Operator's Manual

OperatingTips
GeneralTips
Themowerhasauniquetractionsystemthat
willallowthemachinetomoveforwardonside
hills,eveniftheuphillwheelshouldcomeoffof
theground.Ifthisshouldhappen,theoperator
oranybystanderscanbeseriouslyinjuredor
killedinarollover.
Theslopeangleatwhichthemachinewilltipis
dependentonmanyfactors.Amongtheseare:
mowingconditionssuchaswetofundulating
turf,speed(especiallyinturns),positionofthe
cuttingunits(withSidewinder),tirepressure,
andoperatorexperience.
Atsidehillanglesof20degreesorless,the
riskofarolloverislow.Astheslopeangle
increasestoarecommendedmaximumlimitof
25degrees,theriskofarolloverincreasestoa
moderatelevel.
Do not ex ceed a 25 deg r ee side
hill slope ang le because the risk of a r ollo v er
and serious injur y or death is v er y high.
Todeterminewhichhillsorslopesyoumay
safelyoperateon,asitesurveyofthemowing
areamustbedone.Whenperformingthissite
survey,alwaysusecommonsenseandtake
intoconsiderationtheturfconditionandthe
rolloverrisk.Todeterminewhichhillsorslopes
maybesafelyoperatedon,usetheinclinometer
providedwitheachmachine.Toperforma
sitesurvey,laya4ft2x4(1.25meterplank)on
theslopesurfaceandmeasuretheangleofthe
slope.The2x4willaveragetheslopebutwill
nottakeintoconsiderationdipsorholeswhich
cancauseasuddenchangeinsidehillangle.
T he maximum side hill ang le should not be
g r eater than 25 deg r ees.
Additionally,themachineisequippedwithan
angleindicatormountedonthesteeringtube.
Thisindicatesthesidehillanglethemachineis
onandidentiestherecommendedmaximum
limitof25degrees.
Al w ays w ear y our seat belt.
•Practiceoperatingthemachineandbecome
thoroughlyfamiliarwithit.
•Starttheengineandrunitathalfidleuntilitwarms
up.Pushthethrottleleverallthewayforward,lift
thecuttingunits,disengagetheparkingbrake,press
theforwardtractionpedal,andcarefullydriveto
anopenarea.
•Practicemovingforwardandreverse,andstarting
andstoppingthemachine.Tostop,takeyourfoot
offofthetractionpedalandletitreturntoneutral
orpressdownonthereversepedaltostop.Going
downahill,youmayneedtousethereversepedal
tostop.
•Whendrivingonslopes,driveslowlytomaintain
steeringcontrolandavoidturnstopreventrollovers.
Insidehillsituationsyoushouldshiftthesidewinder
cuttingunitstotheuphillsidetogiveyoumore
stability.Conversely,shiftingthecuttingunitsto
thedownhillsidewillgiveyoulessstability.This
shouldalwaysbedonebeforegoingonasidehill.
•Whenpossible,mowupanddownhillsratherthan
acrossthem.Havethecuttingunitsloweredwhen
goingdownahilltomaintainsteeringcontrol.Do
notattempttoturnonahill.
•Practicedrivingaroundobstacleswiththecutting
unitsupanddown.Becarefulwhendriving
betweennarrowobjectssoyoudonotdamagethe
machineorcuttingunits.
•OntheSidewinderunit,getafeelforthereachof
thecuttingunitssoyoudonothangthemupor
damagetheminanyway.
•Donotshifttheunitsfromsidetoside,unlessthe
cuttingunitsaredownandthemachineismoving,
orthecuttingunitsareupinthetransportposition.
Shiftingthecuttingunitswhentheyaredownand
themachineisnotmovingmaycauseturfdamage.
•Alwaysdriveslowlyinroughareas.
•Ifapersonappearsinorneartheoperatingarea,
stopthemachine,anddonotstartitagainuntilthe
areaiscleared.Themachineisdesignedforone
person.Neverletanyoneelserideonthemachine
withyou.Thisisextremelydangerousandcould
resultinseriousinjury.
•Accidentscanhappentoanyone.Themost
commoncausesareexcessivespeed,suddenturns,
terrain(notknowingwhichslopesandhillscan
bemowedsafely),notstoppingtheenginebefore
leavingtheoperator’sseat,anddrugswhichimpair
youralertness.Coldcapsulesorprescriptiondrugs
maycausedrowsiness,ascanalcoholandother
drugs.Stayalertandstaysafe.Failuretodoso
couldresultinseriousinjury.
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