The Raven MPV-7100 has me hooked. I don’t know what it is but everyone that sees it wants to stop and talk about it. Whenever I let people drive it, they come back with a smile on their face. I got to spend a lot of time with the Raven this week and even finally got to mow with it. I was skeptical about the Ravens mowing capabilities, but after this weekend I am sold! This is the most comfortable riding lawn tractor I have ever driven. Through deep grass or brush the MPV-7100 didn’t even hiccup. The deck motors apply more power when the are under heavy load to keep a consistent cut. The cut quality is decent. Don’t expect professional results but for the average homeowner, it does the job. For those of you that like to golf course look, you may want to look elsewhere. The tight turning radius can get you into the tightest of spaces. However the rear tires are the same width as the deck. You have to be careful in tight situations as not to hit objects with the tire. For cutting overall the Raven excelled at everything but the cut quality was average.
The ride is “Stellar”, “Comfortable”, “Fun”, you name it. The Raven feels solid when you drive it. It feels quality. Sitting on the Raven cruising the hood was awesome. You can pop into a neighbors and drink a beer while you siit on the Raven. Drive at night on the battery as not to wake anyone. The wide floor deck makes the Raven feel spacious. All of the controls are on the right side of the unit. The Raven felt about as top heavy as any other riding tractor so you need to be careful on inclines. High gear gives a whole new meaning to the Raven. People seem to just floor it everywhere. They get it up to 17MPH and start to slalom the Raven like they are Mario Andretti. This is still a riding mower, if you hit a bump at 17mph or pull the wheel too hard things bad things are eminent. It is not a race car. The 17mph top speed was great when you have to get between long distances. To change gears you have to get off of the unit and move a lever underneath. It would be nice to have this located in a more driver accessible area. Also to note is that you have to rock the unit back and forth a bit almost every time you change the gear speed to lock it in.
If you have a large property the Raven is the perfect all around vehicle. You can drive it to the mailbox, mow your lawn and even power your house or a garden power tool. It produces 7100 starting watts of power. Since the MPV-7100 uses electric motors for its drive motor, it has a ton of torque, It had no issues climbing inclines even while towing a 200 Lb ground engaging aerating attachment. The cruise control is the best I have seen in a lawn tractor. Just hit the switch at the desired speed and it will maintain it.
Now that I have a Raven I don’t want anything else. The original Raven MPV-710 was overshadowed by problems and design issues. This new Raven really looks to be the real deal and has survived 10 hours of our beatings with not one glitch. I already want to add accessories to the Raven and personalize it. The Raven has a bright future. The Camouflage MPV-7100S really makes the Raven look the part. The only downside to the Raven is its complexity. Only time will tell if it will last. Check out Raven America.
Do you think the cut quality is a blade issue? Will it accept other blades or are they proprietary only?
Hi Richard, not sure. The cut quality isn’t bad by any means. I think it is the design of the deck.
Proprietary blades.
great in depth review with some nice pictures and info. Mower Week is awesome guys, great work!
Thanks!
Ur hooked cuz its a lil F#×*KiN Beast
stealth machine ..some strange reason, i really want one..have some summer fun
with it.
Who/what is going to be the retail source for this new version? I loved the concept so much two years ago I almost pulled the trigger 3-4 times. But I kept telling myself let others field R&D test this before I jump on the bandwagon. Glad I did. But the concept is fantastic and it would be perfect for my little 8 acre animal farm here in Texas. The onboard generator alone for running my welder in the far corners was really tempting me… I assume it will still be produced in NC. Anymore inside info will be appreciated and it will be interesting to watch this rollout again… I hope they/it makes it. Maybe clone style items from JD or others?
They are working on the retail aspect right now. Still produced in NC. We will keep you posted s we find out more.
I know that I need buy this to make yard work fun again.
Is there a snow blade and chains for this machine?
Not yet Mike
I am 6’5″ & 400 lbs , what do you think?
I think that it would be fine. It has a ton of room and the steering wheel is adjustable.
What about spindle motor replacement cost ?
I saw on today at a Lowe’s in VA. Looked awesome. Have 10 acres think it would work for me.
Yes, but you might want something with a bigger deck. Its a trade off. The raven has a ton of features and is comfortable but you can something with a bigger deck and get done faster.
