Any Kubota mowers with "suspension" for rider?

[ve9aa]

I own a newer BX2380 and an old n' tired TG1860....so far, engine runs strong, but everything else is battered/worn.

The BX is rough on my bones mowing 2 ac of old farm field. (looks like a lawn, but is not a real lawn)

The TG is not too bad, but I am sure its days are numbered. It's 20-22yrs old and 980 hrs on it.

The one thing the TG has going for it in the comfort dept is that it has a type of 'suspension' for the rider.
It has (of course) the 2 tiny seat springs, but also the entire rear half of the rider cockpit is balanced on 2 (what I call) mini-bike shocks.
It's not perfectly smooth, but it is a heap better than the BX for mowing comfort.

So, my question is, does Kubota still make something like this with shocks?

I prefer diesel and 4WD and unless it really came down to it, I don't think I'd like a ZT.....I'd really have to be convinced of that.

I don't think I could do an F series (I think that's the 'backwards' mower with the deck way out front) because of the very limited real estate where I park the mower. (small shed)...can't do wider than a 54" deck and longer than a TG1860

So do any of mowers still have these "shocks" out back?

 

[PaulR]

I've been running a Toro with the MyRide Suspension system for 3 years now. 3 adjustable shocks on the seat. I like it quite a bit. How effective it is for a person with a bad back I really dont know, but personally I think it smooths out my ride quite a bit. I would recommend test driving one for sure.

MyRIDE® Suspension System | Toro

www.toro.com

 

[radas]

If you decide to branch out, my Ferris has a very comfortable ride with its coilover suspension.

 

[ve9aa]

I guess I should've also mentioned that I am in NB, Canada, so no Ferris or Toro* dealers are nearby.

I do appreciate the comments.

The Ferris looks awesome. Getting it worked on would be a nightmare however ;-)

The one *Toro "dealer" near me is not much more than a hole-in-the-wall and I have had a couple bad experiences with them and there are no alternatives.

 

[CGMKCM]

You might want to re-post and ask for input from people that have mowers with air ride seats. Kubota offers mowers that come stock with that seat and others that can be upgraded to the air ride seat.

 

[NoJacketRequired]

What part of NB are you mowing? I've done my share of those "farm fields turned into lawn" in Grand Falls and I understand how bone-jarring the ride can be.

You haven't mentioned anything about the kind of lawn, other than its roughness. If you've got a moment it would be helpful for others to know more about the lawn itself - details like slopes, obstacles, grade transients are key in receiving viable recommendations.

One thing to keep in mind is that your challenge is not a unique one. The aftermarket parts world has responded with a multitude of offerings as retrofit solutions, adding suspension or air ride suspension as well as much more comfortable seats than the original Kubota factory offering.

As an example of just such a seat, I retrofitted a relatively inexpensive seat from Princess Auto to one of my B7510 tractors. The original seat was built like a childs playground slide and I often feel like that original seat (present on my two other tractors) is trying to slide me off so I can be run over by the back wheels. The Princess Auto seat doesn't give this "greased banana" feeling, is far more supportive and offers better comfort for a long day in the saddle. I think it cost me under $200. For a better seat with better suspension it's not unrealistic to expect to pay several hundred dollars. Is your back worth it? I suspect the answer is Yes!

 

[mikester]

I guess I should've also mentioned that I am in NB, Canada, so no Ferris or Toro* dealers are nearby.

I do appreciate the comments.

The Ferris looks awesome. Getting it worked on would be a nightmare however ;-)

The one *Toro "dealer" near me is not much more than a hole-in-the-wall and I have had a couple bad experiences with them and there are no alternatives.

I demo'd a ferris on my property at the time i bought my ZD326 and frankly I didn't find the suspension did much over the OEM ZD326. Only the front wheels have suspension not the rears you are sitting over. By the time you upgraded the ferris to a "kubota diesel" engine it cost more than the ZD326 I ended up buying.

I installed a Grammar low profile air suspension seat base under my OEM seat, run bar tars at lower oressure and that makes a big difference for me.

If you have rough ground a ZTR is just brutal. A CUT tractor with large tires makes a better ride.

 

[ve9aa]

I am in a "mountainous" area NW of Fredericton, NB....in farm country.

My 2ac yard I mow is just old cow pasture. Was never developed or had any topsoil of any kind added.
Basically I have an inch or two (sometimes more) of what I'll loosely call 'topsoil'...really, just whatever accumulated over the last ~100 yrs in the way of leaves, weeds, grass and cowpatties and eventually turned mostly green when I bought it and started mowing it 18yrs ago.

It's very very rocky underneath. No clay or soil of any kind. It's not like a suburban "lawn" with 5-10" of topsoil.

I think it's mostly the side-to-side motion going over all these hidden rocks/bumps/divets that affects my back more than the up-and-down. I sense this, as I am usually holding on to one of the fender grab-bars for dear life when mowing with the BX and generally not holding onto anything except one hand on the steering-knob when I mow with the TG..............so, this is to say, would a suspension seat make a huge difference on the side-to-side business?

I've never had one, so I can't say for sure. I suspect minimal, but I don't "know" this.

Last year I made up a cushion for the seat and installed a large air bladder to sit on. It helps SOME.

The shocks on the TG make it a "pretty nice" (but not perfect), ride. I guess "garden tractors" like the TG just aren't made any more.

 

[fried1765]

I own a newer BX2380 and an old n' tired TG1860....so far, engine runs strong, but everything else is battered/worn.

The BX is rough on my bones mowing 2 ac of old farm field. (looks like a lawn, but is not a real lawn)

The TG is not too bad, but I am sure its days are numbered. It's 20-22yrs old and 980 hrs on it.

The one thing the TG has going for it in the comfort dept is that it has a type of 'suspension' for the rider.
It has (of course) the 2 tiny seat springs, but also the entire rear half of the rider cockpit is balanced on 2 (what I call) mini-bike shocks.
It's not perfectly smooth, but it is a heap better than the BX for mowing comfort.

So, my question is, does Kubota still make something like this with shocks?

I prefer diesel and 4WD and unless it really came down to it, I don't think I'd like a ZT.....I'd really have to be convinced of that.

I don't think I could do an F series (I think that's the 'backwards' mower with the deck way out front) because of the very limited real estate where I park the mower. (small shed)...can't do wider than a 54" deck and longer than a TG1860

So do any of mowers still have these "shocks" out back?

My 2020 SCAG Liberty Z was built with just coil springs, and was an absolutely horrible ride on my rough.... so called "lawn".
This Spring I added a "Trac Seats" suspension kit ($180 on Amazon) and it is a dramatic improvement.

 

[PaulL]

Have you tried running much much lower pressure in the BX tires? Basically as low as you can go without rolling the tires off the rims? Not sure if you have an FEL, but mowing with it off if you do greatly increased my comfort when I had a BX.

I moved from a BX to a B2601, and it improved my ride quite a bit. Still probably not as good as some other solutions, but if I also dropped my air pressure a lot I think I'd get more compliance.

I know it's not answering your original question, but may give something to try.

I've also always had a theory that comfort and speed are closely (inversely) related. And that you can buy a rear finish mower that is quite wide (say, 72 inch or more), and just mow a lot slower. Because of the wider mower you do fewer passes - so your total mowing time isn't too bad. Because you're going slower you're not overloading your low HP tractor. And going slow makes things a lot more comfortable. But again, I think a bigger machine than a BX would make that more practical - the BX has very small wheels. My B2601 fits in the same shed I used to have my BX in .... but I do have a 60 inch deck, which wouldn't fit for you. A RFM would solve that problem though.