do in fact measure that exactly. I do have the mid-mount RCK60B23BX deck with the 29/32" center hole. Are the gator blades high -lift mulchers &/or Fusion under #96-612? Also does anyone know if the Kubota belt is the best value? Is there a better brand? after all, it is a $100+ belt, & if you spend a $100 you might as well go the extra $10-20 to get the best. Thanks again.