" I've had a MF HST hydrostatic transmission for over twenty years now"
Interesting, have you had any issues with it. I am so unfamiliar with MF and it's products. Thats a fairly old tractor with HST and you should be able to provide some insight on how well MF's HST have held over the years. Kubotas GST is very nice, I have used one and found it worked well. I typically operate my
L3830 at about 2000 RPM, on this engine (same one as the
L39), that is just purring along, very quiet and smooth. This engine mates very well to either GST or HST. For the weight of the
L39, I think with this small engine, GST is the better choice.
I talked to the mechanic at my local JD/Kubota dealer and he said the new GST's are holding up very well inspite of all the electric solenoids. I asked which transmission he preferred, GST or HST and he proceeded to tell me that he hated HST with a passion. Said he would never own one and cursed them. I asked why, were you experiencing mechanical issues with them? He said the Kubotas HST were bullet proof short of running it out of oil but he just always had gears. (sounds like a familar tune around TBN). So, again I ask or say, then GST is what you would go with and he looked at me, head tilted and said, I'm a full fledged convert. I would only go HST with Kubota given the choice. That certainly made me feel a little better about the longevity of HST since all this guy does is the major repair work for the dealer. You are correct though, it is personal choice and I find that just having a shuttle shift so much nice then the old mechanical shift. Add GST to that mix and you really have a nice setup. I really like the design of the new
L39, even it's lower profile is great. When I had the
L48, I never could get accustom to the HST and very low gearing for both Low and Medium range. My
L3830 HST adequately addresses that.
