Grasshopper 900D vs 725D

[sawtooth]

So both of these offer a diesel motor at 25hp. The difference is the 900 comes with. 1.3 L motor with 80 torque vs a .89 L with 55 torque. Also it appears the larger motor runs a 2600 rpms while the smaller version runs at higher 3600. So my question is would the 1.3L really perform that much better with just having more torque? I know it should last longer running at a more normal Diesel engine speed but I’m not confident it will offer a great deal more power. Thoughts on this? Also does anyone have experience with the larger mowers capability on steep inclines and side hills? I have the 725D and with a 72” deck it struggles going up hills due to lack of traction. Thank you.

 

[4570Man]

I’m pretty sure my grasshopper has the 1.3 liter. With the 72” deck it doesn’t have jaw dropping power. I’d hate to have the smaller one.

 

[sawtooth]

I’m pretty sure my grasshopper has the 1.3 liter. With the 72” deck it doesn’t have jaw dropping power. I’d hate to have the smaller one.

What year and model is yours?

 

[4570Man]

Mine is a 428d. I don’t know the year but the stamp on the motor says it passes 2007 emissions. The power is fine and the drive belts are probably the weak link. I just wouldn’t want any less power.

 

[Ford850]

So both of these offer a diesel motor at 25hp. The difference is the 900 comes with. 1.3 L motor with 80 torque vs a .89 L with 55 torque. Also it appears the larger motor runs a 2600 rpms while the smaller version runs at higher 3600. So my question is would the 1.3L really perform that much better with just having more torque? I know it should last longer running at a more normal Diesel engine speed but I’m not confident it will offer a great deal more power. Thoughts on this? Also does anyone have experience with the larger mowers capability on steep inclines and side hills? I have the 725D and with a 72” deck it struggles going up hills due to lack of traction. Thank you.

Bar tires? I have some hill areas that I lose traction even with bar tires on my 725D, but no other mower could come close to it when climbing hills. With the added size/weight of the 900, I wonder if that would help or hurt the traction issues. The better torque numbers and lower RPM are definite benefits.

 

[sawtooth]

Mine is a 428d. I don’t know the year but the stamp on the motor says it passes 2007 emissions. The power is fine and the drive belts are probably the weak link. I just wouldn’t want any less power.

Hello 4570man, I see you also have a F series Kabota mower. How does that compare to the grasshopper front mount or mid mount? I have a lot of steep terrain and I’m mowing about 8 to 10 acres. Some is flat some is hilly and quite a few obstacles like trees and ponds etc. so just curious of your experiences

 

[4570Man]

I prefer front mount but I hit a well casing and bent the deck on that mower and haven’t had time to fix it.

 

[sawtooth]

I prefer front mount but I hit a well casing and bent the deck on that mower and haven’t had time to fix it.

I agree as I do too. Was curious though if the MWFD on the Kubota helps a lot on hills plus the machine setup (steering wheel vs handles) looks different than the grasshopper front mount. I have both a zero turn mid mount and 72” front mount Grasshoppers and have considered trying the Kubota F series. Thanks

 

[sawtooth]

Bar tires? I have some hill areas that I lose traction even with bar tires on my 725D, but no other mower could come close to it when climbing hills. With the added size/weight of the 900, I wonder if that would help or hurt the traction issues. The better torque numbers and lower RPM are definite benefits.

Both my 2017 mid-Mount 325D and 725D have bar tread tires. The mid mount will go up Any Hill until you can actually flip it if you’re not careful. It has a 60 inch cut. Now my 325D has a 72 inch deck and it goes in reverse very well up hills. However if I try to go forward his struggles. It has a tendency to lose traction and dig holes. I feel certain because so much wait in the front it just can’t push it very well. I actually have to start very slowly or it will just spin the tires.

 

[4570Man]

I would have never paid market price for my grasshopper but for $500 I couldn’t pass it up. It really needs bar tires. The turfs on it are pretty bad.

 

[sawtooth]

Looks like dealer is bringing by a 900D 61/36. The 36 is for a 61” deck with larger deck tires. Not sure what’s that helps but guess I will find out. He’s telling me the new 1.3L Diesel has roughly 30 more torque than the their smaller diesel in my 725D front mount mower. Going to give it a try on the steep hills I have.

 

[sawtooth]

Ok so dealer brought by the new demo 900 today to my farm. I mow roughly 8-10 acres at my place which is a mixed of open areas, 3 pond edges, lots of trees and the area around my house etc. Mixed in all this is a couple very steep hills which both the 725D and 325D just don’t handle that well. Now all I got to say is wow the new 900 series with the 1.3L Diesel is super sweet and climbs like a billy goat. Way more traction than my 2017 725 with 72” deck. So the new 900 is on order now and can’t wait to get it. We currently run 3 Grasshoppers and all of them are super tuff machines but now I can see the 900 series performs even better on the really steep stuff. Great equipment and even better customer support. The extra torque in the really high grass is noticeable as well. Just seems to pull it through without slowing down much. I really
like the new 900D. Just seems to handle the 72” deck way better than my 725D.

 

[Buxus]

I have 2008 930D. I bought it in 2016 with 200 hours on it. Overall I am happy with it, but it is not perfect. I had some issues last year in which I kept burning the belts in the rear in tall grass. It was frustrating to think that a 30 hp diesel was limited by the belts. Ultimately the dealer replaced the clutch and there have been no issues with this anymore.

I have many obstacles to mow under and around, so the front deck is a great advantage.

