New Gator Blades

[vanb]

I ordered new blades for my BX 2350. I have the 60" deck. I put them on the other day and changed the oil on my deck. It all went pretty smoothly.
These are the new( I think) Gator Fusion blades 396-612 for Kubota, no drilling or cutting bushing to fit. They are wider than the OEM blades. I wonder if I will see much of a difference in the cut or clippings left.

 

[Agent Blue]

You will be the one to determine if there is a big difference. I put them on a JD with 60" deck and didn't notice any change. The deck does not have a mulching plate so I feel I just paid a better price for a replacement blade. The wing angle seemed to be the same. only noticed the notches cut in the lift part. I doubt if they have anything to do with cutting shorter pieces of grass.

 

[Zick]

Get to try them out yet?
I've been thinking about going with a gator blade possibly someday but didn't know if it would be worth it or not.

 

[RaydaKub]

Yeah, I'm due for new blades soon. Mine are worn so much that it's almost a 75 degree angle from being straight and the angle from the flat bar to the wing has a split that goes in almost 1 1/2 inches.

Would love to know gator satisfaction with cut and price.

 

[PeterK]

They sound different but cut about the same to me. After a couple of seasons, I switched back. Cheaper too.

 

[RaydaKub]

The gator's are cheaper or the OEM's are cheaper?

 

[wpabx2230]

I bought some gator blades on ebay two weeks ago for $13 each.
I don't notice any difference in the length of the clippings, but
they have done a good job cutting the grass.

 

[don white]

I put them on a Simplicity 42" deck. The reason I went with them is they are suppose to have better lift. My problem was that the front tires mat the grass and with stock blades the grass did not lift up. Don't think they mulch much better but I am happy with the cut. I cut high 3+ inches.

Meg -Mo Advertises better mulching. Some guys at work are gonna try um. Their system is a disc with 4 blades attached. Twice the cutting edges.

 

[PeterK]

The gator's are cheaper or the OEM's are cheaper?

OEM were cheaper in my case because I have a BX 54" deck and Oregon doesn't make a blade with the correct size center hole for my deck. So I had to pay to get them machined.

 

[vanb]

I just got done mowing my 3 acres, they seem to cut fine. they do seem to make a different sound under the deck. Some areas were getting pretty long, they seemed to not leave as many large rows of clippings. I could tell they have better lift than the OEM blades by the amount of dust they kick up in certain areas of my yard.
I paid $13 a blade on Amazon.com, I'm not sure what Kubota charges for new blades

 

[RaydaKub]

Amazon???????

I guess they're not just for books anymore! :laughing:

 

[wrooster]

OEM were cheaper in my case because I have a BX 54" deck and Oregon doesn't make a blade with the correct size center hole for my deck. So I had to pay to get them machined.

Oregon now DOES make a blade with a correct size center hole for the 54" MMM -- in fact I cut my grass with the Oregon blades on my 54" MMM the day before yesterday!

You want Oregon PN 396-812 -- I can confirm that this blade fits the 54" RCK54-23BX MMM. It will not fit the Fine Cut version of the 54" MMM, as that model has different spindles.

See:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/173853-bx1860-54-mmm-rck54-23bx-3.html#post2543153

Wrooster

 

[CompactTractorFan]

Amazon???????

I guess they're not just for books anymore! :laughing:

You bet!

If you have a "Prime Account" it gets addicting...

 

[dhyayi]

You bet!

If you have a "Prime Account" it gets addicting...

You're definitely right.....LOL

 

[bigdad]

I think the Gators are a bit harder. Have them on my Kubota 60". I Had one on a Lawn Boy pusher that rocked.