CAPABILITIES
COMFORT
The mower is equipped with a steering column that can be telescoped in or out, plus the steering wheel angle can also be altered together with the seat which has a fully adjustable 3 position suspension seat, complete with a movable back rest.
The unit can literally be tailored to fit the operator, a complete comfort package!
ENGINEERING
The fundamental engineering beneath the Razorback is far more heavy duty than a traditional lawn mower!
Each machine is hand built, all components are heavy-duty, designed for longevity.
These units have evolved over several decades, the F1 platform that is the chassis, mechanical 4WD system, planetary front wheel drive units, shaft driven deck and cutter blades are all shared across the Razorback platform. This provides a systematic approach to manufacture and spare parts support, both major factors to consider when buying a mower of this calibre.
SAFETY
All Razorbacks are deliberately designed to have a very low centre of gravity for steep incline work. This has resulted in an industry leading EU certification of up to 25 degrees gradeability, stability angle left and right.
These statistics are literally displayed on every mower; testament to the master engineering behind each machine.
The cutter train also has several “fuse” points to protect the system in a high shock situation. There are shear pins in the universal joints that are very easy and cheap to replace and the blade carrier is designed with a shoulder that will brake in a total carriage stoppage as well.
No other mower has a system that is in any way as capable as the Razorback; each element in this cutter train has been designed specifically for this work.
SHAFT DRIVE DECK TRAIN
The Razorback shaft drive deck train system is shared across the entire model program. This allows almost complete transfer of horsepower to the cutter deck through a shaft that has universal joints at both ends.
The oil filled cast gearbox has a spring based pinion gear system that absorbs shock and impact from the cutter train. The spring steel blade carrier has a unique profile that holds the “Heartfelt Hirosaki” steel blades that are basically fine layers of steel that are formed in a forge; similar engineering that is applied to Japanese swords. This provides an incredible blade that is very strong and can survive encounters with tough material. While it is extremely hard it has the advantage of being able to be sharpened using an 80 grit disk. The major trick is to weigh each blade to be certain that they are in balance.
The larger twin cylinder 4WD units have “tool-less” blades that can be easily removed in the field without any hand tools!
This incredible cutter train has been geared at between 12 to 13 thousand feet per second; many time less than the 18,500 blade tip speed typical of most mowers.
The relationship between the blade material, speed of the blade tips, spring loaded gearbox system and shaft drive produces an incredible solution for working in tough terrain.
While the mower has mechanical shoe and drum based brakes, the reality is that the hydrostatic drive train works so well that you only use the mechanical brakes for parking the machine.
4 WHEEL DRIVE TRAIN
The Razorback 4 Wheel Drive train is a really remarkable piece of engineering, providing a mechanical 4WD drive train with a hydrostatic drive in front of it. This gives you a very efficient drive train that utilises all the available horsepower with very little loss.
The basis of the system is a shaft system that delivers drive to the front axle via universal joints that are grease packed inside a sealed rubber boot. The front axle could not have a conventional differential as it would have impeded the material being fed into the cutter train.
Instead they have used a right angle drive and planetary drive hubs on each end of the front axle. This delivers fantastic traction at each front wheel. This also assists steering while in 4WD! They have built a cast iron front axle – a casting within a casting; splined shafts floating in an oil bath, almost indestructible! The design is completed with sophisticated seals within seals, complete with an external trash guard.
Having the hydrostatic drive in the very front of the system allows you to drive the mower by a single foot pedal. This provides vehicle travel forward or backward with incredible ease.
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The Razorback specialised blades are formed in a forge, and can withstand extremely hard rock. All these features combine to produce a totally unique cutter train that delivers a whole new level of performance, that has never been experienced in the lawn mower market, anywhere in the world!
Composed of a special steel known as Hirosaki Steel, the Razorback blades are manufactured with special techniques that give them similar properties to Damascus Steel. They boast incredible strength and endurance characteristics beyond any mower blade that we have ever encountered before here in Australia.
The blades are created through a complex process, which involves the metal being folded, forged, tempered and quenched repeatedly to achieve a special linear grain. This grain is what gives the Samurai Swords their legendary ability to cut hard materials and cause little damage to the blade.
These techniques have evolved over centuries, and thus enabled the Japanese to manufacture steel with incredible strength.
These Hirosaki steel blades, used on the Razorback, are extremely tough on impact with timber and rock material, and the advantage is that they can be sharpened without the need for specialist tools. Razorback blades can be sharpened by hand, or with an angle grinder that has a flap wheel. We don’t recommend the use of solid or reinforced abrasive wheels as they generate too much heat.
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The blade system for all mowers use the “Heartfelt Hirosaki” blades with Swing Blade Action. The only difference is that the 1402 blade system is bolted to the mower and require a tool to install or replace the blade. The blade system for the 1808 and 2302 have a cleverly designed engineered large pin with unique self locking and release capabilities built into the blade carrier bar.
The Swing Blade Action serves as an additional safety feature on all mowers, that is engaged should the blades come in contact with hard materials, such as steel or hard rock, and helps absorb the impact by swinging the blades away from the hard material. This helps to prevent any impact damage being transferred to the drive shaft and potentially harming the engine.
The Big Twin engined units, the 1808 and 2302, provide the added benefit of a tool-less system, not requiring a tool to change the blade. With these models you won’t have to fear loosing a tool or requiring to have access to a tool just to change the blades.
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The Razorback mowers have proven to survive extremely harsh environments including rocky ground. In order to combat these harsh environments, the Razorback has addressed this issue with some totally unique physics.
The actual method of cutting larger vegetation relies on the material passing under the front axle, where it is fed into the blades, as there is no front on the deck. This provides a “bean slicer” action allowing the destruction of woody material up to 36mm in diameter.
By using a direct drive shaft, all available engine power is harnessed to the deck. This particularly applies when the low range gearbox is employed.
At the heart of the science is the idea that the blades are driven via a gearbox instead of pulleys and belts which results in far less energy loss. In order to address this further, the blade tip speed is drastically sloped between 12 to 13,000 feet per second – conventional mowers are closer to 18,500 feet per second. The blade tip speed, together with the “bean slicer” action provides cutting ability that has to be seen to be believed!