It’s Got 4 Wheels and an Engine

Kinja'd!!! "That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms" (thatbastardkurtis5)
06/03/2018 at 14:38 • Filed to: None

Kinja'd!!!1 Kinja'd!!! 7

For some reason I got it in my head yesterday that I should buy a lawn mower, so I figured I’d look for one that I used to have: a Kubota W5019. But I actually did two better and found a W5021!

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Now in the Facebook ad, he didn’t call it a W5021, just a Kubota lawn mower. But he said it was self propelled, and the W5019s were a) two inches narrower at a 19” cut and b) push only, so the fact it’s self propelled told me it was almost certainly a W5021.

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It runs mint and the transmission works, but he said the cable for the blade brake clutch was broken, which made me a little wary...the blade brake clutch lets you shut off the blade and idle the mower while emptying the bag, and it’s an expensive/hard to find part, so I didn’t want to buy it without checking the clutch out. Fortunately, there was enough cable left that I could grab it and pull it, and the clutch engaged fine. So purchase authorized!

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The clutch cable is available online for $15 or so, and I paid $80 for the mower, so I’ll be all in for under $100. With that fixed, if I was going to sell it I’d put it on CL for $250...it’s a super well made mower, worlds better than the $250 junk you’d buy at Lowes. I’m happy with it.


DISCUSSION (7)


Kinja'd!!! RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
06/03/2018 at 15:14

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We have an ancient Yardman that we’ve literally never serviced other than me cleaning the plug and adding oil when it needs it...it’s direct drive, so it’s hit a few rocks in it’s lifetime, bending the blade shaft on the engine and vibrating it like a mofo, but the local small engine repair guru has fixed it every time.

The rear-left wheel is firmly attached, but oddly incredibly wobbly (I can’t understand how) and the clutch for the self-propelled system slips like hell, but somehow it is still going!


Kinja'd!!! That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
06/03/2018 at 16:32

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I understand buying a lot of things new, but lawn equipment of any kind is something I’ll always buy used. Like if you can buy a new tractor for $1300, or a John Deere LX series, which was $4000 new for $600, you’d be nuts to buy the new one. This Kubota was like a $600-700 mower new in the 90s...it’s ten times the mower that the $180 garbage I walked past at Walmart earlier is.


Kinja'd!!! RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
06/03/2018 at 16:49

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I really need to find a cheap riding mower....our lawn isn’t HUGE, but with our self-propelled mower, it takes something like 3 hours...


Kinja'd!!! That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
06/03/2018 at 17:16

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Find the cheapest John Deere LX you can that isn’t water cooled. Or even the 160-170-180 series...I’ve had an LX277 and a 185 Hydro, they’re both great mowers and they’re from before you could buy a Deere at Lowe’s. They’ve usually got Kawasaki engines, which are the best small engines I’ve ever used...the 277 had a 17hp Kawasaki V-twin, it was fabulous.


Kinja'd!!! RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
06/03/2018 at 18:03

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Thanks for the info! I’ll keep my eyes open! :D


Kinja'd!!! 7:07 > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
06/03/2018 at 21:21

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This is the mower of my youth. Very well made. The self-propelled part didn’t mess around: it would tear your arms off if you squeezed the go handle and weren’t ready.


Kinja'd!!! That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > 7:07
06/04/2018 at 06:19

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I’m pretty sure long after I’m dead, somebody is going to be cutting their grass with this thing. It never seems to be working very hard, and it’s way overbuilt. And you’re not wrong about the drive system, it’s shaft driven so there’s no real play there like a belt may have...you squeeze the handle, it goes.