LS MT125 vs BX23S

[check]

All opinions are welcome. I will make a decision by end of this month. All based on good research, advice and all you guys experience. Thank you all

I watched a couple of videos on the features of the new BX23S again, and man oh man, I wish that they had the 23s when I bought my BX25 back in 2008! A sweet ride, to be sure.

 

[Tractor Dell]

I agree.
How big diameter log have you picked up with your grapple. Where did you buy it from?

I bought it from Everything Attachments. They have 2 threads on here above in the general forums about grapples. I have some pics near the end of them. I just got it and was getting used to using it, so my technique was a bit off. I need to keep things closer to the tractor when picking it up. Even with my bad technique, I was able to pick up stumps that almost lifted the rear of the tractor. This is with both the backhoe and wheel weights on. I did bump up the hydraulic pressure to 1950, and that gave me a lot more lifting power. Unless you are planning on lifting things that are really heavy the 23S will probably do the trick. If it can't, then you may want to consider a B model.

I looked at the LS MT125 last night, and the lifting power wasn't that much more. One thing I noticed is when they did the lifting power of the FEL, they didn't say at what height that is. If that is at the ground level, 5 feet or max height. Kubota is pretty open about that. I have attached a PDF that shows the lifting stats and the second page is the lifting curve on a graph. The lower it is, the more power it has. FYI - it is in kilograms, not pounds.

 

[BulldogsPlanes]

Tractor Dell that's great info. The new FEL model number are 344 compared to the 340 that you have on the PDF file. I wander if one could get that same info for the 344 since there are mayor difference between the two. Those are way better numbers than the brochure saysView attachment BX80-ENG.pdf more breakout force but similar otherwise

 

[Tractor Dell]

Tractor Dell that's great info. The new FEL model number are 344 compared to the 340 that you have on the PDF file. I wander if one could get that same info for the 344 since there are mayor difference between the two. Those are way better numbers than the brochure saysView attachment 524707 more breakout force but similar otherwise

According to what I understand from a Messisk's video, the 340 is the model on the BX23S. The 344 is the model that comes on any other 80 series. However, they are the same exact specs. They numbered them differently so Kubota knows which model tractor it came with. The 340S is the SSQA. The 340 is the pin on bucket. Those pages come from the BX23S owners manual.

Here is a pic of a stump I moved today. It is a giant poplar tree stump. It was the max my BX could do, and that is as high as I could lift it. There were a few other stumps (oak trees) that I could not lift, but I clamped onto them with the grapple and drug and pushed them to where I wanted to. If you are patient, you can pretty much do whatever you want.

 

[ThirdMan]

I bought it from Everything Attachments. They have 2 threads on here above in the general forums about grapples. I have some pics near the end of them. I just got it and was getting used to using it, so my technique was a bit off. I need to keep things closer to the tractor when picking it up. Even with my bad technique, I was able to pick up stumps that almost lifted the rear of the tractor. This is with both the backhoe and wheel weights on. I did bump up the hydraulic pressure to 1950, and that gave me a lot more lifting power. Unless you are planning on lifting things that are really heavy the 23S will probably do the trick. If it can't, then you may want to consider a B model.

I looked at the LS MT125 last night, and the lifting power wasn't that much more. One thing I noticed is when they did the lifting power of the FEL, they didn't say at what height that is. If that is at the ground level, 5 feet or max height. Kubota is pretty open about that. I have attached a PDF that shows the lifting stats and the second page is the lifting curve on a graph. The lower it is, the more power it has. FYI - it is in kilograms, not pounds.

The LL1100 loader for the MT125 manual says 1,005 lbs at max height (72") at pivot pins. That is 457kg.

 

[dragoneggs]

Following along... not exactly sure why because my 5 year old BX25D with 400+ hrs has been an awesome workhorse. I work it pretty hard landscaping my sloped property with zero complaints. I added the tach n go front Q/A and some forks last year and that has really expanded its functionality. Yeah, the 23S has some nice features that I don't have but I don't mow and now that I have a Q/A in addition to a lot of little mods like underarmor, LED lighting, chain boxes, wheel spacers and more, I don't have much of a desire to upgrade to newer... thankfully!

 

[Tractor Dell]

The LL1100 loader for the MT125 manual says 1,005 lbs at max height (72") at pivot pins. That is 457kg.
View attachment 524765

Thanks for that. I didn't notice that on the website last night, unless I just plain missed it.

Makes a bit of sense since the Kubota has a 1.57" bore and 12.8" inch stroke, and the LS has a 1.8" bore, and 13.4" stroke. Bore allows more force for the same pressure.

I will be honest that there are times I wish I had more lift, but then I think that I am getting the jobs done I need, and once I get my woods cleaned up, I really won't be using it for much, other than a motorized wheelbarrow, and keeping the weeds in the woods beat back. Also, when I have issues picking things up, like those oak stumps I talked about, I would need a bigger tractor, not just a few more pounds of lift. Maybe even a B2350, but that would be overkill after I get the heavy work done.

Dragoneggs, I also got the wheel spacers, under armor, heavy hitch and LED lights. It is like my pet project. Once I finish one thing, my wife asks me what I am going to be doing to it next.

 

[dragoneggs]

Thanks for that. I didn't notice that on the website last night, unless I just plain missed it.

Makes a bit of sense since the Kubota has a 1.57" bore and 12.8" inch stroke, and the LS has a 1.8" bore, and 13.4" stroke. Bore allows more force for the same pressure.

I will be honest that there are times I wish I had more lift, but then I think that I am getting the jobs done I need, and once I get my woods cleaned up, I really won't be using it for much, other than a motorized wheelbarrow, and keeping the weeds in the woods beat back. Also, when I have issues picking things up, like those oak stumps I talked about, I would need a bigger tractor, not just a few more pounds of lift. Maybe even a B2350, but that would be overkill after I get the heavy work done.

Dragoneggs, I also got the wheel spacers, under armor, heavy hitch and LED lights. It is like my pet project. Once I finish one thing, my wife asks me what I am going to be doing to it next.

To be honest, I think more lift on the BX would be dangerous as it would be way out of balance. I keep my BH on when doing heavy lifting. I max mine out often with landscape blocks and pallets loaded with pavers, etc. If you really need a lot more lift I suggest ALOT heavier machine. I have lots of tight spaces so the BX is a perfect fit for me.

Dell, if you need another mod... install ammo boxes on your FEL towers to hold chains and misc tools. I posted a thread on my mod if you are interested. I love it.

 

[BulldogsPlanes]

The LL1100 loader for the MT125 manual says 1,005 lbs at max height (72") at pivot pins. That is 457kg.
View attachment 524765

On the LS MT125 I found that brochure differs from tech info. 886 vs 1005 I'm confused

 

[Tractor Dell]

On the LS MT125 I found that brochure differs from tech info. 886 vs 1005 I'm confused

Bulldog, those were the numbers I was looking at too. At least I know that I wasn't seeing things.