•Briefly depress the brake pedal to release the parking brake. Move the throttle lever into the FAST (rabbit) position.

•To travel FORWARD, slowly depress the upper portion of the drive pedal forward until the desired speed is achieved. See Figure 8.

Brake PedalDrive Pedal

Figure 8

•To travel in REVERSE, check that the area behind is clear then slowly depress the lower portion of the drive pedal with the ball of your foot (NOT your heel) until the desired speed is achieved. See Figure 8.

IMPORTANT: Do NOT attempt to change the direction of travel when the tractor is in motion. Always bring the tractor to a complete stop before pivoting the drive pedal from forward to reverse or vice versa.

Driving On Slopes

Refer to the SLOPE GAUGE on page 7 to help determine slopes where you may operate the tractor safely.

WARNING: Do not mow on inclines with a slope in excess of 15 degrees (a rise of approximately 2-1/2 feet every 10 feet). The tractor could overturn and cause serious injury.

•Mow up and down slopes, NEVER across.

•Exercise extreme caution when changing direction on slopes.

•Watch for holes, ruts, bumps, rocks, or other hidden objects. Uneven terrain could overturn the machine. Tall grass can hide obstacles.

•Avoid turns when driving on a slope. If a turn must be made, turn down the slope. Turning up a slope greatly increases the chance of a roll over.

•Avoid stopping when driving up a slope. If it is necessary to stop while driving up a slope, start up smoothly and carefully to reduce the possibility of flipping the tractor over backward.

Setting The Cruise Control

NOTE: The cruise control feature should only be utilized while traveling in the forward direction.

•Slowly depress the upper portion of the drive pedal until the desired speed is achieved.

•Lightly depress the cruise control lever.

•While continuing to hold the cruise lever down, lift your foot from the drive pedal (you should feel the cruise latch engage).

•Once engaged, the cruise control lever and the drive pedal will lock in the “down” position, and the tractor will maintain the same forward speed.

NOTE: Cruise control can not be engaged at the tractor’s fastest ground speed. If the operator should attempt to do so, the tractor will automatically decelerate to the fastest optimal mowing ground speed.

Disengage the cruise control using one of the following methods:

•Depress the brake pedal to disengage the cruise control and stop the tractor.

•Lightly depress the drive pedal.

To change the direction of travel to reverse when operating with cruise control, depress the brake pedal to disengage the cruise control and bring the tractor to a complete stop. Then slowly depress the lower portion of the drive pedal with the ball of your foot to travel in reverse.

Using the Deck Lift Lever

To raise the cutting deck, move the deck lift lever to the left, then place it in the notch best suited for your application. Refer to Setting The Cutting Height earlier in this section.

Operating The Headlights

To turn the tractor’s headlights on:

•Start the engine following the instructions earlier in this section.

•Turn the key one notch counterclockwise into the On/Lights position of the ignition switch. Refer to Figure 5.

To turn the tractor’s headlights off:

•Turn the key either into the On position (to leave the engine running) or the Off position (to shut the engine off). Refer to Figure 5.

NOTE: Never move the key into the Start position while the engine is running. Doing so may cause damage to your engine’s electric starter.

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