The biggest negative is on my hills. With any grade, I have to go up backwards. This is common with front deck zero turns. It climbs fine going backwards, but it gets to be a real PITA sometimes. Even slight grades with a bit of dampness and I have to go backwards, and this is with the turf tires. It's even worse with the grass catcher on because then the drive wheels seem to have less weight on them. Going backwards definitely slows down my mowing.

I got a great deal on the mower, and hope to have it for many years. I would buy it again, but I plan to try an F series 4 wheel drive Kubota this summer just to see how it compares. Unfortunately, I already know how the price compares...

 

[Sawyer Rob]

The biggest negative is on my hills. With any grade, I have to go up backwards. This is common with front deck zero turns.

It's not common on MY front deck GH's, but mine have 61" deck's, so maybe running a bigger deck is the real problem?

SR

 

[sawtooth]

I have 2008 930D. I bought it in 2016 with 200 hours on it. Overall I am happy with it, but it is not perfect. I had some issues last year in which I kept burning the belts in the rear in tall grass. It was frustrating to think that a 30 hp diesel was limited by the belts. Ultimately the dealer replaced the clutch and there have been no issues with this anymore.

I have many obstacles to mow under and around, so the front deck is a great advantage.

The biggest negative is on my hills. With any grade, I have to go up backwards. This is common with front deck zero turns. It climbs fine going backwards, but it gets to be a real PITA sometimes. Even slight grades with a bit of dampness and I have to go backwards, and this is with the turf tires. It's even worse with the grass catcher on because then the drive wheels seem to have less weight on them. Going backwards definitely slows down my mowing.

I got a great deal on the mower, and hope to have it for many years. I would buy it again, but I plan to try an F series 4 wheel drive Kubota this summer just to see how it compares. Unfortunately, I already know how the price compares...

So this sounds like my 725D with 72” deck. Even on slight hills I have to feather the throttle or it just stops and digs holes. However the new 900D climbs very steep inclines both directions. Regarding the grass catcher so are you thinking the added weight in the rear somehow hurts forward traction? The reason I ask is my 725D has two 50lb weights on the rear and not sure why GH sets the machine up this way. However, the new 900D had no weights on the rear and climbs hills like crazy. I would think more weight on the back would help forward traction but maybe it actually causes a negative effect. Thoughts?

Also what size rear tires do you have? The 900 had much larger tires than the 725. Thanks

 

[Buxus]

So this sounds like my 725D with 72” deck. Even on slight hills I have to feather the throttle or it just stops and digs holes. However the new 900D climbs very steep inclines both directions. Regarding the grass catcher so are you thinking the added weight in the rear somehow hurts forward traction? The reason I ask is my 725D has two 50lb weights on the rear and not sure why GH sets the machine up this way. However, the new 900D had no weights on the rear and climbs hills like crazy. I would think more weight on the back would help forward traction but maybe it actually causes a negative effect. Thoughts?

Also what size rear tires do you have? The 900 had much larger tires than the 725. Thanks

Meant to say in my post above that I have the chevron bar tread tires.

I had a 720 with a 61 inch deck that was marginally better on the same hills, but not much. It too had the chevron tires.

The 930d has a 72 inch deck and much larger tires, but I can't remember the size offhand. The traction with the grass catcher is horrendous. I think what happens is the grass catcher, even when empty, seems to put more weight on the rearmost wheels than the drive wheels. This seems to have the effect of lifting the joint between the tractor and the deck up a hair. Thus, the rear part of the drive wheels is bearing more weight than the front part of the drive wheels. There is less of a footprint for traction, and this is most noticeable going forward on hills. Even on flat ground with the grass catcher if I don't feather the throttle, the wheels spin. Backing up with the grass catcher (I have the largest size) is a ^$%#& because it's impossible to see behind, but I do it on the hills.

Having said this, I bought the grass catcher for leaves in the fall, and it works fantastic for this. It holds a ton of leaves, grinds them nicely, and only infrequently clogs. The only time I have to deal with the grass catcher while actually mowing is for the last few mowings of the season, and then I take it off for the other 46 weeks of the year. Incidentally, I also use the grass catcher in September after I have sprayed an acre of so of the grass with Roundup. I set the blades low (2.5 inches) and use it to vacuum up the dead grass and debris. The result is almost pure soil nicely prepared for reseeding. I am gradually ridding myself of a wire grass infested lawn.

As I said, I love the mower, and I recommend it despite its shortcomings. The diesel seems to keep the blades spinning even in tall grass (now that the belt/clutch situation has been fixed).

 

[sawtooth]

Thank you for your post. Based on this I’m going to ask my dealer to leave the rear weights off just like the demo unit I tried. I feel the ride is also improved due to the machine balance being better as well. But again the traction was SO MUCH improved I just couldn’t believe how much better it actually was. It felt like going from a 2 wheel drive truck to 4 wheel drive. It was just that much better. So any downsides to leaving the rear weights off? Again I’m not sure why they are on there in the first place????

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I don't have weights on mine and they do just fine on hills... Both have 61" decks and one has the grass catcher option, although I have it off right now.

SR

 

[Buxus]

Thank you for your post. Based on this I’m going to ask my dealer to leave the rear weights off just like the demo unit I tried. I feel the ride is also improved due to the machine balance being better as well. But again the traction was SO MUCH improved I just couldn’t believe how much better it actually was. It felt like going from a 2 wheel drive truck to 4 wheel drive. It was just that much better. So any downsides to leaving the rear weights off? Again I’m not sure why they are on there in the first place????

What does the dealer say the weights are for?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

My dealer said the weights were recommended by GH for "counter weights", but HE said he thought I should try it without weights. He said he thought I'd be happy with it without the weights, and I am...

SR