SOLD ONE ORANGE TRACTOR AND BOUGHT ANOTHER ONE

[JWR]

To each his own -- Whatever you prefer is what you pay for. Good luck.
Now back to factual information:

It seems more and more Kubota guys are buying other brands. At one time I thought I will only buy orange ...

Seems? Based on what? It seems to me Kubota has basically whipped the market and the rest are playing catchup (other than John Deere who SEEMS to do well in part because of their massive dealer numerical dominance and LONG history.)
About performance: I own 3 Kubota B2150s -- two stick and one hydrostatic. Each has specs that almost exactly match the specs of the L2501 for hp and pto hp both. Noteworthy that the B2150 has 1.2 L 4cyl while the L2501 has 1.6L 3 cyl. Strange that the newer 3 cyl is tuned to put out the same hp as the 4 cyl which has 33% more displacement. No doubt more modern injection tech, etc. Have not checked the compression ratios.
Opinion: I think the main market factors (aside from the dealer population and marketing prowess) are reliability, durability and dealer support -- regardless of brand. I say, based on my experience, that other things being equal a 4 cyl will outperform a 3 cyl of the same displacement and rated hp. Lugs better. OBTW, my B2150s pull a 5ft bush hog in waist deep heavy weeds and grass with no problem whatsoever. Same with 5ft midmount mowers. If I were looking to move away from Kubota I would look at Massey Ferguson (based on dealer support and Iseki engines) and/or Yanmar which makes the Deere small tractor engines.

 

[TBone]

I dont think it's a fair comparison, but I also went Kubota to Kioti; But I went from 1976 L285 2wd to Ck2610 HST with loader. I have nothing against Kubota or John Deere (or LS, Mahindra, or TYM or any of them); but Kioti fit the budget, and was the most machine for the $$$. The TYM was close, but it was more money, and I liked the color/loader control/seat better on the Kioti.

With that said, if money wasn't an option, a MF 1835M would be in my shed right now, not the Kioti...

I looked at the MF1835's too. They are sweet tractors but I'm disappointed that they don't use Perkins engines any more. Perkins are the Rolls Royce of diesel engines as far as I'm concerned.

 

[TBone]

To each his own -- Whatever you prefer is what you pay for. Good luck.
Now back to factual information:

Seems? Based on what? It seems to me Kubota has basically whipped the market and the rest are playing catchup (other than John Deere who SEEMS to do well in part because of their massive dealer numerical dominance and LONG history.)
About performance: I own 3 Kubota B2150s -- two stick and one hydrostatic. Each has specs that almost exactly match the specs of the L2501 for hp and pto hp both. Noteworthy that the B2150 has 1.2 L 4cyl while the L2501 has 1.6L 3 cyl. Strange that the newer 3 cyl is tuned to put out the same hp as the 4 cyl which has 33% more displacement. No doubt more modern injection tech, etc. Have not checked the compression ratios.
Opinion: I think the main market factors (aside from the dealer population and marketing prowess) are reliability, durability and dealer support -- regardless of brand. I say, based on my experience, that other things being equal a 4 cyl will outperform a 3 cyl of the same displacement and rated hp. Lugs better. OBTW, my B2150s pull a 5ft bush hog in waist deep heavy weeds and grass with no problem whatsoever. Same with 5ft midmount mowers. If I were looking to move away from Kubota I would look at Massey Ferguson (based on dealer support and Iseki engines) and/or Yanmar which makes the Deere small tractor engines.

My L2501HST would pull a 5' bush hog through waist deep heavy weeds and grass too. It just wouldn't pull and cut at the same time, which was pretty important to me.

 

[JWR]

My L2501HST would pull a 5' bush hog through waist deep heavy weeds and grass too. It just wouldn't pull and cut at the same time, which was pretty important to me.

Very funny ! Mine cuts well and pulls it ...

 

[JWR]

I looked at the MF1835's too. They are sweet tractors but I'm disappointed that they don't use Perkins engines any more. Perkins are the Rolls Royce of diesel engines as far as I'm concerned.

My MF2660 HD uses an 81 hp Perkins and they are serious diesels. I have had one problem (after 850 hrs, another thread discussion) with blue smoke when going downhill and at times on the level. Awaiting chance to remove and clean the breather tube hoping that will remove valve cover pressure and oil passing the valve seals. Real workhorse of an engine.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Very funny ! Mine cuts well and pulls it ...

