03 wright stander

[jmac5058]

I dont do landscaping for a living but know many here do.I have a large yard and have finaly decided to give up reparing my craftsman riding mower,its 12 years old and have been fixing it for 10+ years.I can purchase a 03 wright stander 52'' with 1250 hours on it for $2000 -$2200.What do I need to look for as far as trouble areas to look closley at,and are they good machines? The guy selling says no oil leaks and synyhetic hydro oil is that good? thanks for any info in advance.The 1250 hrs is that alot if Im only using on my own lawn from now on?Oh ya its a 23hp kawasaki motor.

[BSDeality]

1250 hours is nothing for a machine like that. often they go to around 3000 hours. as a homeowner machine you'll never get close to that unless you're mowing 50acres a week. we bought a stander earlier this year, 1 yr old rapid height 52" with 219 hours on it for $3500. they are hard to find around here as there isn't a huge dealer network. we put 200 hours on it so far and its been good. I did have a spindle go bad but that happens to them all. I took it to my machine shop and they were able to cross a bearing and we were out the door for $50 to get it working again. Synthetic oil is good, the machine we had was run on it since day one and its starts up smooth every time.

[MCV]

The drive controls are the highest point on those machines so don't buy it if you have trees with low branches that you can normally drive under.

[AmerilawnOfWisconsin]

It sounds like a fair price to me if it's clean. I would buy it if it were near me. Just for comparison sake I have a Scag with a 21hp Kawasaki with 2500 hours that is just now starting to get worn out and burn oil. A commercial machine like that in a homeowner setting will last a long time. If the hydros are strong and responsive and the spindles are tight and quiet you should be good to go. Even if you do end up having to replace a spindle, blade clutch, idler pulley, or even a hydro pump the replacement will last you a good long time.

[AL Inc]

I would also say that is a good buy. I run the 52"/23 Kawi as my front line machine, and replace them every three to four years. Usually at or about 2,200-2,500 hours. I have found that as you pass that, the problems start to arise. I pushed my last machine to almost 4 years and regretted it, the down time started to hurt. Not major stuff, but they start to nickel and dime you to death.
I usually get about $2k when I sell them.
Also keep in mind my machines are run by my employees who I do like, but can run things pretty hard. I would say for your own property, that machine will last you a long time, I think you will like it.

[jmac5058]

Thanks for the inside info guys I can get it for $1950 after talking a while and told him Id answer him tuesday (after reading these replies)and I feel better not going in blind,thanks again.

[snowplowjay]

The Kawi's are good motors. In my searching I am favoring Kawi powered equipment as I have had nothing but good luck with what I have so far...

Best of luck in sealing the deal!!!

[BSDeality]

Originally Posted by MCV

The drive controls are the highest point on those machines so don't buy it if you have trees with low branches that you can normally drive under.

You can squat down below the bars and brush under the trees. It works much better with the stander than it does with a rider where you're stuck on the seat.

thats a great deal on that if you can pick it up for <$2k. as a homeowner machine you'll never have to buy another machine.

[GMC Driver]

I've bought two of the Great Dane versions over the years. One was Kohler powered, the other Kawi. The Kohler got swapped for a Kawi two years ago. Kawi's run good, just keep the fuel and air clean.

[DeVries]

I bought one last year, my guy's used it for three months and hated it. It then sat in the shop after I bought another exmark. The Stander will be on Kijjiji soon.

[GMC Driver]

Originally Posted by DeVries

I bought one last year, my guy's used it for three months and hated it. It then sat in the shop after I bought another exmark. The Stander will be on Kijjiji soon.

What brand?

Any other details?

[DeVries]

It's a Wright stander with a kawi. The motor is great, but the side discharge is so so and the mulch kit for it is absolutly garbage, compared to the Exmark anyway.

[BSDeality]

Originally Posted by DeVries

It's a Wright stander with a kawi. The motor is great, but the side discharge is so so

really? our 23/52" throws grass a good 10+ ft unless you're hacking down 3-5" at a pass.

[JMac]

Originally Posted by BSDeality

really? our 23/52" throws grass a good 10+ ft unless you're hacking down 3-5" at a pass.

I have not said anything yet but I will add this: I used to have two units - a 48" and a 52". The 48" had an absolutely terrible cut/discharge. I sold that unit and got a 52" thinking the blade speed increase would help a little bit. It did but the cut/discharge was still subpar. I sold that unit too and now have a small fleet of only exmarks and could not be happier.

BTW, BS, in the spring, when are you not cutting that amount? We dont ever have to double cut with my exmarks - that was a given with the wrights.

[GMC Driver]

Might be going out on a limb - but the Great Dane's don't have the discharge issue. I've always been impressed with what they are capable of. I will admit, they are not as "advanced" as the Wright unit - but their simplicity may be an advantage.

I will also admit, they don't cut like a Walker or Ex-mark, but they served the purpose here - alot of our sites are large commercial/residential (acres at a time). The stander allowed the crews to speed up enough to not have to buy additional zero-turn riders or walk-behinds, without taking up too much more space on the trailers.

[BSDeality]

i dunno Jmac, ours has been good to us. Sure when its real bad you have to double cut, but you'll get that with any brand. You can run a mulcher blade on the discharge to help chop and throw the grass too. we run with the chute cover off if that makes any difference to your comparison. Size was a concern for us too as we run 4 mowers out of a 14' boxtruck. we couldn't fit another full size WB w/sulky in place of the stander.