[osporto]

OK my question is I'm trying to decide between 2 tractors . The 1st tractor is a John Deere S240 or the simplicity regent 38 . What I like about the John Deere is it comes with a Kawasaki motor and the seat is very comfortable. What I like about the simplicity Is the ease of taking on and off the cutting deck. I do not know about reliability on either machine, Any help that you can give me would be much appreciated

 

[Country1966?]

I am partial to the torqy Kawasaki so that would be my pick.

Get yourself a mowjack and never take the deck off.

 

[spokes100]

They both have the same transaxle although the Simplicity shows drain plugs for changing the oil. Still if all your're going to do is mow lawn that's fairly flat either trans will work. I had a 14HP Kawasaki engine in an LX172 that is still running with a new owner. The Simplicity has a full length roller on the deck that follows the contour of your lawn and leaves the "striping" people like to see. Nice but not necessary. As far as the suspension in the back end it seems like more of a gimmick. Sooo..., my vote is for the Deere.

 

[Willscary]

As far as the suspension in the back end it seems like more of a gimmick. Sooo..., my vote is for the Deere.

No joke. On my rough lawn the suspension is a real back saver. You can dial it in with 4 or 5 different settings to correspond to the weight of the person in the seat. It works fantastically well and is rather revolutionary.

 

[rhenning]

I have no problem taking the deck off my 345. I do it every time I need to do anything on the deck including cleaning. 5 minute process. My vote would also be the Deere. Roger

 

[Dixon Driver]

I have no problem taking the deck off my 345. I do it every time I need to do anything on the deck including cleaning. 5 minute process. My vote would also be the Deere. Roger

Well your 345 is a lot different than the S40 to begin with, so that's not a realistic comparison. Simplicity is known for having the best cut and the suspension is a lot more than a "gimick". I vote for the Simplicity.

 

[Willscary]

Osporto, have you looked at either in person and more importantly, have you had the opportunity to try either one out?

 

[osporto]

Osporto, have you looked at either in person and more importantly, have you had the opportunity to try either one out?

I have seen both in person, I have not had the opportunity to cut One

 

[Willscary]

I have seen both in person, I have not had the opportunity to cut One

In the end, it is your decision. I had a beast of a Gilson garden tractor back in the early 90s that I beat the heck out of. Then I bought a small White LT16. It was nowhere near as capable as the Gilson was, but it had a Vanguard motor that purred and lasted for a very long time (about 2000 hours and still perfectly fine when I sold it) but the tranny, the deck, the axle spindles...basically everything other than the Vanguard v-twin, were worn out from simply mowing lawn.


I moved into a 2 year old Simplicity Conquest with less than 50 hours on it and that was a much nicer and more capable machine. I found that the more I liked the tractor, the more I wanted to do with it, so I traded the Conquest for a Prestige EFI.


If you truly only want a light duty rider, than by all means, either of your two listed choices will be at least OK. However, if you have any thoughts of plowing or blowing snow, towing a heavy cart, pulling a cyclone rake, etc, you may want to consider a medium duty garden tractor. If cost is an issue, you can find really nice 5 year old garden tractors in roughly your price range.