A Crazy Idea

[FarmerAlex]

Has anyone ever thought of replacing their small tractor with just a quad bike ? With a small cultivator or direct drill pasture seeder, and the trailed mulchers available now, do you think you could replace a tractor with a 500cc bike for smaller operations??

They are much lighter, easier to transport and are great for stock work... A lot of plusses there i think.. :confused2:

 

[Clint S]

I haul a small wood wagon, pull out small logs, pull a drag and do alot with mine but it will never have a bucket or a pto. It does maneuver better in tight quarters too, but it has limited weight and pulling power. Really depends what you use your tractor for.

 

[Sysop]

I have a pretty nice self-powered trailing rotary cutter (I think that may be a mulcher in your area), and a really nice 2012 Honda Foreman 500 ATV. As long as you are maintaining clearings, it works well enough to keep stuff knocked down. If you were trying to clear an area of tall grass and tiny saplings, it would not do as nice of a job. Maintaining a slow steady crawl is much more difficult, especially on uneven terrain. If it is much of a hill, it isn't a good idea at all, the cutter is pretty heavy and the ATV simply doesn't weigh enough to keep good traction in many scenarios. I also have a 2006 Yamaha Rhino side by side UTV that does okay for weight with about 200# in the bed, but at 450cc lacks for power on hills. It has low range which is nice for taking down taller stuff at a steady slow speed, something the Foreman 500 fails at. Where a tractor really excels is visibility in the tall stuff. With an ATV you are waist deep in it and totally surrounded with no visibility. With a UTV you are surrounded by cab and looking over a hood, again with no visibility, but at least you're not getting poison ivy and cut to ribbons by thorns. With a tractor you can look down and see what your tires are doing and set up above all the nasty stuff.

As for the cultivator or seeder, I don't really know. Tasks like this might be better.

For transporting, yea, it lightens the requirements a lot...

 

[js5020]

Has anyone ever thought of replacing their small tractor with just a quad bike ? With a small cultivator or direct drill pasture seeder, and the trailed mulchers available now, do you think you could replace a tractor with a 500cc bike for smaller operations??

They are much lighter, easier to transport and are great for stock work... A lot of plusses there i think.. :confused2:

I'm headed in this direction although I don't have any "ground engaging" activities planned. My idea is to use the quads for snow removal, mowing, and hauling chores.

 

[nybirdman]

I have both;tractor;sxs and an atv.The ATV does has it's uses but not for any ground engagement purposes for sure.My nephew blew his motor/transmission trying to use a 700cc atv like a tractor.
ATV implements are too light to do much good(plows/discs ect.)

 

[nybirdman]

I have both;tractor;sxs and an atv.The ATV does has it's uses but not for any ground engagement purposes for sure.My nephew blew his motor/transmission trying to use a 700cc atv like a tractor.
ATV implements are too light to do much good(plows/discs ect.)

 

[Sysop]

Ok, so ground engaging is a no-no. As is mowing on a slope.

 

[js5020]

Do I think a Quad could pull a moldboard plow/disk,,,,, heck ya just not sustained for acres and acres, that's tractor work, now the average sized garden I would think that would not be a problem. I don't think mowing any acreage would be any problem whatsoever. Now would I try to mow my lawn with the quad,, heck no, the locked rear axle would make a mess of things, that's a job for the lawn tractor but out back on my "less than lawn" area sure, I don't care about "scuffs" on the turns. Basically I guess Im thinking if a GT can do it a quad should too, but as soon as you need a compact tractor or larger you better get one and put the quad back on the trailer ready to go to the next "fun" ride.

 

[FarmerAlex]

The main idea I have is that i want to tow mainly hay implements, a hay tedder, rake and mini round baler. The way I was thinking of providing a PTO was to have a portable generator on the back carry bars with an electric motor on each implement. I really like the IVT trans in the yamaha 350's, using them on a farm I help out on and they just keep on going and going. I don't know but a set of finger tyne harrows behind them could also be quite useful? Would definately like to have a small seedbox with the harrows to run in extra clovers and such.

The main plusses i see for the bike are, low weight for transport, IVT transmission with a good transport speed between paddocks, smaller shed required to store in, lower ground compaction, can get onto paddocks earlier than with a tractor, petrol fuel as all my other vehicles use it, comfortable ride for long days and can go around stock and easier to service as components are lighter.

The shortfalls are low towing capability for ground engaging implements, higher fuel use per hour, shorter lifespan 30000 kms would be their usable lifespan i would imagine maybe a bit higher depending on model.

 

[DuckSlayer1017]

I used my Polaris Sportsman 700 for about 8 years disking, trail mowing rolling the lawn and plowing snow. After the 2013 winter I realized that I needed something with a loader because of all the snow we had. I couldn't plow the banks along the drive back any more. I now use the MF for most of what I used the quad for because it is just easier to handle. I think they both can do a lot of the same jobs but the CUT's do them faster and with less effort. I do like the quad when the yard is soft and the MF will leave ruts. Like I said they both have their uses and since I already had the quad when I bought the tractor I will keep it. If I had to choose just one it would be the tractor.