Check out the new BCS models available from Earth Tools.

[Bentleg]

739, 740, 750 now available from Earth Tools. Hydraulic clutches and no transport speed.

Walk-Behind Tractors

Wonder how long the older models will be available.

 

[Ford850]

hmmm. So 750 is at the top of the heap and no more diesels.

 

[farmerboybill]

No diesels on the hydraulic clutch models. You can still get diesels on the 852 and 853, as well as the Grillo models. As long as Joel can get the 852/3, he will sell them. Not only will he sell them, but he will sell them over and above the hydraulic clutch models.

What I want to know is how much the 740 will be after they stop offering the 853. They were initially going to be $800 more then an 853, but BCS America swallowed nearly the entire increase, along with increasing the price of the 853. You can be sure that BCS America will not continue to swallow the increase for long.

I'm pretty excited to see the BCS lineup at the MOSES organic conference the last weekend in February. They didn't have a hydro clutch model on display last year. You can bet I'll be asking them some questions about them.

 

[Bentleg]

Looking forward to your report.

 

[rrp5064]

Speaking of the new models; is there any word of the easydrive models coming to the states some time soon? I have a BCS 853 and am thinking about buying a 740 demo unit if I can get it for the right price. If the BCS easydrive is coming soon I may be tempted to wait and see what they are like. Thanks

 

[TimberXX]

I am all about wheel tractors, but for $4800, I could pick up a used 4 wheel tractor.

Do you think BCS will price itself our of the market?

Will Grillo follow with the hydro clutch?

 

[farmerboybill]

No, they will not. UN rules had to be followed by last year. Grillo came up with a different configuration to meet the rules. Joel simply orders them without the "upgrade".

Don't get me wrong, BCS does make a good machine. What I have against BCS is they have decided to cram this technology down our throats simply because they had to comply with the UN safety rules and this is what they come up with. Spread the costs, so to speak. BCS seems like they're starting to lose their way. Have you seen the 739? They put forth the effort to cram in a third gear and install brakes, BUT then put the brakes on a common cable and made them a PARKING BRAKE!?! Who wants a parking brake on a two wheel tractor over steering brakes?? Frankly, I think they see that thing as a competitor to the 107d, but it isn't.

This more expensive machine will not necessarily price them out of the market, but it will make the Grillo an even more attractive alternative. The 107d costs $2800 in gasoline and $4000 in diesel. It's slightly smaller than an 853 or 740 (more useful than a 739), but it'll handle any attachment they will, though maybe with a smaller working width on some. Coupled with the fact that a Grillo dealer can get twice as many attachments as a BCS dealer, it sure opens the door wider for Grillo.

Now, if we had a slightly larger model that competed directly with the 853/740 (and 749 that will replace the 740) that would accept the same sized attachments, but cost around $3000-$3500.......... Stay tuned.

 

[farmerboybill]

BTW, if you wanna see Grillo's answer to the UN rules, check out this video. It shows him taking off at about 1 min 30.

 

[Bentleg]

I think I read somewhere that BCS had to instal a parking brake since the hydraulic clutch releases when the motor stops. Its to keep the tractor from rolling around in a truck or trailer when being hauled or parked on a hill. Still kind of silly...

 

[rrp5064]

How did Grillo meet the UN requirements? The video does not really show anything that I could tell. The Grillo is a good value, but their web page shows about the same amount of attachments as the BCS page. I know that Joel can get alot of attachments not available directly from either company.

When I saw the 739 I assumed that it had the same transmission as a 740, just a smaller engine and no steering brakes. Is it completely new transmission?

Russ

 

[farmerboybill]

They went more with a clutch the acts opposite - squeezing the lever engages it versus releasing the lever. You see that he has to squeeze the top lever down to get the machine to engage? If he releases it, the machine stops, but the engine stays running. This poses a bit of a problem. People think that they can walk away from the unit to do other things. That would be like pushing and locking the clutch pedal down on a manual shift vehicle and expecting to be able to run into the store for 15 minutes with the engine running, the transmission in gear, and the clutch disengaged. This causes tremendous stress on a clutch when you do this.

It's closer to the 732 transmission with another gear shoehorned into it and a powersafe clutch.

I really wish the Grilloeurosystems.com would just go away. He isn't doing anything with Grillo that is worth mentioning - frankly, he never has. If you call him, he'll just send you to Joel. Joel is the importer for Grillo and has been since 2005. His website shows what any Grillo dealer (of which there are few right now) can get you as far as attachments. BCSamerica.com shows what an average BCS dealer has to offer,. Other than Joel, the rest of the BCS dealers in the US is limited to what is available on that site.

 

[BCSSHOP]

All of the new BCS models are available from any BCS dealer and many are selling them cheaper than Earth Tools. The 739 is priced the same as the 732 but with one more forward speed for both front and rear mounted attachments. Understand you can now get the the 739 with the hydraulic clutch and 3 working speed for the same price as the 732 with only 2 working speeds. BCS has to be careful as the 739 will replace the 732, 740, 852, and 853 for anyone who does not need the steering brakes. The wheel speeds on the 739 are the same as the 740. The actual net power output of the GX340 is only slightly more than 1 hp less than the GX390 engine.

For 2013 BCS instituted a MAP program where MAP stands for Minimum Advertised Price which can be no lower than 5% off the suggest retail price, BUT they also began a $300 savings on all the larger units which include the 732, 739, 740, 749, 750 and 853. This $300 savings is at the discretion of the distributor and the individual dealer. We can't advertise this lower price on the units but you can call us or any dealer to get their price. The 732 and the 739 are much less than $2900 making them a very good value in my opinion. I will get my first 739 this week. If anyone wants one for this season I suggest you don't hesitate as there aren't many in North America. I hope this is useful!

 

[Bentleg]

I can see where the 739 is more useful than the 732 for work. If you are dealing with steep land you need steering brakes. If you need to cover distance you need transport speed. If you don't and the 739 has enough power, its the ticket.

 

[BCSSHOP]

It has been miss-stated in this forum that the clutch on the 739, 740 and 749 with the PowerSafe hydraulic clutch that the clutch lever is squeezed to engage the clutch. This is incorrect. The clutch lever is squeezed first to allow the PowerSafe red handle to be depressed then the clutch lever is released to engage the clutch. In fact if you tie the red handle down (defeating the PowerSafe) it drives just like your manual shift truck, squeeze (depress) the clutch to change speeds (or engage the PTO) release the clutch to go. Shift to neutral to walk away from the unit. Not too complicated! To stop the engine flip the on/off switch on the left hand handle.

 

[TimberXX]

When will easy drive come out?

 

[BCSSHOP]

Easy drive is in Europe. The question is when will it be imported by BCS America into North America. I don't know but I suspect it won't be for a couple years until the changeover to PowerSafe until is complete. Distribution of so many different models gets to be a logistic nightmare. An email to Sales@bcsamerica.com expressing interest can't hurt!