Victa ZTX
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Waste of money, flimsy deck and few replacement parts – Replacement parts are difficult to find with long waiting periods. After just 2 years we need a new deck however, Victa no longer make replacement decks for this model and there is no alternative so have to replace the whole mower. Show details
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… Read more
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… Read more
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.
Too many problems. Terrible service from Victa and B&S – Victa 2348F Mower Review My low star rating doesn’t mean this is a very bad mower, but mine has suddenly (after only 10 - 12 hours running) developed too many minor problems. It’s now completely unusable until the agent can get a new PTO clutch. I would still say it’s probably a reasonable mower if you have easy access to the agent during the… Read more
warranty period. I wouldn’t recommend it if you live a fair distance from town without a trailer big enough to carry it.
I’ve had the mower since March 2020 and it’s now December 2021. It’s still in the warranty period, but it’s impossible for me to get the mower to the agent at the moment. That’s my fault and I can’t praise the agent (Crane's in Bairnsdale) enough for trying to help me over the phone.
The problems in the order they happened.
A front tyre went flat. No problem surely, but they are tubeless tyres and I couldn’t inflate it. I had to order a tube and wait for it to be delivered. A couple of weeks mowing lost - this year of all years. Why would you put tubeless tyres on a mower!?
I couldn’t remove the petrol cap. I always tighten it according to the instructions, but this time it would not come off and the ratchet/pawl mechanism was just clicking without unscrewing the cap. I snapped off the top of the thing and then took the screw part off with multigrips. Not good enough.
There is no workshop manual anywhere on the net - or it’s very well hidden. I can guess what you’re thinking, but I’m a very experienced computer and internet user. If it’s there - and the links at Victa to a parts list are also dud - it’s a secret.
The PTO clutch failed. This may be due to a blade jamming. I expected a jammed blade to burn out the belt, and there was a burning smell, but it seems that it was the clutch committing suicide. It took a lot of work to prove this but finally I convinced the agent who agreed to send me a new clutch under the warranty, if I wanted to fit it. That’s sort of where I’m up to. Except there are no replacement clutches in Australia and it’s on backorder. Other things on backorder have been months and months. In the meantime we have a year of amazing grass growth. And lots of snakes! I think it’s very bad design for the clutch to wear out before the belt.
There may be a reason why the clutch failed first though. When I finally got the clutch off - unless you’ve got an impact wrench (my impact screwdriver wouldn’t touch it), expect trouble - the wires to it were bare, corroded and partly broken through. Also the coil which magnetises when it’s working had been scraped partially bare - down to the copper, and there was short from the coil to earth. The 12 volt wires run just a few millimetres from the belt which drives the hydraulic motors. I guess they moved a bit - there was only one, loose cable tie to help them stay in place and it just fell off.
I tried to contact Victa about these problems and they did not respond. This will be my last Victa - because of that lack of interest and help.
I tried to contact Briggs and Stratton about all this too. They didn’t respond either. This will be my last Briggs and Stratton - and I’ve been a big fan for quite a long time - since the early 1980s at least.
How can companies be arrogant enough to just ignore customers? And how can they care so little about customers that there are no spares (of the PTO, at least) in the whole of Australia?
A bit of a PS here. On ebay I found a clutch that I think will fit. It’s risky buying something like this without seeing it, especially as the manufacturers don’t give many measurements for it. Anyway, I bought it because ebay can ship things from America in a reasonable time.
Of course I’ve now spent another $330 (on top of $145 or so on two belts) on a part that should be replaced under warranty. I guess I’ll try to sell the official replacement clutch when it arrives.
Update 29/12/21 The clutch arrived - 7 or 8 days from US to country VIC! I fitted it and it all works. I noticed that the cables on the new clutch were tucked into a steel bracket built into the clutch body to keep them away from things. Shame the originals weren't.
A final PS. Briggs and Stratton finally answered me to say: "Unfortunately we offer an online technical portal system for our qualified dealers, similar to the automotive industry. I would suggest if you do have any issues that you contact our technical services team who may be able to assist at such time".
I guess if you live out of town you might want to consider a more helpful mower maker.
Poorly built cutting deck – Can't fault the mower inself but the cutting deck is extremely made with plate that is far to thin. Very poorly built... Mine has cracked every where an the pulleys have started to tear out from the shell. Mower is worth the money but spend the extra an order a much stronger cutting deck Show details
Great zero point for the money – Smooth vtwin 22hp usa built Briggs motor well put together mower plenty of power good build quality and most importantly it's cheap 5k retail Rides good easy to setup does chew through a bit of fuel but handles hills and long grass no problem so much power it does wheelies hahaha 3 years on is very reliable mower no problems whatsoever besides wear items like belts and blades Show details
Exceeds Expectations – We bought this mower to keep our property well mowed-no chance with a push mower.We can mow up to about 5 acres including flat level ground and up a long hill area that is about twenty feet higher. Also used to mow the verges of our driveway and around the inside of our paddock fences to create walkways through rough meadow grasses and couch and… Read more
kykuya. Besides picking up fencing wire and hoses which are quickly removed I have had no mechanical problems with the mower at all and would recommend the machine to anyone.
Victa Zero turn – This zero turn was the cheapest known brand on the market. It still uses a Briggs and Stratton 4 stroke motor which is more than powerful enough for the machine. The cutting deck is the only let down of the machine, however for residential use it is perfect. It is comfortable to use and the controls are simplistic. I have been able to cut my… Read more
mowing time down by over 30 minutes from my previous mower. It has a hose attachment on the deck to make cleaning easy.
The stars given for wet grass and hills is not a reflection on the machine but more so the style of machine as all zero turns perform poorly in these areas.
Great mower! – I've had mine for 13 months and done over 60 hours. It has performed perfectly and I have no complaints ... tons of power. I just ran over something that jammed a blade and caused a belt to break but you get that ... oh yeah ... a bit hard to clean grass from around the spindles on the mower deck ... Show details
Love this unit, mows my 3 acres with ease – Easy to use and turn, I live on a flat block with some slopes on side of road. Nice and comfortable to ride and have not had any issues with it. Show details
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