BCS 749 steering brakes barely do anything?

[JonKimbel]

Hey all,

I got a new BCS 749 a couple years ago, immediately attached a BCS flail mower to it, and have been dealing with poor maneuverability ever since. The steering brakes are bad enough that I'd rather just manhandle it to turn -- even when I'm lifting the flail off the ground and fully squeezing one of the brakes it seems to only barely slow the connected tire. The differential lock is not engaged, I regularly use it for mowing straight lines over bumpy terrain and disengaging it on turns so i know I'm not making a mistake there.

I've taken the wheels off to confirm they're engaging and gone through the brake maintenance video posted by BCS America. I've added 30lb of weight to the engine side of the machine to make it easier to lift the flail to turn the machine. My brother in law took a crack at adjusting the brakes too and couldn't get any improvement.

Anything else I should try to make my steering brakes work for me? Replace the cables? Tighten up the cables even though they're already difficult to fully squeeze? Maybe the brake cable is binding weirdly because the flail goes at the front so the handlebars are rotated around?

I haven't tested it without the flail. But I see other threads on this forum where people say the steering brakes are super helpful with the flail mower attached, and I want good brakes too.

Thanks for reading!

 

[leonz]

Have you lubed the brake cables with brake cable lube or
Fluid Film Aerosol spray?

It honestly sounds as if the brake cables are sticking or
stretched or the sheath is slipping in its mounting points.

Saying that I am not aware if the rotation of the 749's
handle bars have to be turned one way to use a flail mower
or one of their other well tested attachments.

I would take photos of the cable routing with the mower
mounted and dismounted and send them to Joel and ask
him to look at the photos.

Start taking your photos at the beginning with the handlebars
at the rear and move them to each locking point on the left
and right until they are at the rear with the flail mower located
in front of your 749.

Spray some Fluid Film in the cable sheaths if you have it or some
brake cable lube. I have used Fluid Film Aerosol spray with the
tip extension and it loosens up the throttle linkage cables very well.

 

[Shrew_Gardens]

Is it in part the position of the levers? I don’t use my brakes to steer much because it’s hard to get a good pull on them, especially when I’m already fighting with the tractor. This is especially true on the left because of the need to stay on the red lever.
It’s just not an ergonomic design, to say nothing of the fact that the orientation changes depending on whether the PTO is front or rear.

I don’t have many complaints about my 749 but the utility of the brakes is one.

 

[Jens767]

Hi JonKimbel

I have read your post a few times, and every time I do, it brings a smile to my face, as I have had a very similar experience to yours with my tractor and its brakes for 13 years now.

I have a BCS 740, which is the European version of your BCS 749, as far as I know. I bought my tractor new in 2011, when the PowerSafe clutch was first introduced in Europe. Probably because mine is a very early BCS 740, it still has the 4th transport gear, which most PowerSafe models doesn’t have anymore.

As you rightly say, steering brakes has been a popular topic in the 2-wheel tractor forum for many years, and most members fall into one of two schools: Either they are very pleased with the brakes and uses them a lot, or they find them less useful and therefore uses them less, or hardly at all. I tend to belong to the latter group, as I hardly use the brakes for steering at all, but only as parking brakes.

I use my tractor in the front-PTO mode only, and mostly with rather heavy mowing implements, weighing 176-203 lbs - the heaviest one being a Berta flail mower. I have been disappointed by the brakes from day one, and always envied those members who are able to bring them to good use.

Like you, I have tried everything from the brake handles down to the brakes themselves, and even with everything well adjusted and lubricated, I can hardly feel the brakes even when pulling as hard as I can at the handle. I have the feeling that the brakes are simply to small for the tractor with a heavy implement, but again, it seems to work for some members

Sadly our tractor models are sold with very small 5x10x20’’ standard wheels, and if you look inside the hub, there is just the needed space for the brake drum, and no room for larger ones.

