Racing 62PR Ride-On Mower

Product Information

Another step is to determine the angle of the wheels. Generally, it is better to have the left wheel turn in more than the right. I usually have the left wheel turn in @ 10:00 and the right at 2:00. After over 3 years of racing the mower with the same configuration it was time for some serious upgrades. There were some major shortcomings with the old design. That and as the years went by, others on my team "upped the anty" and had upgraded their machines. A lot of things have changed in mower racing since I built this machine. A lot of custom, high performance engine parts are now available making more durable, highly reliable engines that can withstand higher RPMs over longer periods.

The Racing 6196PR boasts a compact 61cm cutting-width that not only makes it easy to work around and between obstacles, but also makes it possible to gain access to areas beyond narrow gateways (unusually for a ride-on mower, the Racing 6196PR will fit through a standard 28" garden gate). With all of the sheetmetal painted the mower was fully assembled. Pretty nice looking if I don't mind saying so. Now there was only one thing left to do- which was to race it and see what it would do. The first race was actually what we call our "Test-n-tune" day where all the new "mowchines" are brought out and tested... and tuned up. The second specialized part is what's known as a "dogbone" connection rod for the large cast iron counterweights. These large weights help the engine run smoother. The crank runs directly through it. The wimpy aluminum factory original is prone to breaking. If that happens, the counterweight will slam into the sides of the crank case, breaking right through it. Say bye-bye to the engine if that occurs. So again, a billet aluminum replacement is used. So, don't lose your plot - instead ready, set, mow on a ride-on lawn mower. As we've mentioned, there are petrol or battery-powered models. If it's petrol-powered take note of the engine size and fuel tank capacity. Some of these nifty machines can reach 8mph which could put pay to any lawn croquet taking place - so be careful. With battery-powered models, much like cordless lawn mowers, be aware of the battery life and charging time. In general, you should get a solid 150 minutes of mowing done before the lawn mower needs a recharge.

A high-capacity 196cc (6.5hp) four-stroke overhead-valve engine - with recoil start - provides dependable, fuel-efficient power; while five-step blade-height adjustment (35-75mm) ensures there’s a setting for every eventuality. The first "real" race we had was a huge difference. The mower did much better. That said, there are still some issues. The biggest is that I chose not to install a high performance cam. This would greatly help with low end torque and faster acceleration out of the corners. This is relatively simple to do and only involves removing the bottom of the engine. I'll decide on what to do about this soon. New engine with a plethora of high performance parts. This includes a billet rod, billet ARC flywheel, High-torque starter, billet crank with built-in lightweight counterweights, a high performance cam, Higher strength valve springs and better valve keepers. That and the rings would be filed to an absolute close tolerance to increase compression. Other considerations would be porting and polishing. The old engine was a very mild build. This new engine was a total build-out. As this was my first major mod job of an engine, there was a lot of learning.

Next up is the installation of the steering shaft running along the front of the frame. This mower has an unusual setup where the steering linkage runs over the top of the engine. An a arm runs from the steering wheel pitman arm to a shaft running down the front of the frame to the radius arms of the front axle spindles. First, I got some 1/1/4" steel pipe and cut some lengths about 2" long. On each end, I placed a bearing in which the steering shaft fits through. The Racing 6224PR Ride-On Mower features a compact 61cm cutting-width that allows it to navigate around and between obstacles with ease. This design also allows access to areas beyond narrow gateways, making it an ideal choice for homeowners with tight spaces. With the ability to fit through a standard 28" gate, the Racing 6224PR Ride-On Mower offers unparalleled convenience and accessibility. Adjust the toe-out. As mentioned before, toe-out means how much the wheels splay outwards- as in they turn away from the mower a bit. It doesn't take much. Only 1/8" on each side. Doesn't sound like much but this will greatly help the mower become far more stable. Most mowers come with a gear driven steering setup. These are worthless and tend to pop out of place. So you'll need to make a "direct steering" system. In other words, a solid connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels.A high-capacity 196cc (6.5hp) four-stroke overhead-valve engine - with electric-start - provides dependable, fuel-efficient power; while five-step blade-height adjustment (35-75mm) ensures there’s a setting for every eventuality. The last major thing you'll have to do is to attach the spindle arms for attaching the radius rods. There's a pretty simple method for doing this: With both spindles absolutely straight on both sides, attach a piece of string from the ends of the spindle mounting bolts and attach the string to the center of the rear axle. Weld the spindle arms as if you are lining them up with the path of the string. Easy enough. Refurbished garden machinery and power tools can be a great option for those looking to maintain their outdoor and indoor spaces on a budget. These tools and equipment have often been previously used and then restored to their original condition by professionals. They can be a great alternative to buying new, especially for those who are only looking to use the equipment occasionally or for a specific project. In The pic entitled: "Steering arm", you can see how this system works together. Lastly, the "turn right" pic shows the underside linkage and radius arms. If you see the "t" shaped piece, that's where the radius arms connect. The "T" is welded to the bottom of the front steering shaft. Now that the chassis and other vitals are now complete, now its time to work on the engine. The engine I'm using is a 12.5 HP Briggs and Stratton with a cast iron sleeve. These are one of the most common engines on riding mowers. Mine in particular is what's known as a "flathead" because the other variant has overhead valves. These engines are extremely simple and inexpensive. The flathead takes up less space too.

As well as the rear-engine ride-on mowers featured in this section, we also sell front-engine lawn tractors, which have more power and larger cutting widths, making them suitable for more expansive grounds, and for a greater range of tractor attachments. The engine was then installed and the old clutch bolted on. This has been a fantastic clutch with over 3 years of use and hardly any wear. I did disassemble it and applied a very light coat of grease to the bearings. I also cleaned the shoes a bit. For this build, I bought a pre-built front axle from a guy in Texas. He has a small business called " Acme mowersports" and can be found at www.acmemowersports.com. His front axles are a good deal because even if you were to build your own, the cost would be only slightly less. With the Acme axle, the proper caster and degree of inclination are already built-in, which will save you lots of time. These come with the radius arms as well as connections for the steering axle, which on mine runs down the center of the front of the mower over the top of the engine. The rebuilt engine has held up great this year. Its now broken in so the synthetic oil stays almost crystal clear for a good 2-3 races.Lastly, the cheap stamped bearings I went with in the steering system have way too much slop in them. I replaced all 8 of the bearings with sealed ball bearing units with steel snap rings. This removed all of the slop in the steering and made the handling much more accurate and responsive, which in turn is much safer. So make sure and invest in better high quality bearings for everything that moves. I am using a right angle gearbox for this build. Why? Because the other choice is to use a 3-5 speed gearbox used as standard equipment on mowers. These work fine, but it also means you'll have to change the grease in them and perhaps invest in hardened gears since the originals will strip out much easier. With a right angle gear box, or RAGB, there's only two moving parts. Plus, they are made for higher speed applications and therefor perfectly suited for this application. More simplicity means more reliability.