Kawasaki engines...are they really that good...not seeing it

[Al Smith]

Rambling on I use that zero turn like a little tractor .For example on my ten acres I have a zillion downed small trees I cut for fire wood .The mower will fit where a tractor won't between the trees and zero turn it will turn on a dime and give you 9 cents change .,With a yard cart I can get a load in maybe 20 minutes .Pop corn dry and being small does not need split ,cut and stack .The less you have to handle fire wood the better time you will make over all . I've got two splitters .One is a home built heavy duty heavy as lead with a 5 inch cylinder that will split anything .The other is a 4" TSC I can easily move around with the mower that has a 2" ball hitch .

 

[EFSM]

So it isn't just mine! I've been told it's bad gas, it's lack of maintenance, it's blah blah blah. Truth is, it's a *s-wordty design.

All new carburetors have rather small jets that can plug easily. As far as idle goes the Kawasaki engines as a whole idle better than Briggs (especially the 2-barrel Intek series). But nothing idles well with a clogged jet.

 

[Lions fan]

All new carburetors have rather small jets that can plug easily. As far as idle goes the Kawasaki engines as a whole idle better than Briggs (especially the 2-barrel Intek series). But nothing idles well with a clogged jet.

Maybe so. But the little Kohler on my splitter has never been touched after five seasons. The carb on my Intek Briggs on my rototiller has never been touched either after 25 seasons. The Yamaha engine on my generator had never been touched for the 20 years I owned it. I have removed and cleaned the carb on my Artic Cat 4-wheeler once since it was purchased in 2003. I have owned that Kawasaki powered Deere since 2011, and I've removed the carb and cleaned the idle circuits at least a dozen times. I would say that's a *s-wordty design.

 

[EFSM]

Maybe so. But the little Kohler on my splitter has never been touched after five seasons. The carb on my Intek Briggs on my rototiller has never been touched either after 25 seasons. The Yamaha engine on my generator had never been touched for the 20 years I owned it. I have removed and cleaned the carb on my Artic Cat 4-wheeler once since it was purchased in 2003. I have owned that Kawasaki powered Deere since 2011, and I've removed the carb and cleaned the idle circuits at least a dozen times. I would say that's a *s-wordty design.

Then something is wrong. What fuel filters are you using and is this an FH or FS series engine?

 

[whitesnake]

I have one on my 2003 Toro z master zero turn. I’ve owner it for about 20 years. It’s been absolutely problem free except for basic maintenance…which even that I could be better about. The engine itself, outside of maintenance, I’ve only replaced each coil once. Even the mower has only been a few batteries, a set of tires, and I rebuilt the entire deck probably 15 years or so ago. I can’t speak much on the new Kawasaki’s but any I’ve had from the 2000’s have never given me problems. I did notice I’m starting to leak some oil on mine that I’ll take care of over winter. I should really go knock on some wood now. Mowing season isn’t over yet.

 

[STOVE]

I have one on a smaller snapper s50 zero turn. It runs well. I will say the OEM parts are pricey. I see a lot of commercial guys around here with the SCAG Kawasaki mowers