Craftsman 987.889000 - Manual (Page 14)

OPERATION
Blade Drive Control
Use this lever (B, Figure 3-2) to
engage drive to the mower blades.
To engage the blades, first en­
gage the Operator Presence Con­
trol (A, Figure 3-2). Then, push the
spring-loaded Blade Drive Control
lever (B) forward until it stays in the
engaged position.
To stop the blades, release the
Operator Presence Control (A).
Doing so will disengage the Blade
Drive Control (B) and automatically
apply the brake that stops the
blades.
. When starting the engine, the
Blade Drive Control should be dis­
engaged (released). This helps to
ensure that the blades will not start
turning when the engine starts.
NOTE: Pushing the Blade Drive
Control fonward will engage the
blades even though the Operator
Presence Control is not engaged.
However, this procedure is NOT
RECOMMENDED as you must
maintain constant pressure on the
lever (releasing lever disengages
blades). Always engage the Oper­
ator Presence Control before en­
gaging the Blade Drive Control.
Gear Select Lever
This lever (C, Figure 3-3) is used
to select any of three forward
ground speeds (1 - Slow,
2
- Medi­
um and 3 - Fast), N (Neutral) and
R (Reverse). The gear shift pattern
is shown in Figure 3-4.
To avoid damaging the trans­
mission, do not shift gears when
the mower is moving. Select for­
ward ground speeds according to
mowing conditions and terrain (use
slower speeds in high grass or on
rough terrain).
For fonward travel, move the
lever into one of the three num­
bered settings. To select reverse,
shift to neutral and then puli up on
the lever. Turn the lever to the R
(reverse) position and release the
lever.
Put the lever in N (neutral) to
manually push the mower and
when the mower is not in use.
LIFT FOR
REVERSE
Figure 3-4; Shift pattern on console.
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