It's a very good price. +1 of the Kawasaki engine. You seem to have a welded deck, that's another good point on your machine. Just take it easy on it and it will last you 10 years. That motor will last 400 hours (if it has an oil filter) Run synthetic 30 weight. I use royal purple 30W. The only weak link on residential lawn mowers are the spindles. They will fail and need replacing every 100 hours or so. The front swivels will need work as the machine puts on the mileage. But that's some of the differences from a commercial level machine to a residential level machine. Don't spray water on the spindles or electrical panel and switches. They are not water proof so that will help a lot preventing headaches down the road with it won't start and things. Good luck with it. It looks sharp.
Yeah that Kawasaki reliability is pretty tough to beat. My kholer on my other cub wasn't bad, but the kawasaki was the one of the biggest reasons I went with this.
I have a 2021 Cub cadet ultima zt1 54. It has a kohler motor. I'm pleased with mine . I have had it for 4 years. I cut over 3 in a half acres. Great zero for the money. I have an 1985. John Deere 185 hydro. Thar mower would take me all day to cut my yard. With the cub. It just takes me 2 in a half hours to cut my yard!
Bought mine in 2019 for my new property. Property was a mess at the time. The ground is uneven and extremely rough. Trees...roots....branches....roots.....overgrown....roots....holes... hidden rocks. About two acres. I have beat the heck out of this thing. Twice branches have come up through the deck and knocked the drive belt off. Once I hit a 5/8" steel ground rod and stopped it dead. Now things are better. Brought in top soil to fill holes and cover roots. Gotten rid of hidden rocks. This thing has held up like a champ. Service it every spring and it's good to go. No regrets.
That sucks so bad when you hit a chunk of metal and it stops it dead. 🤣 Your property sounds very similar to mine. Glad you are having good luck with the cub!
Check that bushing that screws into block for the oil change hose. Mine came loose or was never fully tightened. Noticed all the oil dust residue on right side motor and that’s all it was. I also replaced a coil pack after only 2yr. Other than that it’s been a really good mower.
Just bought one myself. Their a good mower, and the only problem you might have are the spindles going bad. I really like mine, and the more I use it, the more I like it.
@giveabundance The best way to avoid spindle issues is to pull them off and grease the bearings. And avoid spraying the deck with water when the spindles are still hot from mowing. They will draw water into them and ruin the bearings. Several videos on spindles.
@@GiveAbundance Many people knock mtd brand mowers. This new mower is replacing a 1998 mtd Troy Bilt 54" riding mower. Parts availability both oem and aftermarket has kept that thing mowing for a reasonable cost. Currently has a broken transaxle shift lever, a $50 part that's still available and it will be mowing again.
The engine is good, but its not the commercial Kawasaki, but if you have a lot to mow you need to buy the commercial air and intake system for the engine it will last longer. They also need the valve guides adjusted every 2 years. I am on year 8 with same engine and it runs perfect. Kawasaki is the best.
I bought a Cub Cadet LZ54 WAY back in 2016, dealer cut me a good deal, He wanted to sell me a 60 inch deck but I took a 54 inch, now after eliminating the tight spots with a chain saw I wish I had a 60 inch deck. The deck is the nicest mowing deck of any Cub Cadet I've had, I have 3 Cub Cadet tractors, a 1965 #70 with IH's not so great 3 spindle deck, a 1968 #72 with a pretty heavily modified 38 inch 3 blade deck that really mows much nicer than the stock deck. Both tractors are 3 speed gear drives, 70 has a 10 hp Kohler, the 72 has a Killer Kohler 14 hp and REALLY has some snot. And my 982 is stock, has all the options and the 3 blade stamped 50 inch deck, I wasn't real fond of that deck, the 44 inch stamped deck I had on a 129 was a much better cutting deck. But spending $175 on new spindle parts made the 50 inch mow evenly, no more streaking. But NONE of the Cub Cadet IH decks throw grass like the Tanks 54 inch deck. The tank has two 7-1/2 gallon gas tanks, I mow my 2.3 acres on around HALF of one tank, the 20 hp ONAN burned about 4 gallon mowing the same yard. The TANK turned over 350 hours on last week's mowing. I bought replacement belts when I bought it, still running the factory belts, I install a new outer air filter element every year but this year I replaced both inner & outer. Oil & filter get changed before first mow every year. I sharpened the original blades twice, and replaced them this spring. It mows like new again. The Cub Cadet blades are REALLY hard steel, I mowed for 3 years with the factory blades before I sharpened them. The Hour meter is also a digital tachometer which I really liked the idea of, now the ONLY bad thing I can say is the tach function quit before I was done mowing with it the first time, but the hour meter still works fine. I have one sealed greaseless idler pulley on the deck which is squeaking at me