Grillo 107D questions

farmerboybill · Jun 29, 2015

The Grillo is running the PTO in reverse, but the flail mower has a one way gearbox, so it doesn't turn backward. If you put the sickle mower on, it would turn both forward and reverse. There's a little toggle on the PTO engagement lever that has to be removed to run front mount attachments and installed when running rear mount attachments. The reverser lever has an arm that moves up and hits the toggle when in rear mount mode, disengaging the PTO. It can be stored in the same hole on the opposite side of the engagement lever, hopefully the previous owner did so for you.

I softened the plastic holders with a propane torch and squeezed them together on my BCS. Holds much better. As long as the levers are nice and loose, it isn't often an issue, but it can be aggravating when it does happen.

farmerboybill · Jun 29, 2015

double post

CodeMonkey · Jun 30, 2015

Some other observations/opinions:

I find the quick detach couplers more difficult to use than the BCS non-QD PTO attachments. This may be because the BCS I have uses the 3-prong PTO shaft instead of the splined shaft, but lining up the longer QD coupler on the Grillo and then getting it to insert is much more difficult IMO. Pulling the QD coupler out is even harder. It seems they are a very tight fit and they definitely need a good amount of force to insert or remove. Maybe it would be harder yet without the QD detachment and splined shafts - I don't know.

The third gear on my BCS 730 seems way too high - even just idling along I have to almost run to keep up. This probably a "transport" gear, but IMO it would only be useful for use with a sulky or wagon.

I haven't tried the fourth gear on my Grillo - it seems to blocked with the front mounted attachments so I am not even sure there is a fourth gear, although there is a marking on the plate for it. Third gear on the Grillo is just about right for walking the tractor someplace without having to run to keep up, it would even be usable for flat even ground mowing.

CodeMonkey · Jun 30, 2015

farmerboybill said:
The Grillo is running the PTO in reverse, but the flail mower has a one way gearbox, so it doesn't turn backward. If you put the sickle mower on, it would turn both forward and reverse. There's a little toggle on the PTO engagement lever that has to be removed to run front mount attachments and installed when running rear mount attachments. The reverser lever has an arm that moves up and hits the toggle when in rear mount mode, disengaging the PTO. It can be stored in the same hole on the opposite side of the engagement lever, hopefully the previous owner did so for you.

I softened the plastic holders with a propane torch and squeezed them together on my BCS. Holds much better. As long as the levers are nice and loose, it isn't often an issue, but it can be aggravating when it does happen.

I looked and didn't see the toggle.

jrpeterson05 · Jul 1, 2015

Thank you for your thoughts and comparisons of the two tractors. I have not had a chance to see or get my hands on a Grillo and all I have to go off of is the internet. One of my bigger concerns between them is the reverser like you mentioned. I only do tilling with my BCS 720 and sometimes getting into tight spaces I use reverse alot. It is real easy to flip the lever to switch between forward and reverse. I imagine that the Grillo wont be that easy with the rod.

I had to replace the rubber clamps to hold the control levers on my 720. Before they were falling out all the time and now it is quite difficult to pop them out. All I have is a tiller so I don't need to be switching them back and forth often.

CodeMonkey · Jul 1, 2015

IMO the reverser is better on the BCS, but it isn't that much nicer that I would prefer the BCS over the Grillo.

I do a lot of reversing with the flail mower too because just like with tilling, I need to mow up to something and then back away from it, or I get the tractor stuck (more so than with the tiller which tends to push the tractor along, sometimes even leaping away from me when it hits something hard). It would be really nice if Grillo adopted the same kind of reverser, but it isn't a deal breaker for me.

I don't remember if I mentioned it, but although it is easier to find neutral on the BCS, at least on my 730, it is harder to get it into gear, especially first. I am not sure why, but it is very difficult to pull it back into first, and messing with the gated shifter just makes shifting harder. On the Grillo the problem with shifting seems to be one of vagueness - sometimes it is hard to know whether it is in gear or not.