Ode to an XI

[bmsgaffer 2,043]

To anyone who thinks Toro ruined Wheel Horse: you have not tried an XI. 

 

Yesterday I mowed my grass for the first time with my XI with a fairly junky deck that has re-welds and braces that cause clogs. That is an awesome machine to mow with. The weight of it really gives you a smooth ride and it also allowed me to sidecut my hill (though I will be putting wheel weights on next time, just a BIT tippy). 25HP really allowed that 48" deck to chew through the tall wet grass and other than the clogging (caused by a poorly positioned brace welded in) it just took it all no problem. The electric clutch holds steady and doesn't allow slipping.

 

I was so impressed. The power steering, while not precise, is effortless and you get used to it pretty fast. While it is almost a foot longer than my 520 was, it can turn in a much smaller radius. It was just a delight to drive. The pedals are positioned well and have good feedback. The extra bit of adjustments they added to the deck work nicely and the front anti-scalp wheels are so much better! Getting on and off with no tunnel is pretty awesome too. And on top of all of that, it still feels like a Wheel Horse. Anyone that has driven lots of brands of tractors will tell you you can feel the brand of tractor that you are driving, and this feels like a horse.

 

Will I be selling off my classics? No. They all have their strong points but I feel that the XI is highly underrated by many. I have had this unit for less than a year and I don't feel like that attachments are too hard to come by. I own a NOS tiller for it now, a mower deck, plow, and snowblower. All pretty reasonably priced.

 

Is it a perfect machine? NO. It is still a garden tractor and it is not a SCUT or zero turn. There are of course some things that some companies had that would have made it even better (and aesthetics, c'mon now!), but I can tell you that Toro took the heart of a wheel horse and in almost every way made it better. If the heavy duty, high quality garden tractor were still a feasible market today, I am certain that Wheel Horse would be a top competitor.

 

So thank you Toro for keeping WH alive for all those years and thank you for the XI. That is an awesome machine.

 

 

Ok. End of ramble... Now... Does anyone have a really good condition 44 or 48" deck for an XI they want to sell? 

 

[Dennys502 244]

Toro did the best they could to keep the Wheel Horse line going and bring it up to date. This is a newsletter sent to dealers explaining the 5xi build and the future of the old tractor.

In the 10 years I worked there (including 4 years on the 5xi)  everyone was impressed with the Wheel Horse line. They brought in Ray from retirement to design the new Unidrive.

I have edited the document to exclude names.

 

 

 

wheel_horse_forum.pdf

Edited April 18, 2017 by Dennys502

[DennisThornton 4,769]

They truly are nice tractors.   The ride, PS, 2 spd rear, foot motion control, cruise, shaft drive at about a 1000lbs.  Heavy duty! 

[farmer 1,075]

I'd also like to sing the praises of Toro, I have no experience of the xi tractor but totally agree that toro have gone 'above and beyond' to look after    and their customers.

 I'm in England and I find it amazing that you can still purchase parts for machines 40 plus years old (ok not cheap) from a company that didn't even sell them in the first place. Toro deserve respect. 

[wh500special 2,168]

No arguments here, Brandon.  

 

I was on the 5xi bandwagon early...maybe back to their introduction.  I remember seeing them at my local dealer when they came out as he proudly showed me all the new features.  

 

 As with so many things in life, being unfamiliar with something different or new breeds skepticism and fear.  It's unfounded here. 

 

They're great tractors.  I can't find any way that they weren't an improvement over the classics.  Turning radius, ease of operation, maneuverability, weight and traction, strength...Toro really nailed it.  

 

Had these been branded with the leaping deer emblem and painted green, they would have been a great replacement for the 300-series (GX325/345/355 etc).  Would have sold tons of them.  

 

In your deck searches, I encourage you to focus on the 48", 52", or 60" decks.  I found the 44" to not be as good of a cutter and it blows quite a bit of grass out the front.  At least it does in SD format.  I don't know how the mulcher does.  There was/is a kit for this, but I still prefer the other decks on these, and with your new engine on there you might as well take advantage of the horsepower you have.  

 

Great tractors.  

 

Steve

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,330]

I have been using my 520LXI to mow with for all of last year with a 60" deck. I love it!

[WVHillbilly520H 10,373]

I can't really say anything bad about the xi series, I'm am just so used to my 520H and know all its little nuances, the xi turning radius is tighter than the 520 but the front axle articulation is greater on the 520 going cross ways over a ditch ect, and yes I too got the basic attachments(snow plow& thrower)  fairly easy, plus the 520xi (no power steering) came with a 60" deck and clevis hitch, the foot pedal motion control would have been nicer had it been twin pedal vs rocker (I still have no issues with the column stalk 520H) IMHO the 60" deck mows better than the 48" (but I hear the 52" is the best) the Daihatsu diesel if kept well maintained would probably be an great engine but a Kubota or Yanmar probably would have been a better choice there, in '98 when I bought my Anniversary 520H new the xi were on the show room floor had I bought an xi instead I may not even have a comment on the classics as I traded a late 80s gear drive Cub Cadet for a last year 520H ($6300) vs $8900 522xi I suppose if I wouldn't start WWIII at home I could get my hands on a NOS 522xi and start fresh like I did on my 520 but with a new SCUT (North Korea has nothing going on vs what I'd deal with) but all in all Toro didn't ruin Wheel Horse the cheap throw away mentality of America did along with ZTRs and SCUTs, Jeff.

[EricF 589]

for the newsletter, Denny! That's an important bit of history there.

 

To me, it's always seemed that Toro got caught in a three-way squeeze between an economy having more than its fair share of ups and downs which drove many homeowners to buy cheaper big-box store brands, a market heading toward zero-turns for pro use, and fewer homeowners maintaining large gardens -- or even their own lawns and driveways by themselves (hiring cheap lawn and plowing services instead). The traditional garden tractor became too costly for homeowners who just wanted to mow grass and maybe push snow with a blade. The Wheel Horse line on the whole was built to a higher standard, but to me, it seemed like the market gradually turned away from Toro's efforts out of either economic necessity or lack of interest because of changes in lifestyles -- ultimately, the Wheel Horse line was destined to fade away through no fault of Toro's

 

Add in all the mandated safety and emissions limitations, and the homeowner's garden tractor market has all but been driven out of existence. the smallest SCUTs are really the only things that can come close to traditional big GTs now, and that's not part of Toro's core market.