[68ragtop]

I finally got a zero turn & love it so far. I bought a lightly used Gravely ZT60HD.
While everything seems straight forward, the one thing it doesn't do is go straight forward at full speed. When I hold both levers all the way forward it slightly drifts to the left. I followed the procedure in the manual to zero out the return to neutral setting & adjusted the bars, but it still happens. I talked to another guy with the same machine & he said it just how they are & he's always moving his bars to track straight. I guess that makes sense but wanted to see if anybody felt the same way. The manual also said to let a little air out the tires to correct this issue, but I have not tried that yet.

Am I expecting something that isn't there? Thanks, 68RT

[61-63]

The Gravely I've had for five or six years does the same thing IMO that is just the way they are.

[68ragtop]

Originally Posted by 61-63

The Gravely I've had for five or six years does the same thing IMO that is just the way they are.

Does yours go left or right? mine drifts to the left. if I try to adjust it with the bar limit stops the right bar ends up noticeably closer to me. Seems odd.

[68ragtop]

I thought it might have had something to do with the return to neutral baseline, but I realized all that does it centers the shifting so it doesn't creep. doesn't effect the linkage at all. everything else is in specs from what I checked. I might try the air pressure trick to see if it helps. If I hold the bars forward right now, I would say it veers about two feet or so in about 100' On my old tractor style mower I always made my first pass across the yard (about 300') by picking a visual target on the other side & just driving to it. then cutting each side off that first pass. If I hold the bars forward on the gravely I would not be anywhere near my visual target. I have to hold the left bar back a bit too accomplish that. I have googled & really haven't found much else for info.

[firejunkie]

I have the Ariens Ikon X 52, ( Same manufacture) it pulls to the right, however I have seen many brands do similar things and they all have one thing in common. The same drive motors. I believe it is the motor on one side or the other being a bit off in manufacture and hence will never really solve the issue. I too have adjusted everything over and over and same results.

[61-63]

Originally Posted by 68ragtop

Does yours go left or right? mine drifts to the left. if I try to adjust it with the bar limit stops the right bar ends up noticeably closer to me. Seems odd.

I couldn't remember so I took it for a ride yesterday and actually mine goes straight but the handles are set so the left one is farther towards the front than the right so if you hold them aligned the mower drifts to the left. I've never adjusted the handles so this is the way I got it unless bumps etc. over the years got the handle alignment slightly out of whack.

This Gravely is one of the best investment I ever made IMO. I mow about two acres and it cut my mowing time in half, uses very little gas, and has been very dependable.

[68ragtop]

Originally Posted by 61-63

I couldn't remember so I took it for a ride yesterday and actually mine goes straight but the handles are set so the left one is farther towards the front than the right so if you hold them aligned the mower drifts to the left. I've never adjusted the handles so this is the way I got it unless bumps etc. over the years got the handle alignment slightly out of whack.

This Gravely is one of the best investment I ever made IMO. I mow about two acres and it cut my mowing time in half, uses very little gas, and has been very dependable.

So what I did was adjusted (lengthened) the linkage that goes from the bars to the transmission on the right side & then re adjusted the locking hooks. now the bars are slightly off center in neutral & slightly off center the opposite way at full speed. Then I messed with the bar limit stops & it goes straight. still wonders a little on uneven grades or bumps but I guess that's expected.

Pretty happy with it so far. Now I want to buy a bagger & hookup kit. Sounds like they are anywhere from $850-$1000 for both parts. Ouchy. I didn't even get that much $ for my old mower with the bagger..

[61-63]

You might want to consider a mulching kit instead of a bagger? I used to rake and burn leaves in the fall but then several years ago I noticed my neighbor mulching his leaves so I put a mulching kit in my mower and have never removed it. My original intent was to put it in each fall to deal with the leaves and then take it out at the start of the mowing season but being lazy I just left it in the next spring, and as it turns out I think the grass likes the clippings better than not having them. I think the blades wear out a tad more often than the non-mulching blades but not by much.