The Z122rkw just caught my attention!

JOHNTHOMAS · May 5, 2015

dragoneggs said:
Yep, no argument with this... Just saying that the Kawasaki engine in my old JD garden tractor is still strong as ever. Where is some wood to knock on?

Since I now have a dog in this fight I hope the new one lasts 10 times longer than your old one.

:cool2: My wife still hasn't tried 'hers" and she just had the back injection yesterday so will be a few more days before she tries it.
Talking to a friend yesterday about out z turns and sharing going down hill stories of fear, excitement and danger. I didn't hit anything on my several passes down in front of my house but it was as bad as a carnival ride. Really scary.:shocked: He drove his under a fence but at least he didn't drive it into his pond.

My friend has a bigger non Kubota one.

dragoneggs · May 5, 2015

Just had my first slide downhill slide experience. Took out part of my neighbors vegetable garden stone border and scuffed up my front wheel and chute and underwear.

JOHNTHOMAS · May 5, 2015

dragoneggs said:
Just had my first slide downhill slide experience. Took out part of my neighbors vegetable garden stone border and scuffed up my front wheel and chute and underwear.

:laughing::laughing::laughing: Know exactly where your coming from. Fortunately I only have two crab apple trees at the almost bottom front yard in front of my house where I was doing my down hill try. Even with just the two when mine started sliding it seemed determined to go toward one of them and if I hadn't give it forward instead of continuing back pull on left hand it would have hit it. It was like a car sliding toward the ditch and everything in me hollering BRAKE BRAKE BRAKE but experience says gas, gas, gas which I did with the Z and missed the tree.

:cool2: I thought I must have done some thing wrong or a fluke so I did it over and over for 5 or 6 times, away from the tree and there are about 7 or 8 brown laid down grass streaks where the left tire was going backwards while right tire was rolling on in forward motion. My friend said he to had the brown streaks and he actually mentioned to me first about the brown streaks, we both had the same experience. He has a hugh pond but fortunately he was in an area with a fence instead of the pond.:cool2:
Wonder why none of the other Z owners have never mentioned this pleasurable experience on their Zs. I believe there are more than 3 of us that have experienced this.:shocked: I was expecting the tilt going up hill so was being more careful with my going up but was totally surprised with the down hill adventure.:confused3:

TailDragon · May 5, 2015

John, I have posted that was one of the reasons I traded in that ZD331.
Does that model have a timed belt with only two blades?
Steve said the reason I have not received a hat is someone keeps trading Kubotas in.

JOHNTHOMAS · May 6, 2015

TailDragon said:
John, I have posted that was one of the reasons I traded in that ZD331.
Does that model have a timed belt with only two blades?
Steve said the reason I have not received a hat is someone keeps trading Kubotas in.

Don't know what a timed belt is but the mowing deck on it does only have two blades (48") and the next size up went to 3 blades (54") bigger rear tires, B&S engine and 100lbs heavier and $1000 more money.
I guess I didn't notice your post about the Z since I wasn't a candidate for a Z at the time.
I didn't trade in, bought the BX1500 for SIL and the Z for wife so no trade ins. He must have been talking about some one else but I did get a really nice duck camoflage embroidered hat for me and a plain brown hat and license plate for SIL.

dragoneggs · May 6, 2015

I don't know what a timed belt is either. Please explain if you could.

Boris1 · May 6, 2015

JOHNTHOMAS said:
:laughing::laughing::laughing: Know exactly where your coming from. Fortunately I only have two crab apple trees at the almost bottom front yard in front of my house where I was doing my down hill try. Even with just the two when mine started sliding it seemed determined to go toward one of them and if I hadn't give it forward instead of continuing back pull on left hand it would have hit it. It was like a car sliding toward the ditch and everything in me hollering BRAKE BRAKE BRAKE but experience says gas, gas, gas which I did with the Z and missed the tree.:cool2: I thought I must have done some thing wrong or a fluke so I did it over and over for 5 or 6 times, away from the tree and there are about 7 or 8 brown laid down grass streaks where the left tire was going backwards while right tire was rolling on in forward motion. My friend said he to had the brown streaks and he actually mentioned to me first about the brown streaks, we both had the same experience. He has a hugh pond but fortunately he was in an area with a fence instead of the pond.:cool2: Wonder why none of the other Z owners have never mentioned this pleasurable experience on their Zs. I believe there are more than 3 of us that have experienced this.:shocked: I was expecting the tilt going up hill so was being more careful with my going up but was totally surprised with the down hill adventure.:confused3:

I am considering a zero turn (Zd326 & z726) and would like to hear more about the free falling myself, I was just talking to messicks and they mentioned it to me. Had considered it in my mind but did not think it was a big deal until he explained that "you had to speed up to catch up with the hydros". I think I had a similar experience with my old L4330 HST sliding down a hill, all I really had time for was blinking a few times it seemed. My steepest hill is about 20-25 degrees, is that in the same range of the hills you guys are dealing with?

TailDragon · May 6, 2015

Older mowers with two blades sometimes used a cog belt instead of a V belt to keep the blades from hitting each other.The blades were timed to avoid contact with each other. The blade cuts would overlap each other. Other decks would stagger the blades to get the needed overlap.
Could not find the information on Kubota's web site for this deck.

JOHNTHOMAS · May 7, 2015

Boris1 said:
I am considering a zero turn (Zd326 & z726) and would like to hear more about the free falling myself, I was just talking to messicks and they mentioned it to me. Had considered it in my mind but did not think it was a big deal until he explained that "you had to speed up to catch up with the hydros". I think I had a similar experience with my old L4330 HST sliding down a hill, all I really had time for was blinking a few times it seemed. My steepest hill is about 20-25 degrees, is that in the same range of the hills you guys are dealing with?

What happens is if one drive wheel starts slipping it some times continues slipping which makes the slipping wheel go faster than the other wheel and the Z starts heading in the direction of the gripping wheel which naturally makes one pull back on the slipping wheel which makes it worse so power forward with the gripping wheel and releasing the lever on the slipping wheel can bring it back to straight and all of this within 1 point 2 seconds and there is a tree, pond, truck, child heading toward you at 189 mph or so it seems. Scary, really scary, especially the first 4 or 5 times it happens.
I to had a tractor start sliding on down hill wet grass one time and the only thing I could do was keep the wheels straight and hold on and never drive on wet grass again.

:shocked:
I did a video of mowing my steep part of my front yard with degree device on the hood if I can find it.