occasionally, if I knew which one I'd replace it, but until it makes itself known I'll run it. Once it warms up it quiets down. A guy on the RED POWER forum posted pictures of a Kawasaki engine that had the cooling fins packed full of grass clippings, needless to say the engine was overheated and needed rebuilt or replaced. I keep my cooling air intake clean, and every year I remove the cooling shrouds and blow any clippings out of the engine. I've been meaning to run some fiberglass window screen over the engine but I'm not sure that will completely help keep it clean. The TANK was the commercial duty zero turn I think, and mine has proven to be bullet-proof. With a little between mowing maintenance, I see no reason a ZT1 can't run that long too. IF, and that's a REALLY BIG IF, if anything ever major went wrong with my TANK, I would replace it with a SKAG. My SON was Quality Manager at their plant in Beaver Dam, Wi for a year or so, the ONLY mower you see on mowing contractor's trailers around here are two Skags. And for the record, I'd buy 3-4 SHEEP and graze my 2 plus acres before I bought anything DEERE. I've spent countless hours on green farm tractors, some brand new, some years old with several thousands of hours, some were Energizer Bunnies, just ran and ran and ran, Dad's '63 4010 diesel he bought used in 1968 was a money pit, I walked back to the house more running that tractor than any other IH tractor Dad owned. And we poured thousands and thousands of Dollars into keeping it running. I never heard how much Dad got for it when He sold it but my guess is less than he paid for the tractor. 4 new tires, new paint, 2 new batteries evey year or two, complete engine overhaul with M&W oversize sleeves/pistons, and a transmission rebuild from the pto trying to shift from 540 rpm to 1000 rpm while bush-hogging weeds and grass waterways. THAT was the expensive fix, and one the 4010 went to a new home afterwards. But DO YOUR SHOPPING carefully. I've been inside both my Cub Cadet 70's and 72's rearends, 3 speed gear drives made for Cub FARMALL's, and other than some sludge from a tiny bit of condensation they both looked new, the casting sealer IH used at their foundries was great. You won't find that in the new zero-turns, only the great old Louisville built garden tractors. Yeah, I worked at IH's FARMALL PLANT in Rock Island for about 5 years in various positions and at East Moline's combine plant for a year while on lay-off from Farmall. IH 2150 RED PAINT flows thru my veins! My 1996 Ford F250 pickup has a 7.3L PSD with 325,000 miles on it.
Not bad, good engine the bill quality on your frame, and your deck isn’t gonna be as good as a commercial, but the fact that you’re just cutting your own property, it should hold up pretty good but for a little less or about the same price you could pick up a slightly used commercial grade Scagg cheetah or turf tiger With a 61 inch deck that would cut your lawn in a quarter of the time and that would last you a lifetime with lifetime parts available the problem I have with commercial grade is they make a mower and then they provide parts for a minimum of 3 to 5 years and then they discontinue the parts Making it almost impossible to find parts for it versus the commercial grade mowers seem to have aftermarket and OEM backing them up and more dealers and places have stuff for them anyways that’s just my thoughts. I ended up picking up a Scagg turf tiger on Facebook and I’ve had it for a little over a year so far and I’ve picked up a couple jobs on the side with it on top of cutting my yard and it destroys every mower I’ve ever owned, such a big difference and it has a 37 hp liquid cooled Kawasaki engine
Good to know! That's awesome, Im happy yours has been good to you. They seem pretty solid. After reading reviews and watching some videos, it seemed like a no-brainer for the money. Like I said in the video, I really didn't want to spend 5 grand on a machine just to mow my lawn. $3,300 on sale for this was perfect for me.
My ZT1 Ultima 54" is a POS. Back in the shop for the second time this year due to a leaking hydro. 3-5 weeks to get a replacement in the middle of mowing season.
Bought xz7 ultima last year and 8ts really bad. Very low power. Ankle high grass only able to mow in raised deck mode (transport mode) any lower and it just stalls. Leaves stripes even with fresh blades. All maintenace done.
@johnwillimott8122 Hey John! That I'm not sure about that to be honest. I live in the middle of nowhere, so I just mow over the top of my leaves and dont worry about bagging them. 🤣 I bet Cub Cadet has some options on their website you could check out!
It's an MTD platform. Thin decks, weak transmissions, and wear items typically fail before they are supposed to. Residential mower only. The only good thing is the motor.
@ramtough4384 No offense taken here! Since you do commercial mowing, I know you know what's best. Hopefully this does ok for me just mowing once a week in the summers.
@giveabundance I was not targeting you sir. It should. I speak to entry level landscapers who watch this, and think these will hold up under commercial use. Was all I was saying. For a single property, I pray it holds up well for you.
