Zero Turn Driving Practice, Smooth Travel

Operating the Zero Turn Rider

ZERO TURN

DRIVING PRACTICE

The lever controls of the Zero Turn rider are responsive, and learning to gain a smooth and efficient control of the rider’s forward, reverse, and turning movements will take some practice.

Spending some time going through the maneuvers shown and becoming familiar with how the unit acceler- ates, travels, and steers — before you begin mowing — is absolutely essential to getting the most out of the Zero Turn rider.

Locate a smooth, flat area of your lawn — one with plenty of room to maneuver. (Clear the area of objects, people and animals before you begin.) Operate the unit at mid-throttle during this practice session (ALWAYS operate at full throttle when mowing), and turn slowly to prevent tire slippage and damage to your lawn.

We suggest you begin with the Smooth Travel proce- dure to the right, and then advance through the forward, reverse, and turning maneuvers.

You must release the parking brake prior to moving the control levers inward.

Smooth Travel

The lever controls of the Zero Turn rider are

RESPONSIVE .

The BEST method of handling the ground speed control levers is in three steps — as shown in Figure 4.

FIRST place your hands onto the levers as shown.

SECOND, to go forward gradually push the levers forward with your palms.

THIRD, to speed up move the levers farther forward. To slow down smoothly, slowly move the levers toward neutral.

Figure 4. Move Control

Levers Gradually

BASIC DRIVING

Forward Travel Practice

Reverse Travel Practice

Gradually move both ground speed control levers — evenly FORWARD from neutral. Slow down and repeat.

NOTE: Straight forward travel takes practice. If neces- sary, top speed can be balance-adjusted — see the Speed Balancing Adjustment in the Adjustments section near the back of this manual.

LOOK DOWN & BEHIND, then gradually move both ground speed control levers evenly BACK from neutral. Slow down and repeat.

NOTE: Practice backing up for several minutes before attempting to do so near objects. The rider turns sharply in reverse as well as forward, and backing up straight takes practice.

Forward

Travel

Figure 5. Forward Travel

Reverse