B2650 wheel spacers

[Mudfarmer]

When I bought my B2650 in 2019 I had R1 tires installed to handle the muddy winter conditions on my tree farm. I have no complaints about traction. However, I often have the sense that lateral stability is significantly less than that of my JD 3005 with R4 tires which I use predominantly in the summertime when mud isn't an issue. The Kubota also bounces around more than the JD on uneven ground. Obviously, the JD is heavier than the Kubota, a little shorter, a little wider and has more fluid in the rear tires to boot (R4 holds more than R1) which account for the difference in stability. My question is, does anyone have experience with putting rear spacers on a B2650 (or equivalent frame size)? If so, were there significant improvements with say, 2-inch spacers (4-inch widening)?

Mf

 

[Chewwy]

Can’t speak to the wheel spacers on your Kubota, but the greater bounciness on uneven ground is a result of the smaller diameter rear tires on the Kubota (16 in. vs 24 in.). The larger tires are better able to bridge over the depressions.

 

[JWR]

When I bought my B2650 in 2019 I had R1 tires installed to handle the muddy winter conditions on my tree farm. I have no complaints about traction. However, I often have the sense that lateral stability is significantly less than that of my JD 3005 with R4 tires which I use predominantly in the summertime when mud isn't an issue. The Kubota also bounces around more than the JD on uneven ground. Obviously, the JD is heavier than the Kubota, a little shorter, a little wider and has more fluid in the rear tires to boot (R4 holds more than R1) which account for the difference in stability. My question is, does anyone have experience with putting rear spacers on a B2650 (or equivalent frame size)? If so, were there significant improvements with say, 2-inch spacers (4-inch widening)?

I'm strongly opinionated on this topic and have quite a few posts on it over the years. Can be looked up in TBN search but I'll just repeat my main points here: 1) The Japanese have yet to understand after many decades that a large % of their customers do NOT operate on flat ground. Steep ground does exist. 2) In my opinion one of the very few faults with Kubota is almost none of their tractors are made with adequate rear wheel widening capability built in. When they came out with the M8560 sized tractors (3x the weight of yours) they finally began to offer almost adequate rear-wheel-widening capability. It is still short of Deere, MF and New Holland but WAY better. 3) Now for more direct response to you: I had B2150's (have 3) which are fairly comparable to your B2650 in size/weight. It is very hard to overstate the value/impact of putting 6" wheel spacers on the B2150. Mine went from tipsy and unusable on steep ground to being safe, reliable and great on pretty steep ground (45% slope routinely.) Like a totally different tractor. That was 12" of overall widening and I have never regreted any aspect of doing it. The one "had to fix" aspect was the belly mower would no longer clear the big wide turf tires on it and I had to have the mower deck frames modified. Of course ideally I would not have big wide turf tires on a tractor I was using on steep ground mowing brush, etc. but that is just my oddball circumstance, not yours. That whole issue is gone if you are not using a belly mower.
The spacers I chose were BORA brand from Motorsport Technology in Reno NV. Everything thoroughly thought out and well designed both for use and for installation. Not cheap but changed the nature of this tractor big time. I've kept them on for 10 years , no problems, very pleased.

I'll go ahead and include a few photos. The 4th & 5th photos are a different (steel tubes) design used by my pasture renters on an L3400 34 hp Kubota. They are quite happy with their L3400 on steeper ground now and it too went from tipsy to comfortable. Those steel tube spacers were installed by a Kubota dealer and in some places have been listed as dealer installed Kubota options. They might be 4" each side rather than my 6" each side? Mine are the black machined aluminum units.

 

[JWR]

Can’t speak to the wheel spacers on your Kubota, but the greater bounciness on uneven ground is a result of the smaller diameter rear tires on the Kubota (16 in. vs 24 in.). The larger tires are better able to bridge over the depressions.

Size matters of course but so does tire design/type. The R4 is going to be normally rougher over obstacles and rough surfaces because they are much stiffer and higher load capacity than the R1. "Bouncy" and "rough" might not be the same adjectives ?

 

[RjCorazza]

I don't have spacers on my L4060, but do have 2" Bora Spacers on my ZD326 mower that I use on banks. Width makes all the difference on slopes, and Bora makes a quality product.
I think I would confirm that your rims can't be configured any wider first, before adding spacers.

 

[Thomas]

I install 2" spacers on our 2019 B2650 and loaded the rear tires,I didn't want the rear tires be on bucket,also needed the spacers for rear tire chains...you will notice small different but work it.

 

[SDT]

When I bought my B2650 in 2019 I had R1 tires installed to handle the muddy winter conditions on my tree farm. I have no complaints about traction. However, I often have the sense that lateral stability is significantly less than that of my JD 3005 with R4 tires which I use predominantly in the summertime when mud isn't an issue. The Kubota also bounces around more than the JD on uneven ground. Obviously, the JD is heavier than the Kubota, a little shorter, a little wider and has more fluid in the rear tires to boot (R4 holds more than R1) which account for the difference in stability. My question is, does anyone have experience with putting rear spacers on a B2650 (or equivalent frame size)? If so, were there significant improvements with say, 2-inch spacers (4-inch widening)?

