Scag V-Ride LS 52″ Kawasaki 22HP

Description

Scag V-Ride LS 52 Inch Stand-On Mower with 22 HP Kawasaki FS

The most expensive machine in the V-Ride LS range: a 52 inch Hero cutter deck with a Kawasaki FS651V at 22 horsepower.

The Ceiling of the Range

Nothing in the LS line carries more deck or costs more than this. At this point a buyer is close enough to the V-Ride II that the two should be compared directly rather than treated as different categories, because the extra spend buys a Velocity Plus deck, a faster drive system and a heavier frame that will take more years of commercial hours.

• Cutting width: 52 inches, Hero cutter deck
• Engine: Kawasaki FS651V, 22 HP
• Transaxles: dual Hydro-Gear ZT-3100
• Caster tires: run-flat semi-pneumatic
• Overall length: 65.25 inches
• Weight: 794 lbs

Match the Machine to the Hours

The honest question at this price is how many hours the machine will do a year. Under a couple of hundred, the LS is well within its design and the saving is real. Well above that, the heavier ranges will outlast it by enough to change the arithmetic, and buying down to save a thousand dollars becomes a false economy that shows up in year four rather than year one.

Record the Hours From Day One

Annual hours are the number that decides whether this machine was the right purchase, and almost nobody tracks them. Noting the meter at the start and end of each season takes a minute and tells you honestly whether the next replacement should be another LS or a step up the range.

Where to Look Next

The SVLS-52H-25CX offers three more horsepower for several hundred less and is the better value at this width. If the annual hours justify it, the V-Ride II range begins just above and is a meaningfully more durable machine.