I had had my second raven, great unit now with 15 hours on it and with 4 acres nothing seems to stop it, hours with the weed sprayer in electric mode. I have a 60 inch swisher zero turn and be leave it or not we mow faster with the 48 in raven and a whole lot lest gas. I improvement I made was change out the seat with a what I call a floating seat with arm rests. Now with a full suspension in front and seat floats in rear fast mowing is no real problem with hard ground dips. New raven even has a real tight turning not quite a zero turn but close enough. I been towing my 4X8 foot trailer around in electric mode with now problem with a lot of weight in it yes I been working it and its doing a great job with everything I have throng at it. To me they got it right this time. The only thing that might hurt sales they raised price about a grand and power still 120 volts they should have 220 volts for that price after all it has a 7,100 watt genny.
Floating seat sounds great!!! Where can I find one for the Raven? Also, the Raven comes with a built in safety switch. Does the new seat come with a safety switch, or do you override the switch.
Thanks…
jawwa
I’m now 25 hours and changing oil, if it did use any can’t be much, Later I’ll use a measuring pitcher if wife doesn’t catch me LOL,. I have a spare set of blades I’ll change them and sharper and balance old ones. Weather his change to a better temperature 74 degrees , air filter looks good I’ll it for a change next season or cutting time will be around end of November so ill still be getting cut for a while. All in All it’s be a winner not one problem I did take out the extended insurance from Lowe’s looks to me that just might have been a waste of money. But it still got 4 years to go who knows but it’s a winner for sure in my book.
I bought one last week. I think as far west as they go right now is eastern KY. I drove 2 1/2 hours to pick mine up at Lowes. I wanted to know if the 48 volt battery can be charged from the little plug at the generator instead of by the motor. I wont be mowing much more this season but will want to drive it around my farm and I love the electric mode. Also can the motor be idled down and it still charge and run allright? It seems to run at a pretty high constant speed. I do love it though.
Have mine now 6 months. No problems. Mowes great and fast, generator works great on power tools and lighting. Pulls small trailer around for yard work and chores.
Best workhorse yet. Buy one
On Sunday my daughter and I removed the deck to clean it out. We put the deck back on and I started it in electrical mode to take it back to the shed.. On the way back, I decided to check to see how the mower deck was doing after clean out so I turned the motor on and then the mower. Well the motor worked just fine, but the mower deck would not engage. I thought…OMG, did we do something to the deck while cleaning it? I just bought this a couple of months ago and LOVE IT! But I thought maybe I just ruined a $4K investment. Well, I called Raven the next day and they said that a tech would get back to within 24 hours. I admit I was a little worried about that. The next day I got a call from the tech guy and he said he was coming down from the North Carolina Raven headquarters to take a look. I live in SC about 3 hours away. He did come down and the first thing he saw was that I did not put the electrical cord all the way back in when I put the deck back on. Boy, did I feel really stupid! And I should have!! Anyway, after pushing the cord in he had me start it up. Yup, the mower deck engaged. However, he did not like the way the mower sounded so he took off the deck and saw that when I hit a pole with a back wheel ( I told him that) that one of blades hit the side of the mower and caused an off set of balance causing some vibration. So he whipped a brand new mower deck off his truck and replaced it with the deck on my mower – AT NO COST! I am still in a little bit of shock. It has been so long since a company backs up their product with this type of customer service. I cannot say enough about this company or their customer service. I am a customer for life and look forward to acquiring accessories for this machine as they come on line. if in doubt, read this post – and this should help put your mind at ease. By the way – this is only the 2nd review ever that I have posted.
I have a 7100 and up until yesterday it has always worked great. Now when I mow the engine just stops every few minutes. It starts just fine but continues to stop for no apparent reason. At first I thought it would be the operator presence switch (seat safety switch) but I removed it from under the seat and taped it in the depressed position. The stopping is still happening. The engine also stops when I press the red button to disengage the blades. I’ve tried calling Raven America/Denver Global and the call always goes to music on hold. I’ve waited as long a 45 minutes and still no CSR. I sent in an e-mail which has not been answered. I left a voice-mail on a CSR number. My biggest question is “are these people still in business” or do I now have a $3K lawn ornament ??
I bought 5 Ravens last week. Four of them ran great but one would not move. Raven has been great. They have been great in emails and phone calls. They are working with me to get the problem solved. Couldn’t ask for anymore. Will let you know of the outcome.
does anyone know where I can purchase a deck and how much it is?
I got one of those can you still get parts
Good question. Not sure if you can from the manufacturer but I would think you can get parts somewhere.