Viking ride on

[harrythecat178]

On 12/16/2017 at 12:03, GardenKit said:

Its all very well to say that, but which range of John Deere do you mean?

The X100 range is going to be very similar in spec, quality and price to many of the Viking range, and the X300 range will be similar to the top end Vikings. 

Of course the X500 and X740 range do excel, but at a price.

 

The Viking ride ons are generally mid range machines and are not made by viking, but outsourced from companies such as GGP and ALKO.

No, Viking ride ons are made by Viking in their own factories, I have been to the factory in Austria, very impressive,  by Viking , part of Stihl. From 2019, they will be Orange and branded Stihl. They work very well, have great wet grass collection and parts are sensible price

[Tomtop]

No, Viking ride ons are made by Viking in their own factories, I have been to the factory in Austria, very impressive,  by Viking , part of Stihl. From 2019, they will be Orange and branded Stihl. They work very well, have great wet grass collection and parts are sensible price

About time they dropped the Viking brand. Could never understand why not use the stihl name

[Tomtop]

I have hear good things about the wet weather collection. But cant ever get a demo of a mower

[GardenKit]

1 hour ago, harrythecat178 said:

No, Viking ride ons are made by Viking in their own factories, I have been to the factory in Austria, very impressive,  by Viking , part of Stihl. From 2019, they will be Orange and branded Stihl. They work very well, have great wet grass collection and parts are sensible price

Thanks for that Harry, I have to admit to being misinformed on that subject. I have long held that belief but cannot actually remember where I heard it. I also apologise for having mislead any other readers of these posts.

 

Most of what I have posted is, however, factual.

[Stihl123]

yup i brought it! i spoke to 3 people that carry out all mower repair work etc, and they all said they are good machines.

one said he rates them just below kubota overall, he said the chassis are very good and better than stiga.

i can also second the fact that i was told they are basically stihl mowers and made by them and they make quality stuff

the main reason people don't like them is just because of the colour!!!

lets see how it goes....

thanks 

[GardenKit]

12 hours ago, Stihl123 said:

yup i brought it! i spoke to 3 people that carry out all mower repair work etc, and they all said they are good machines.

one said he rates them just below kubota overall, he said the chassis are very good and better than stiga.

i can also second the fact that i was told they are basically stihl mowers and made by them and they make quality stuff

the main reason people don't like them is just because of the colour!!!

lets see how it goes....

thanks 

I am sure you will get on very well with it Mr Stihl, well done for buying it. Which model is it?

 

21 hours ago, GardenKit said:

Thanks for that Harry, I have to admit to being misinformed on that subject. I have long held that belief but cannot actually remember where I heard it. I also apologise for having mislead any other readers of these posts.

 

Most of what I have posted is, however, factual.

After a bit more research today I found that I was in fact correct after all. Viking tractors were first made by GGP and then by ALKO in their Austrian factory. I verified this by comparing the IPL's for Viking, Alko and GGP.

 

However, I have yet to find common models to the newest Viking models, so it could be that they are in fact now made by Viking themselves. My quest for knowledge continues, but at least I know that my earlier statement were, to some degree, correct.

[Stihl123]

it's the T5 one, middle of the range i think or something like that anyway....

[GardenKit]

I know this thread has run its course now, but the question over where they are made has played on my mind and I needed to confirm it for my own sake, so I made contact with someone I know inside the ALKO organisation. 

For anyone who is interested (I doubt there are many!) this is the answer I received.

 

"Alko do produce the 500 series (T5) and 600 (T6) as well as the side discharge tractors, and will continue to do so under the Stihl branding.

Viking produce the small riders and small platform tractors in their own N Austria factory"

 

So, in the case of Stihl123, his T5 is in fact an ALKO tractor, which is a good thing. Its a very capable unit and spares are readily available from the many ALKO dealers in the UK, as well as from Stihl.

Edited January 9, 2018 by GardenKit

[Stihl123]

thanks for confirming mate