Victa 23/42 (ZTX2342)

A very surprising performer – Where do I start? This Victa really kicked my business off the ground..... At 16 years old my dad drove me a couple hours out of Melbourne to buy a ZTX 23/42 off a bloke who'd downsized his property. It was practically brand new with only 20-something hours on the clock. The machine was fitted with a mulch kit and came with everything including the manual and deck wash attachment.

I put it straight to work and grew accustomed to the controls fairly quickly, having used other zero turns in the past. These aren't difficult machines to operate but you do have to be gentle and work with it, not against it, because the mower will always win in a battle and can do some damage if you're not careful (as I later found out).

The 23hp Briggs & Stratton engine has plenty of power for this size machine, and always started very easily, almost never even needing to use the choke setting. The hydros aren't commercial grade but are sufficient for the mower and give it a decent speed. The biggest downside I found with the mower was these hydros though, they sometimes had a tendency to lag, especially on the left side, so a steering input could sometimes take a couple of seconds to respond and when it did it was often sudden. This lead to a couple of incidents but for the most part it was manageable. One thing I did change out early on was the front caster wheels, they come standard as tubeless pneumatic wheels which go flat quickly and easily so I had my local dealer order a set of airless casters for me which cost around $300 but are worth every cent. Most of my larger commercial mowers come with these as standard now but for any that haven't I've always ordered airless casters ever since.

Comfort wise this Victa is about average for the size and price range, it could definitely benefit from a better seat and some more suspension under it but this isn't designed to run all day, if you're just on it for an hour or two it will be fine.

The mower is great in that it has a number of more commercial features (welded deck, foot pedal deck lift, etc.) but doesn't have a commercial price tag. I'd highly recommend it for landowners or someone with a small-mid size mowing business that needs a smaller zero turn. I put this machine through hell and back on virtually every outing and it rarely let me down. The mulch kit proved difficult early on as the baffles were bending inwards and coming into contact with the blades so I pulled that out and just left the discharge chute blocker, which didn't really affect the mulch finish interestingly, and recently I cut off the bar that runs along the bottom of the discharge chute. I wouldn't recommend doing this if you are bush bashing with the mower as it provides reinforcement for the deck but for the work it now does at our family farm I didn't need it, when mowing long grass clippings like to wrap around the bar on their way out and eventually block the discharge opening altogether, but now with it gone this doesn't happen anymore. The fuel tank is a decent size although I found the gauge didn't always work very well, often it would say empty when there was still half a tank or more left so I just ended up looking down the side of the machine to see the tank under the seat.

Overall this is a very capable little mower for a great price. It appears they aren't made anymore but if you see one come up for sale used or find a similar machine (these are largely based off the Ferris S65Z) I'd recommend checking them out.

ok mower, not without it's faults! – Purchased this machine 2years ago, was good for about 6 months then the transmission drive belt tensioner pulley failed which in turn took out the belts and pto clutch, the dealer was happy to repair under warranty, but now it has happened again, this time out of warranty, i can see the 2.25" pulley bearing is not up to task, obviously not engineered properly, i will replace the pulley with the genuine part, but in the long run i will get a new pulley machined so i can replace the bearing without having to throw the whole pulley away. Front tyres should be solids, forever getting punctures, when will mower manufacturers learn! Needs ROPS fitted as standard, it's safety item briggs&stratton, make it happen! Briggs, how do you change the oil filter without spilling oil all over the chassis? Transmission disengaging levers need to be better positioned to avoid them getting damaged. Overall its comfortable to ride, controls are easy to see and use, but thats about it, its a cheap zero turn mower, it could be a lot better if briggs pulled their finger out and address the issues.