Exactly how much horsepower with the hydrostatic transmission does that tractor make, because waist high weeds and grass ( if it's fairly thick ) seems a bit of a stretch unless you are barely creeping or starting and stopping.

 

[JWR]

Exactly how much horsepower with the hydrostatic transmission does that tractor make, because waist high weeds and grass ( if it's fairly thick ) seems a bit of a stretch unless you are barely creeping or starting and stopping.

Depends which tractor your are talking about. My MF 2660 tested 90hp at the PTO when new -- well above advertised hp. , not hydrostatic. Back to Kubota B2150s (which I actually knew you were talking about)

• I have no idea other than the spec sheets how much HP the B2150 puts out at the PTO. Spec sheet says 20.4 hp at PTO and 24 engine hp
• I am not barely creeping nor starting and stopping. I definitely believe the 4 cyl put out more effective hp than same-rated newer 3 cyl.
• In 1993 I mowed heavy, thick, dry hay, shoulder high, (well above the level of the hood) using the belly mower with the engine wide open in low gear (not creeper gear, medium range low gear) It is a stick trans. That was based on a bet that I couldn't do it. It never bogged at all. Certainly that was a demo, not an all day mowing.
• In recent years I have mowed waist deep weeds/briars mixed with a 5ft. Brush Hog Model RD-5 also using the same std trans B2150 bought in 1993. Land that has been mowed before but with a year or two growth on it - waist high weeds and grass. Not a problem. Couple of acres without stopping.
• I have NOT used the hydrostatic B2150 on anything deeper than 18" green grass (using the 60" belly mower) and have not had a bush hog on that tractor.
• I find green damp swamp grass will bog down ANY tractor to some extent when using the 'normal' cutter for the machine. Maybe not halt it but severely slow it down. So will tall heavy green just-cut-grass if you keep mowing it over into uncut grass and then mow that, etc.etc. so the piling gets deeper an deeper. Happens in rapid growth places where I can only be there once a month.
• Note: these B2150s all, both stick and HST, have a 3 range transmission (hi, normal and creeper) but I rarely use anything but mid range. Most use for creeper gear is snowblowing and once in a while spraying grass control on a long driveway. They also have 2 speed PTOs with choices of 540 or 748 pto rpm. The 748 is 'normal' using the belly mower but when using the bush hog you can go to the 748 setting and run the engine at lower rpm than std. That in effect gives you "another in between gear" in terms of ground speed letting you pick based on how heavy the grass/weeds are.

 

[tacticalturnip]

"Your experience with your tractor is wrong, and here is why..."

 

[Templecruiser]

Considering Kubota’s current tractor pricing, I believe we’re going to see more and more threads like this.

I was talking to a gentleman just yesterday that was in the process of purchasing an L3560 (a fantastic tractor!). He was quoted $47K from one of my local dealers. $47K!!! That’s at least $10K more than a year or so ago. I don’t have all the build specs (grapple, top n’ tilt, land plane, loader, R14 tires, etc.) but, it was an open station. Crazy expensive…

Mike

My Kubota dealer is only 15 min from me. Got a quote for a cab lx2610 with radio, loaded r14 tires, bolt on cutting edge, and a front mount snowblower. $46k. And they said that was there best price. Went to Kioti over a hr away for a cx2510 cab with loaded r14 tires, radio, bolt on cutting edge, 3 hook welded to bucket, and front snowblower. $36k. $10,000 difference. Spec wise there very close, so it was a no Brainer and got the Cx. Could have got the ck2620 set up the same for $42k which smokes the lx in every category and still would have saved $4k. Kubota and Deere are pricing themselves out of market for most people. Only diehard are sticking with them.

 

[paulsharvey]

My Kubota dealer is only 15 min from me. Got a quote for a cab lx2610 with radio, loaded r14 tires, bolt on cutting edge, and a front mount snowblower. $46k. And they said that was there best price. Went to Kioti over a hr away for a cx2510 cab with loaded r14 tires, radio, bolt on cutting edge, 3 hook welded to bucket, and front snowblower. $36k. $10,000 difference. Spec wise there very close, so it was a no Brainer and got the Cx. Could have got the ck2620 set up the same for $42k which smokes the lx in every category and still would have saved $4k. Kubota and Deere are pricing themselves out of market for most people. Only diehard are sticking with them.

Cx and Lx aren't the same class machine, are they? I would think the Cx was the Bx counter?