Mf

I installed Kubota spacers on my B3350 (nearly identical to 2650 aside from engine) with R4 tires. The Kubota spacers are 1/3/8" thick so as to not interfere with MMMs in most circumstances and are needed when using tire chains. Spacers will improve lateral stability but will have no effect on ride quality.

 

[JWR]

I installed Kubota spacers on my B3350 (nearly identical to 2650 aside from engine) with R4 tires. The Kubota spacers are 1/3/8" thick so as to not interfere with MMMs in most circumstances and are needed when using tire chains. Spacers will improve lateral stability but will have no effect on ride quality.

That's good, especially from the standpoint of a user who needs to retain the MMM function and does not want to get into custom mods to the mower. But SDT, was that extra 1 3/8" per side enough width to have significant effect on steep ground stability? "Every little bit helps" of course but how significant was the improvement ?

 

[SDT]

That's good, especially from the standpoint of a user who needs to retain the MMM function and does not want to get into custom mods to the mower. But SDT, was that extra 1 3/8" per side enough width to have significant effect on steep ground stability? "Every little bit helps" of course but how significant was the improvement ?

A little bit but that's not why I installed them. They were installed to enable the use of tire chains.

 

[Mudfarmer]

Thanks for the responses. I think the message is clear; wider is better particularly since I am not using a mid-mount mower nor ever will be. Now the question is whether to DYI this or take it to the dealer.
Mf

 

[JWR]

Mudfarmer -- I don't know what you may find with the dealer. They vary. The one in my farm area (north central WV) only carry one kind and one size of spacers. Buying on line you have a very wide choice of how much spacing you get and which brand/type. I can only speak for BORA Motorsport Technology that I bought which is excellent. In shopping around I found 2 others that seemed very good as well. As long as you can jack up your tractor, handle the tire/wheel moving, and have some thin wall deep sockets it is an easy installation process. I did use a helper only because of the heavy tires and my "feeble advanced age."

 

[Mudfarmer]

Ordered a set of 3.5 inch BORA spacers from Motorsport Tech. Expected to arrive in 4 to 5 weeks. They apparently manufacture them to order and then batch the black coating. Since the tractor is currently out in the hills and not back "home" until early summer, the timeframe is fine. Just under $500 for seven inches if I install them myself. My local Kubota dealer will install them for me for about $150.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I got 1.25" Bora spacers for my pickup truck, they came sooner than they said ... I chose to not do the black anodized finish ...

I did get the 3" Bro-Tek spacers for my Massey Ferguson, both excellent quality!

I like how the spacers converted the tractor wheels to studs and nuts, from the factory bolts!

 

[Henro]

Thanks for the responses. I think the message is clear; wider is better particularly since I am not using a mid-mount mower nor ever will be. Now the question is whether to DYI this or take it to the dealer.
Mf

If you can change a tire you can self-install the spacers with no problem. Use blue Locktite on the nuts/bolts that are hidden in the spacers behind the wheel, since the only way to check tightness of those is to remove the wheel. At least it is that way on my B2910. I got mine a couple years ago from BroTec which is in Canada. Absolutely no regrets. I went with 4" aluminum.

My rear tires are liquid filled 12.4 x 16, perhaps similar in size to yours?

 

[Mudfarmer]

Well, the 3.5 inch spacers for the rear wheels arrived and I put them directly on the shelf. The problem is if I install them on the B2650 equipped with R1 tires (being my mud-season tractor) the front wheels and back wheels won't line up. No problem I'm told -- wrongly. I just hauled my JD3005 60 miles down the road to the tree farm and hauled the Kubota back to the homeplace - mud season is over and mowing season will be starting up - changing out the winter tractor for the summer tractor (heavier frame, wider stance, R4 tires). I use a twelve-foot double-axle flatbed trailer pulling with a GM Canyon (towing capacity 7500 lbs). Loading involves backing up onto the trailer via two four-foot long by one-and-a-quarter-foot wide heavy-duty ramps. So, if I put my front and back wheels out of line, one or the other will miss the ramp. So, I either need to put on front spacers too, buy a second pair of ramps, or forget the whole thing. (BTW once the rear wheels are up on the trailer, the front wheels are onto the ramp, and the bucket is over the end of the ramps - so I can't scootch the ramp over mid-load.)

 

[JWR]

I'm not sure I follow the word picture you paint Mudfarmer. When you back onto the trailer the front wheels are on the ramps... OH ! Yeah., I understand. Width is not an issue on the trailer bed but it is an issue on your ramps. Knowing your seasonal driving the herd to and from the mud...that sure is a story all in itself...my grandparents did that on dirt roads with cattle on foot... Back to the wheels issue: I would get or make wider ramps to solve the entire issue. As I peek in on your situation you have very good reason to put the spacers on your Kubota. Lateral stability. You're going to be doing this twice a year for the foreseeable future. There is no down side (that I know about) to getting wider ramps. There are very probably other unforeseen circumstances where the wider ramps will come in handy, solve future problems. I'd make that investment.