YM2500 the twin sibling of the John Deere 850. Just painted in red vs. green. And no, it's not a YanDeere.
With this body frame size, the YM2500 is a good comparison to a Ford 8N, yet engine wise stronger.
A YM2500 owner in Japan
A new novel use item appears for the first time. A working fuel gauge for Yanmar and John Deere machines. This fits the known models:
YM140, YM147, YM180, YM186, YM187, YM226, YM330, YM336, YM2210, YM2500, YM2610, YM3000, YM3810, JD650, JD850, JD900HC, JD950, JD1050
UTDA fully restored version
Full gear setup like it's JD850 twin
Now twins do have their own unique individual differences. Howbeit very subtle. Notice the air cleaner. It's the average round type found in that era on automobiles. The JD850 uses a cylinder canister much like it's other sibling the YM2610.
The YM2500 breaks the trend in the Yanmar YM model code. Models ending in -00 are 2-cylinders. The YM2700 returns to the 2-cylinder, but becomes the last -00 having one.
The YM2500 has the 3T80-D engine. There are many variations of this engine other than Yanmar and John Deere tractors. It's used in many places. The 3T80LE engine back in it's era was the main staple for the Yanmar Industrial engine class for generators, boats and other heavy equipment. The engine shares many other parts with the 3T84 Series engine as well. The YM2500/YM3000 Parts Manual clearly shows this fact.
Like many of the YM Series Yanmar's the YM2500 came with a multi-speed PTO. Or one could say the ability to operate the PTO at 500-540 RPMs in different selections from a higher engine rpm down to a near idle RPM. Only a handful of Yanmars came with the proper gauges to monitor this ability. Likewise, once can operate the PTO at 500, 800, 1,000, or 1,400 rpms should there be a need.
Even though there is no rated tow capacity listed for the YM Series machines, the YM2500, JD850, YM2610 with the tow-tube can move loaded 10,000-lb trailers in gear setting-2 without trouble. This is from 5 years of personal experiences.
From much of the documentation and videos on the web, the YM2500 was mainly a land crop machine and not a rice paddy swimmer.
In closing, the YM2500 3T80-D has a larger parts availability globally with the 3T80LE being popular. Additionally, the John Deere 3T80-J engine is for the most part the same engine with the same rebuild kits. If a person wanted a gear YM Series with good power, this would be a highly recommended model to consider. If a person wanted the same machine, yet in Power-Shift, the YM2610 and YM2620 would be the ticket.