Bucket list mowers

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Oct 15, 2006
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Location
Southern Ontario
I have a love for strange old mowers so I thought I’d post a couple I’ve always wanted to get my hands on.

Probably the most obtainable would be one of these Kubota commercial walk behinds. I consider them the best built mower that ever existed. Honda allegedly bought the design from Kubota and that became Honda’s first mowers which were excellent as well. I’ve only ever seen one for sale.
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Next would be an old Mott flail push mower. I love flail mowers and the idea of ripping along through an overgrown garden or something with one sounds like my idea of a good time. Never seen one for sale.
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Last is one of the most bizarre contraptions the folks over at lawn boy ever conjured up. It’s called a Loafer. I can see why it never took off. Why have two engines going when most riding mowers only needed one. I can just imagine myself putting along mowing the grass with not one but two old 2 strokes running 16:1 and leaving a blue haze all around the neighbourhood. A man can dream.
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What mower would you absolutely love to have someday?
 
The mower i have now !
John Deere je75 with kawasaki 150cc engine . i would put it up against the kubota any day...
edit .... would like to get a two stroke toro also.
 
Next would be an old Mott flail push mower. I love flail mowers and the idea of ripping along through an overgrown garden or something with one sounds like my idea of a good time. Never seen one for sale.
I've never seen a flail lawn mower. Chopped a lot of set-aside acres and corn stalks with a 18' flail chopper though. I can't imagine the lawn mower would leave a very nice cut.
 
Next would be an old Mott flail push mower. I love flail mowers and the idea of ripping along through an overgrown garden or something with one sounds like my idea of a good time. Never seen one for sale.
View attachment 105038
I’ve seen that Mott mower before!
Check out these “Taryl Fixes All“ restoration vids on this mower, I had never heard of this type of mower before this.
part1
part2
 
Ingersoll commercial and Eastman green deck commercial 21”. I’ve owned 2 of the Ingersoll Hydrive Garden Tractors as well. Hydraulically driven with the Japanese Briggs &Stratton Vanguard engines. Love that Kubota as well!
 
My grandfather has 20 acres, he probably mows about 8-10 of it. He is 81, and it has been getting tougher for him to maintain the property, so I've been helping out a lot more. He currently uses a Scag STHM 3 wheel mower with a 61" deck. It is fun to zip around the property with, but the 3 wheel configuration can make bumps a bit jarring. I added a suspension seat for him, which helps, but it's still taxing on the body after a few hours.

I'd love to upgrade him to one of these Toro Groundsmasters. Always thought they were neat when the town would use them:

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I'd also love one of the large Ferris 72" zero turns powered by the 48hp Caterpillar diesel:
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My folks' neighbor has an old all-electric rider made by General Electric. Now that would be cool. I would say a Flymo hovering mower, but my yard is so bumpy and uneven I don't think it would work.
 
The mower i have now !
John Deere je75 with kawasaki 150cc engine . i would put it up against the kubota any day...
edit .... would like to get a two stroke toro also.
Deere made a 2 stroke mower once upon a time that I’d like to get my hands on. It’s all silver.
 
I've never seen a flail lawn mower. Chopped a lot of set-aside acres and corn stalks with a 18' flail chopper though. I can't imagine the lawn mower would leave a very nice cut.
Most pto flail mowers actually leave a surprisingly nice cut. Maybe not quite as nice as a finish mower but a lot nicer than a bush hog.
 
I've always had a soft spot for the Honda HT3813. It might not have been a good mower, I don't know either way, but it was a 2 cylinder water cooled machine. I just found that to be cool. Like cutting grass with half a Civic shoved under the hood.

 
I have a love for strange old mowers so I thought I’d post a couple I’ve always wanted to get my hands on.

Probably the most obtainable would be one of these Kubota commercial walk behinds. I consider them the best built mower that ever existed. Honda allegedly bought the design from Kubota and that became Honda’s first mowers which were excellent as well. I’ve only ever seen one for sale.
View attachment 105037

Next would be an old Mott flail push mower. I love flail mowers and the idea of ripping along through an overgrown garden or something with one sounds like my idea of a good time. Never seen one for sale.
View attachment 105038

Last is one of the most bizarre contraptions the folks over at lawn boy ever conjured up. It’s called a Loafer. I can see why it never took off. Why have two engines going when most riding mowers only needed one. I can just imagine myself putting along mowing the grass with not one but two old 2 strokes running 16:1 and leaving a blue haze all around the neighbourhood. A man can dream.
View attachment 105039

What mower would you absolutely love to have someday?

My dads step dad had a Kubota push mower. He let me attempt to mow with it when I was in 3rd grade or so. It got away from me and it pushed right through a chain link fence.

It was definitely heavier than our little lawn boy.
 
For vintage machines:

Gravely model L with the 72" gang reel mowers. I owned a few Gravely L tractors (1948, 1971) they are a neat design. All gear drive, full pressure lubrication with an oil filter, and basically a motorcycle style cylinder jug with a belt driven fan. Really durable. Never found a reel mower though.

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These vintage Toro reel mowers are cool. 58" cut, Kohler K series engine. I almost bought one close to my house but it was pretty rough, and parts are hard to find.

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I also have a soft spot for the John Deere 200 series garden tractors from the 1980s. There was a Deere dealer in town when I was growing up, and they always had some used ones, and a few of my grandma's neighbors had them. Even though they were older by then (early 2000's) I still loved the styling and always have wanted one.
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I love old mowers, riding and otherwise. I bought a 1979 Case 220 garden tractor with HyDrive from it's original owner back around 2008. I thought I was going to love this mower, but I didn't. I did some restoration to the 38" 3-blade cutting deck, the PTO clutch, did belts, hoses, etc. and sold it a few years later.

Today I wouldn't mind having a nice light weight 21", a Toro timemaster 30 or one of those Raven Hydrid riders that seem to have faded into oblivion.

Riders I've owned in the past were a Cub Cadet 2544 garden tractor (gave to FIL) and a Cub Z-Force ZTR w/ fabricated 44" deck. Sold that one.
 
The honda got me. Found one on eBay near here for 500. Man, I want that little engine. I already have a ztr and don’t need the mower, but the little water cooled twin? How cool is that??? #enginelust
 
John Deere 318. Had one for a short time growing up, found one locally and bought/baselined the maintenance. Love cutting grass on it.
 
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