[music]
- Neil from Messicks here with the new Kubota ZD series mowers.
Kubota has been building this series of diesel zero turns
for the better part of probably 15 years.
This is the third major iteration of these machines
the third major redesign that has been done.
This particular machine here is serial number 10,006
which probably means that it's the sixth one
of these that they have made, it's one of the very first ones off the production line.
If you paid attention to the equipment market here
for the last several years, one of the major changes
that we've gone through is required changes for emissions.
Now, that we're fully into Tier four any machines over 26 horsepower
have to have a diesel particulate filter attached to them.
One issue that created here with diesel zero turn mowers now
is that any machine over that 26 horsepower threshold
which was many of them, now requires
an expensive emission system to be bolted on to it.
Where we had had some 31 horsepower machines in the past
they now would become prohibitively expensive.
What the Kubota did to address that problem
and to give good performance on a little bit lower horsepower machine
is to create this aerodynamic cutting system deck.
It's a very similar construction deck to Kubota's older decks of years gone by
very very heavy, very thick steel heavy welded, edges on the front
if you happen to bump into something
nice deep decks for high throughput
but by changing some baffling and cutting about a half an inch off the height
they were able to lower the horsepower demand of the mower deck by about 20%.
That takes some of that extra load off the engine
it helps the machine power along a lot better
and allows us to run even a 72-inch deck well
with a 26 horsepower engine.
As I said, the major mechanical change on this is the changes
to the BACS deck to improve that deck efficiency
but every time Kubota does come out with a new model
they take the time to address some other operational concerns
and improvements that can be made to the product.
You'll notice now on this we use a low profile tire
this is really more of a visual thing gives
the machine a little bit more aggressive look.
The older series Evy mowers had dual fuel tanks on both sides
but to switch from one tank to the other
you ended up having to flip a valve in the middle
and you ended up having a fuel gauge
and an idiot light up here on the dash in order to track your fuel level.
That made it a little bit complicated
having to switch the fuel thing, and watch two different things for your fuel level.
This series mower now has both fuel tanks tied together.
You'll notice behind the seat up here there's a little pipe
where there's a vent line that runs
between the two tanks to allow the fuel to flow from one side of the other
and there's now no need in order to flip that valve to switch between tanks.
Kubota also came out with a new dash here as well
we were just talking about the fuel tanks
so rather than having an any idiot light
and a gauge now have a fuel indicator coming up here on the side
they also showed battery voltage, your our meter
your coolant temperature, a warning light
if you happen to overheat the radiator
or put the machine into some kind of alarm state
parking brake showing the parking brake is engaged
a neutral indicator that shows if your sticks
are in the neutral position and ready to start.
That's handy because oftentimes people
will miss the fact they might have one of the sticks brought in just a little bit
and not in the neutral position where the machine can start.
Your PTO indicator to show that your mower deck is on
a glow plug indicator light while you're starting
temperature alarms and a low fuel alarm.
They really put a lot of additional indicators
and a lot of machine indicators now on this panel that didn't exist before.
We'll talk briefly about some of the features
that the ZD series has and why they've been so successful.
Kubota commands a vast majority of the market for diesel utility vehicles
and you'll see down here underneath the hood the technology
and the engineering that they put into this is quite unlike anything else.
This is not a new design, you'll see that the older ZD Series mowers
used a very similar system
but everything that you have here in the center
is bolted together with all Shabs
so that you don't have belts and hoses running
between the different components.
You have your pumps, and your wheel motors bolted directly together
eliminating all the belts and hoses, and the rubber parts
that we know years down the road will leak and require to be replaced.
Inside of this central gearbox is a hydraulic wet PTO clutch.
That something is really unique even in high-end mowers from other brands
you usually will see a magnetic clutch
and Kubota uses a wet clutch just like they would
in an agricultural tractor in order to turn that mower deck on.
You'll notice when you engage your mower deck
you come up here to where the lever is at
instead of using a button to push
and a snap that thing on you bring this lever forward
which applies hydraulic pressure in order to activate the mower deck.
It's a much more heavy-duty engagement system.
Because you have a hydraulic system in here as well
they're also able to fit the mower deck with hydraulic lift
so rather than a foot operated or spring assists a lift
you have hydraulic pedals out here on the front
that allow you to move it up and down.
This is also a shaft driven mower deck as well down here in the bottom
that shaft rather than a belt is just less wear
and tear less maintenance over the long haul
and so by building a system like this Kubota
has created a very heavy-duty zero turn mower
and removed a lot of the parts
that we know over the long term are going to have to be replaced.
Now, no system is perfect you could look at these pieces in here
and see that there's a lot of weight in this mower
and it does tend away about 2-300 pounds heavier
than what a lot of other competitive mowers are
and that does create a little bit of an extra inertia
as you're hauling along and mowing really quickly
when you come to a stop the machine does want to keep on going
and not snap into a quick turn quite, as soon as
what some lighter weight mowers would.
A great system, very very heavy-duty very popular among our AG
and construction customers and a handful of landscapers as well.
There are times that that weight and that heavy-duty build quality
of this machine can be a bit of a disadvantage.
Kubota builds these in a couple different sizes
but by far the most popular is the 26 horsepower.
Uses a Kubota D1105 engine. The 1105 stands at its 1105CC
it's about a second most popular engine
that you see in Kubota equipment. Produces 26 horsepower
and because of that being under that threshold
doesn't require a diesel particulate filter
or any additional Tier 4 emission systems to clean up the exhaust.
Just by its size, it's able to meet Tier 4 emissions without any additional hardware.
Another unique and really simple feature that Kubota
has built into the ZD series as a service lift here in the front.
You'll see by default the front axle is set into an articulating position
and by moving a pin down here into another hole you can fix it in place
allowing you to choose whether you want your axle
to articulate for a little bit better ride
or if you're mowing really fast over really rough ground some guys prefer
to lock the axle in place and try to almost skip over top
of some of the bumps and the ruts. By taking the pins out of this
you're able to articulate this front axle up
into a service position with an integrated jack.
As you turn this here it operates a screw on the inside
and this whole front axle is going to start to twist up.
As you get it started here you can slide this pin in place
the one that previously held the axle.
You can actually catch the front tire, allowing you to easily
and safely get underneath the deck here to clean out the underside.
If you look at decks on used machines
you can clearly tell the people who periodically scrape
the wet grass out from underneath the deck.
Allowing wet grass to accumulate down there in the bottom of the metal surface
will rust through the deck shell much
much more quickly than if you keep it clean.
It's pretty common on zero turn mowers
but the very first piece of this thing
that will wear out will be the mower deck shell
which is very expensive to replace.
Also approved on this series is a nicer high back seat
with a little bit more ride in the suspension down here in the bottom.
Another thing that I like too is it's an improved floor mat
it's a little bit more grippy than the old ones were
and other than that everything is pretty similar to the older series.
Zero turns from Kubota have been excellent machines for us
particularly the ZD series.
Our company sells nearly one of these a week
very very popular machines for us.
If you have any questions about one of these
or could see one in your application
give us a call here at Messick's at 800-222-3373 or online at messicks.com.