SlopeSafety
•Slopesareamajorfactorrelatedtolossofcontrol
androlloveraccidents,whichcanresultinsevere
injuryordeath.Youareresponsibleforsafeslope
operation.Operatingthemachineonanyslope
requiresextracaution.
•Evaluatethesiteconditionstodetermineifthe
slopeissafeformachineoperation,including
surveyingthesite.Alwaysusecommonsense
andgoodjudgmentwhenperformingthissurvey.
•Reviewtheslopeinstructionslistedbelowfor
operatingthemachineonslopesandtodetermine
whetheryoucanoperatethemachineinthe
conditionsonthatdayandatthatsite.Changes
intheterraincanresultinachangeinslope
operationforthemachine.
•Avoidstarting,stopping,orturningthemachineon
slopes.Avoidmakingsuddenchangesinspeedor
direction.Maketurnsslowlyandgradually.
•Donotoperateamachineunderanyconditions
wheretraction,steering,orstabilityisinquestion.
•Removeormarkobstructionssuchasditches,
holes,ruts,bumps,rocks,orotherhiddenhazards.
Tallgrasscanhideobstructions.Uneventerrain
couldoverturnthemachine.
•Beawarethatoperatingthemachineonwet
grass,acrossslopes,ordownhillmaycausethe
machinetolosetraction.Lossoftractiontothe
drivewheelsmayresultinslidingandalossof
brakingandsteering.
•Useextremecautionwhenoperatingthemachine
neardrop-offs,ditches,embankments,water
hazards,orotherhazards.Themachinecould
suddenlyrolloverifawheelgoesovertheedge
ortheedgecavesin.Establishasafetyarea
betweenthemachineandanyhazard.
•Identifyhazardsatthebaseoftheslope.
Iftherearehazards,mowtheslopewitha
pedestrian-controlledmachine.
•Ifpossible,keepthecuttingunit(s)loweredtothe
groundwhileoperatingonslopes.Raisingthe
cuttingunit(s)whileoperatingonslopescancause
themachinetobecomeunstable.
•Useextremecautionwithgrass-collectionsystems
orotherattachments.Thesecanchangethe
stabilityofthemachineandcausealossofcontrol.
StartingtheEngine
Important:Youmayneedtobleedthefuel
systemwhenstartinganewmachine,theengine
nolongerrunsduetolackoffuel,oryouhave
replacedorservicedthefuelsystemcomponents.
1.Raisetherollbarandlockitintoplace.
2.Sitontheseatandfastentheseatbelt.
3.Ensurethattheparkingbrakeissetandthe
PTOswitchisintheOFFposition.
4.Removeyourfootfromtractionpedaland
ensurethatitisinneutral.
5.RotatethekeyswitchtotheON/PREHEAT
position.
Note:Anautomatictimerthencontrolsthe
preheatforafewseconds.
6.Afterpreheating,rotatethekeyswitchtothe
Startposition,cranktheenginefornolonger
than15seconds,andreleasethekeywhen
theenginestarts.
Note:Ifadditionalpreheatingisrequired,
turnthekeytotheOFFposition,thentothe
ON/PREHEATposition.Repeatthisprocessas
required.
7.Movethethrottletoidlespeedorpartialthrottle
andruntheengineuntilitwarmsup.
Important:Whenyoustarttheenginefor
thersttime;orafteryouchangetheengine
oil,hydraulicuid,overhaultheengine,or
replacetractioncomponents;operatethe
machineinforwardandreversefor1to2
minutes.Also,operatetheliftleverandPTO
levertoensurethatallpartsareproperly
operating.Turnthepower-steeringwheel
totheleftandrighttocheckthesteering
response.Thenshuttheengineoff,check
theuidlevels,andcheckforoilleaks,loose
parts,andanyothermalfunctions.
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