Buying $6,000 mower... what are pros/cons of belt or shaft driven?

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Ornery
Why does the Simplicity need a steering chain? That's a pretty crude setup!

Edit: I see that's a lower end model, but the high end unit doesn't specify hydro motor brand. I guess Eaton would be a fair guess...

Yeah, the Morgan isn't ZTR, it's just a rear-steer with three wheels and a front-mount deck. The Morgan doesn't specify the Hydro brand except in that picture, the spec sheet just says "hydrostatic motor" so I think it's fair to assume that an Eaton model is used in the higher end models too.

ZV

EDIT: Hard to find through the links, but Simplicity does have a pretty nice Consumer ZTR Mower.

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: dxkj

Originally posted by: Red
My father-in-law wants to purchase a zero-turn riding lawn mower.

He is looking at two models:

John Deere Z-Trak 717 for $5,900

and a

Kubota for $6,400

The only major differences between the two is that the john deere is belt driven and the kubota is shaft driven.

His back yard his very hilly/rough so he wanted to know if either the shaft or belt driven would be extremely different from each other. (Is it worth $500 extra to get a shaft driven Kubota over a belt driven John Deere, basically)

Anyone have experience with this stuff? The internet is not turning out to be a good resource for zero turn reviews.

Father in law? What does that mean?

It mean's your spouse's father.

That's what I thought.

 

[Syringer]

Originally posted by: Shockwave
I personally would go shaft driven. Seems to be less hassle and better power transfer. No slipping belts, no stretched belts, no need to replace belts. Shafts last forever, although you may need to change out the U joints once every 10,000 years or so.
Course it also depends how strong the gearbox and shafts are. I cant see them underengineering those components though on a mower with that price tag. Chances are its pretty well built.

Damn, now that's quality.

 

[Kenazo]

I'd say belts, b/c if he mows into something at least the belt will give vs a shaft.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Kenazo
I'd say belts, b/c if he mows into something at least the belt will give vs a shaft.

I just realised that he doesn't say just what is being belt-driven...

The mowing deck should be fine being belt-driven. The drivewheels should not be belt driven.

ZV