I just tried out a 724 54" ztr and also the 100 series ztr they had at the dealer in Rickreal, Oregon. The handles on my first ztr, a Dixon, return to neutral on releasing the handle. My wife was unhappy that Kubota ztr's did not do this on either the 700 or 100 series (they didn't have a 400 series to try). It seems to me to be a safety feature that is almost necessary in a accident/mishap. When the handles are released on the Kubotas they stay in that position going forward and to a certain extent, going in reverse. Is that the way it is supposed to be? I really liked the 700 but I don't think my wife will go for that.
ztr controls returning to neutral
- Thread starter steve.curlydogacres
- Start date
all the ones i've driven return to center if you let go.
It's that way with any/all HST tractors too.
It's that way with any/all HST tractors too.
RickCf
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L4701, 5ft Land Pride Rotary Cutter , 5ft Land Pride Tiller, Misc. other imp.
Was it running or just sitting there? If you were driving them they should have come back neutral when they are turned loose. I may be wrong here, a neighbor has a ZTR Kubota mower. I have used it several times and as I recall if you let go of the handles it will continue to go, but if you lift your butt a millimeter off of the seat it quits right now.
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I just picked up a 726.... I honestly haven't payed any attention to whether the control levers will return to neutral.... I don't see them not returning to neutral as a safety issue... Ones first inclination when getting into a hairy situation isn't to let go of them, but to pull them in the opposite direction.
The parking brake is in a good place to use in an emergency. And apply the brake without the control levers in neutral and it kills the engine.
The parking brake is in a good place to use in an emergency. And apply the brake without the control levers in neutral and it kills the engine.
My wife considers it an issue and I have to agree. I also agree that, in a bad situation, you're not going to let go and jump off. Think of it this way, when you let off the gas in your car, it doesn't keep going at the same rpms. When you let off the HST on a tractor with that transmission, it stops, doesn't keep going. Why wouldn't the ZTR stop? My current homeowner quality Dixon does. I haven't yet gotten a good answer from Kubota on this. I sent an email to the US Kubota site and got a very poor response from someone there. Not a real answer. I have a hard time believing that Kubota has engineered this as I tried it today. I still want to buy the 700 ZTR and want to believe that it is set up incorrectly. Anyone else know if this is what Kubota designed?
Forgot to mention. I did have both the 700 and 100 series ZTR's running. Both in circles and forward and in reverse circles. All handles stayed in the same forward position when I let my hands off for at least 15 seconds. In reverse, the 700 slowed somewhat over 15 seconds but continued doing circles.
I just went out and checked mine....
Anything forward and they stayed in the position I put them in. They came off reverse a bit. Mind you this is not running, its 5:20 here.
There are other safety devices on the zero turn. Get off the seat without the parking brake set, kills the engine. Bring the motion control levers in from their neutral resting position with the parking brake set, kills the engine. Get off the seat with the PTO running, kills the engine.
Keep in mind these are all JMO...
In relation to a car, taking your foot off the gas doesn't bring the car to a stop, it requires additional input from you.
In relation to the tractor, the HST returns to neutral so it wont run anyone over while the operator station is unoccupied and there is a switch to kill the engine if the HST isn't in neutral and the operator station is unoccupied. You cant get off the seat of the ZT, while the engine is running, without the parking brake set and you cant set the parking brake unless the motion control levers are in their neutral resting position.
These CUT Tractors also have Cruise... Which requires input from the operator to release. Think of the levers on the ZT as cruise control....
I think.... and Ive done the exact same thing... you are approaching this as an abnormality because its different than what you're used to. I'm actually kind of a safety XXXhole and I cant think of any need for the levers to automatically return to center... My first inclination in an emergency wouldn't be to let go of them, it would be to reverse course. Letting go of them may actually make the issue worse if you needed to get out of a situation... Say you run over a nest of ground bees... Let go of the levers and come to a stop or reverse course/speed up and get out of the area? Say you're on a hill and you feel like the ZT is going to roll, let got of the levers and come to a stop or make course corrections to try to move your center of gravity?
Again, not attacking. There is no malice in my tone... I just don't see where letting go of the levers to come to a stop would be a necessity. Now if the levers creeped forward or reverse with no operator input, then I could see a problem.....
But ultimately its got to come down to what you and your wife are comfortable with. Have you checked any other manufacturers? The Gravely units seem to be well regarded. I didn't actually put my hands on one but they look nice from what Ive read. The SCAG Tiger Cat II is right around the same price as the 700 series Kubota.
Anything forward and they stayed in the position I put them in. They came off reverse a bit. Mind you this is not running, its 5:20 here.
There are other safety devices on the zero turn. Get off the seat without the parking brake set, kills the engine. Bring the motion control levers in from their neutral resting position with the parking brake set, kills the engine. Get off the seat with the PTO running, kills the engine.
Keep in mind these are all JMO...
In relation to a car, taking your foot off the gas doesn't bring the car to a stop, it requires additional input from you.
In relation to the tractor, the HST returns to neutral so it wont run anyone over while the operator station is unoccupied and there is a switch to kill the engine if the HST isn't in neutral and the operator station is unoccupied. You cant get off the seat of the ZT, while the engine is running, without the parking brake set and you cant set the parking brake unless the motion control levers are in their neutral resting position.
These CUT Tractors also have Cruise... Which requires input from the operator to release. Think of the levers on the ZT as cruise control....
I think.... and Ive done the exact same thing... you are approaching this as an abnormality because its different than what you're used to. I'm actually kind of a safety XXXhole and I cant think of any need for the levers to automatically return to center... My first inclination in an emergency wouldn't be to let go of them, it would be to reverse course. Letting go of them may actually make the issue worse if you needed to get out of a situation... Say you run over a nest of ground bees... Let go of the levers and come to a stop or reverse course/speed up and get out of the area? Say you're on a hill and you feel like the ZT is going to roll, let got of the levers and come to a stop or make course corrections to try to move your center of gravity?
Again, not attacking. There is no malice in my tone... I just don't see where letting go of the levers to come to a stop would be a necessity. Now if the levers creeped forward or reverse with no operator input, then I could see a problem.....
But ultimately its got to come down to what you and your wife are comfortable with. Have you checked any other manufacturers? The Gravely units seem to be well regarded. I didn't actually put my hands on one but they look nice from what Ive read. The SCAG Tiger Cat II is right around the same price as the 700 series Kubota.
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I have a Ferris 2100Z, it's a heavy duty commercial mower. My levers return to nuetral when I let go of them. I wish they didn't, because there are times when I want to hold a low Branch out of the way when mowing...got to try and hold both levers with one hand.
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Sent from my Moto Z2 Play using Tapatalk
Thanks for the input all. I went out today to a second Kubota dealer who also sold a brand called Hustler and to the John Deere dealer next door. Both of those had control handles that did not return to neutral from the forward position and only slowly returned from the reverse. Much like the Kubota ZTR's. Seems like we are the problem. I still don't quite get it but that's the way it is.