Like you, I also try mowing in straight lines as much as possible, as turning and reversing is taking its toll on me after some hours of hard work. I also find that engaging the differential lock eases the load on me in keeping a straight line - it just makes turning that much harder if you forget to disengage it at the end


Best regards

Jens

 

[Jrasband]

I love my steering brakes and always use them when turning. I couldn't imagine using the tractor without them as I am always working on slopes and find them essential even with the locker. I also mostly use front pto implements, and the only problem I have is a sticky brake on the right side that I have not been able to free up... It gets better after warm up but tends to try to pull the tractor to the right after startup which is annoying. I also think that BCS put to small of brakes on these tractors, especially if you attach a trailer!

 

[Jens767]

Hi Shrew_Gardens

You bring up a very interesting topic - ergonomics - which I think has never been a topic in this forum before.

I fully agree with your comments and your experience seems to be the same as mine, when it comes to the steering brakes.

When jolting over uneven terrain, I feel more in control with a firm grip at the handlebars at all time, while I only have to press the red OPC-lever. Reaching out for the brake lever while fighting the tractor, makes me feel less in control, so I rarely do it.

I’m no expert in ergonomics, and after more than 400 working hours over the last 13 years, I have become accustomed to the controls of my BCS 740, and find most of then easy to use. Still I find that some of the controls are more user-friendly and easy to use than others.

The good ones in my opinion are:

- The handlebar hight adjustment handle
- The gear lever
- The PTO engagement lever
- The OPC- and clutch handle
- The handle for offsetting the handlebars sideways
- The engine kill-switch
- The parking brake handle
- The differential engagement handle
- The forward/reverse handle

The not so user-friendly ones are in my opinion:

- The steering brake levers
- The throttle lever

I find that especially the throttle lever requires an awkward movement of the wrist to operate - especially when opening the throttle. This is no big deal when working long hours at full open throttle with the flail mower for instance, but when you often adjust the throttle like I do when mowing the lawn and emptying the bag, the throttle lever feels too small and rather awkward.

As I only use my tractor in the front-PTO mode, I swapped the brake cables at the wheels right from the start, but if you use the tractor in both modes, you surely have to stay focused when turning the handlebars.

All in all I’m very pleased with my tractor and its performance and controls, but there is still room for improvement, I think.


Best regards

Jens

 

[mikester]

Use the brakes when the tractor is in 2WD

 

[JonKimbel]

@leonz I took some photos of the brake cable routing, who's Joel? I didn't move the handlebars around while taking the photos, I mainly use the tractor with the handlebars in this position.

• Right wheel brake routing:

  https://imgur.com/a/QmFluht

• Left wheel brake routing:

  https://imgur.com/a/LdQfXnG

Using the tractor again over the weekend, I'm less confident that it's an issue with the cables. The clutch and handlebar rotation levers both move super easily.

I think I agree with Shrew and Jens:

• The brake handle position isn't ergonomic -- especially on the left handle that shares the stalk with the STOP lever, and especially for my wife who has small hands
• The brakes are too small for the machine

@Jrasband what's your heaviest front PTO implement, for comparison sake? If the 853's steering brakes work better with similar implements, maybe the parking brake on the 749 somehow reduces the efficacy of the steering brakes? Like, maybe when I squeeze the steering brake I'm having to fight the parking brake cable? I'm considering trying it with the parking brake disconnected, we park the machine on a level concrete slab in a shed so we barely use it anyways.

Thank you all for your replies, it's been gratifying to see others with similar issues!

 

[Jrasband]

My heaviest implement is a 54" single action cutter bar. Though my previous tractor I used a flail mower, and Molon rake on extensively and found the brakes to be sufficient. My current tractors brakes are comparable.

Joel is the owner of Earth Tools in Kentucky. Earth Tools: Walk-behind Tractors, Professional Garden Tools

 

[leonz]

Joel is the owner of Earth Tools and is a BCS 2 wheel tractor dealer
and small acreage farmer that uses 2 wheel tractors.