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Jari zero turn found in old barn

5K views 14 replies 12 participants last post by  GeorgeatG&G 
#1 ·
Hello all! My uncle found this old Jari "implemettes" zeroturn mower in his neighbors old barn. He does not use a computer so I am trying to find some info out on it, but for the life of me I can not find a Jari zero turn mower online! I'm starting to think this was some sort of prototype lol maybe the first zero turn ever made?! ;)
Any one ever seen one? Any idea what it could be worth? it is in great condition and it cranks and turns over! Any help would be greatly appreciated.
We are in Polk County WI.
Thanks!
 

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#4 ·
The History of Zero-Turn Mowers
Two different manufacturers claim to have invented the zero-turn mower — and they are both in rural central Kansas. According to Hustler Turf, John Regier of Moundridge, Kan., is credited with developing the first true zero-turn mower in 1964, with hydraulically controlled drive wheels designed to spin in either direction. He called his mower, quite appropriately, “The Hustler.” He sold his patent and design to a nearby tractor manufacturer, Excel Industries, which still manufactures Hustler mowers.

Grasshopper Mowers of Moundridge, Kan., also claims to have sold the first commercially viable zero-turn mower, and is also still in business building mowers in the small town where the machine was invented.

Coincidentally, Hustler and Grasshopper Mowers scored among the best zero-turn mowers tested by the MOTHER EARTH NEWS team. Grasshopper built the two mowers rated highest for overall quality, and Hustler built our “best buy,” as well as the first electric zero-turn mower on the market.
 
#9 ·
Well, I looked at your motor tag. I typed in "what years was Wisconsin BKN engines made" and first thing to pop up was a discussion on a Wisconsin forum that the BKN model of engine was first produced somewhere around 1955-56. So there's a start on trying to date your mower, which is cool BTW.

Don't know if mower tires have born-on dates like vehicle tires, but it's worth a try to look if they have a date code on them.

Even some vehicle wheels have a build date, remove one wheel and look on the back side somewhere to see if it has a build date on it. It'll be something with numbers, like 10 - 73, which means built October of 1973, or 01 - 59 means January of 1959 and so on.
 
#12 ·
I look at old machines like this and just have to wonder what sort of prototype testing was done. Yard machines like this with no ground clearance are going to be useless on a large percentage of properties. Heck, just getting it on a truck or trailer to take home from the dealer would be a pitn.

I'm not knocking how cool the thing is, I'm just knocking the people that designed it.
 
#13 ·
My grandfather owned one of these and I mowed with it a lot in the late 60s, and an older cousin and older brother had used it a lot before then. This was in Maine. It was a wonderful mower -- it predated the term "zero-turn" as far as I know but it certainly was one. Quite comfortable, at least for a teenager. This is the first time I have seen pics of it on the web -- thanks for posting!
 
#14 ·
Interesting, one of the camps I maintained as a teenager (many moons ago) had a Jari walk behind sickle mower. That thing was indestructible, was still going when I went on to college and didn't work there any more. Never saw one of those though, well ahead of it's time I'd say.
 
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