I live way out in the country and there are no small children anywhere around, and my yard is very wooded and "technical" to mow (many obstacles). Therefore one of the first things I wanted to do, after getting my GT225, was to disable the RIO, and I figured out how, and it was simple. But while investigating the how I was amazed at how much time and expense JD had gone to in engineering that RIO; they meant it to last as long as the tractor would, and it will. But I would never loan that tractor to anyone, or sell it, with the RIO disabled. It is just as easy to enable as it was to disable. So don't do anything to it that you can't easily put back the way it was. I hope you all remember this.

"I feel too much regulation is not good." I really couldn't agree more, but, the regulations came about due to excessive (and often, frivolous) "litigation". You see it on TV all the time....."ambulance chasing lawyers" avowing to "fight for your right to justice", practically handing out business cards in the emergency rooms and mortuaries. One of the latest tactics I've noticed in some of these "commercials" is to portray how the "victim" was finally able to realize their "life goal" of owning their own "dream business. Paid for (of course) with the proceeds from a settlement from a law suit. These "shysters" encourage people to consider "suing the pants off" anyone for any reason (or even a false pretense, if it can be made to appear valid). Leaving yourself open to this kind of financial risk (by removing or defeating any safety devices provided by the OEM) is kind of like playing "Russian roulette". I guess the folks who would like to defeat some of the "safety devices" should stop asking about it in a forum and instead......discuss the ramifications with their own lawyer or homeowners insurance agent before deciding if the perceived (or imagined) convenience is worth possible financial ruin. So long as juries can be swayed or baffled by B.S. as to what an OEM can/should do to prevent injuries caused by their product, the unscrupulous lawyers will continue to salivate every time somebody fires up a lawn mower. Do you want to make their cases easier for them?

Most people with that type of PTO switch on a John Deere mower, just flip the rocker arm on the rear axle around so the rocker arm never trips the PTO switch when you step on reverse. It is very simple and only 1 bolt to loosen up and put back. If you search this forum, you will find instructions and a picture on how to do it. I did it on 2 tractors including my GT235 and it works great.

Is this "running one cyl." a new thing or have you been chasing this for a while? If this were due to a sticking intake valve, adding Marvel Mystery Oil AND Seafoam to the fuel supply might help prevent that from happening. ***"I'm thinking that an intake valve may be sticking open...how can I verify that?"*** Verification of a sticking valve COULD be had by removing the valve cover from the affected cylinder BEFORE cranking the engine. Then, with the valve cover off, carefully observe whether the intake valve is being held down by the rocker arm. If you see that the engine stopped with the intake valve down (open), turn the engine by hand in the correct direction of rotation while watching the action of the valve train. If the intake valve does not begin to rise (closing) as you turn the engine, push down on the rocker arm where the pushrod is located. Push as if trying to move the pushrod toward the camshaft. When you do this, if the intake valve is stuck open, the clearance between the end of valve stem and the rocker arm will increase. Keep your fingers away from the end of valve stem, if the valve is stuck and suddenly breaks loose, it could be painful for you. The thing about an OHV engine intake valve becoming stuck open when not running is that it requires the engine had to stop when that cylinder was performing the "Intake Stroke". If the intake valve sticks open, as soon as the engine begins to crank, it rotates to the next stroke (Compression Stroke) and the camshaft begins to lower the pushrod which allows the intake valve to close. IF....the intake valve sticks "open", it will be struck by the piston as the piston moves upward during this compression stroke(OHV engines only). When the piston strikes the intake valve, it knocks the valve free, provided the pushrod has not gotten between the edge of the rocker arm cup that retains the pushrod. If the pushrod has stayed within the confines of the rocker arm cup, there may be no damage to the valve or to the pushrod. However, if the pushrod manages to get onto the edge of the cup, when the piston strikes the valve, it will bend the valve, bend the pushrod, break or bend the rocker arm......or any combination of those possible damages.