Customer Reviews for Hustler Raptor 54 in. 23 HP Kawasaki V-Twin Hydrostatic Zero-Turn Mower

This is quite the machine at the price. I looked at a number of ZTR mowers, needing one no more than 50 inches wide overall. I picked the Hustler Raptor SD because of the very sturdy build quality at the price. It is near commercial grade, but meant for residential use. I bought the 48-inch version, essentially the same as the 52-inch machine. It has a weld-fabricated deck of 11 and 7-gage steel with the bottom front and side edges having a 1-inch x 3/8-inch reinforcing belt welded to the deck to take hard knocks without bending. The frame construction looks impressive and is of .012 inch steel. The caster forks are heavy steel as well, 3/8-inch thick. This machine mows very evenly because of the very high tip speed for the three blades of over 18,500 feet per minute at full engine throttle. It does a great job distributing the clippings evenly so that I will not need to mulch. I am pleased with the fact that this mower has 13 cutting height settings from 1.5 to 4.5 inches. The cutting height is adjusted easily with a foot pedal and a pin to hold the settings. The 23-hp, Kawasaki twin-cylinder engine starts well and runs very smoothly, a lot quieter than my old lawn tractor that had a 17-hp single-cylinder engine. I was surprised how good the traction is for this machine, much better than my old lawn tractor. It mows in reverse, a definite plus. The mowing time for my half acre of turf now is about half of that required with my lawn tractor. The seat is comfortable, however, the ride can be a bit rough if one mows at high speed on turf that is not very smooth. I addressed this issue by reducing the tire pressure from 12 to 8 psi and removing the center of the three seat suspension springs. I may retrofit my machine with a full suspension seat at a later date. One can also smooth the ride by purchasing optional Hustler Flex Forks. This machine scorches turf grass if one stops and parks with the engine running more than momentarily over the area being mowed. It is heat from the muffler that scorches the grass. I ordered a muffler heat shield to address this issue. I also ordered an engine guard as one could easily damage the engine backing into something. In my opinion, both the muffler heat shield and the engine guard should be included as standard equipment. I have mowed three times with this machine and am quite pleased with my purchase, it making mowing fun. I recommend this Hustler product highly.

Best Purchase I have every bought from LOWES... Sorry Depot

I used this mower the full 2014 season with no problems. I couldn't pay a lawn service for a better looking yard. I cut 1.5 acres in half the time it took me with a garden tractor and the yard looks better. I would recommend this for any home owner looking for a ZT.

This mower for the money is as good as I could find. For a big box store item, very impressed. Not cheapened to get the price down.

You will not find a better ZT in this price range, Trust me, I did all the research for you.

The mower seems to be well built but after 3 hours of use the pulley tension spring broke. Noticed loud vibration under deck when I fired it up for the first time , this could be related to the spring breaking. Hope this is just a fluke and when i get it back everything will work properly. Viewed other websites and this seems to be a common problem that Hustler needs to address. Will review again when i get it back from shop.

I only have 4 mows on this, but so far it has performed admirably. When comparing this to some of the other "consumer" level mowers, this thing blows them out of the water. 11 gauge steel with heavy duty casters and the same engine used on their professional mowers makes this one heck of a mower. I did purchase the mulching kit which cost an additional $160 (wish it came with the mower originally). This mower is powerful, easy to use after just a little practice, and so far been very dependable. I have about 1 acre to mow which took me about two hours with my push mower, I am now done in 45 minutes. I am pretty sure as I get better at driving this thing, I can get it down another 10 minutes.

I really like the larger tires , it handles great the 54" deck is made with thicker metal than any mower I found under four grand. Kawasaki 23 hp .engine has great power and I love the powerful sound. My only negative is the second time I used it the spring on the deck tention pulley broke. My dealer gave me a new spring and all is good .Also even though it is plenty fast enough mowing grass it is a little slow when traveling from one point to another.

Purchased this mower with great expectations, not to sure on machine now. First mow 1.5 hours into the job and idler pully threw the belt off. Found out this has been a problem on several Hustler machines. Hustler has a recall on the clutch assembley and can't get any info from HD or Hustler. HomeDepot site says profesional will do inital setup and explain all about the mower, this did not happen. I read the manual and did the setup myself had to install seat,drive handles, and battery cables. Needless to say I am not at all pleased with HD or Hustler. Wonder how many other customers were left in the dark on their delivery. If you plan on buying one of these mowers contact a Hustler dealer and buy from them maybe their service will be better than HD.