daTeacha
Veteran Member
After reading all the posts on the Kioti vs. Kubota thread, I decided to drive to the Kioti dealer and see what the CK30 was like up close and personal.
The dealership was basically a farmyard where they sold balers, spreaders, and Kiotis. They said they've been selling them for about 10 years -- I didn't think they'd been in the country that long.
I looked at the CK20 and CK30. I was impressed by the fact that even the little 20 had a good suspension seat, but not impressed by the fact that it wouldn't tilt forward to keep it dry in the rain when out in the field.
I should mention that the temperature was 2F here last night. I think the dealers place was about the same, definitely less than 10 when I got there -- 35 or so miles away. Both tractors started up readily, although the guys expressed some concern about that because they had summer fuel in them and they were sitting outside.
The 30 has several features I didn't expect. Tilt wheel, folding ROPS, very nice suspension seat, rubber mats on the platform, backing light, shuttle shift, synchro gearbox, telescoping lift arm ends, crank to level 3 pt from seat, stabilizers with pins instead of turnbuckle, swinging drawbar, reclining seatback, etc. There were no soft or obviously vulnerable parts hanging low to get caught up in branches or stuff.
I found the seat to lack enough rearward travel for my legs -- I have a 32" inseam length -- and the pedals seem to be high above the platform, requiring some awkwardness of motion on my part to operate. Similarly, the size of the seat itself seemed a bit small for my frame. The bottom and back both seemed short. The neutral lockout on the shuttle is a nice feature, but you need to know to lift the lever before you can move it. The gear selector was nicely placed on the left fender, similar to the loader joystick on the right. The range selector on the left and 3 pt. control on the right are pretty much standard stuff.
I found no glaring lack of quality in paint or finish, but things were pretty icy, too. The steering brakes work well. The PTO is independent with a 2 stage clutch. The steering is hydrostatic as opposed to power assisted mechanical. There is a separate pump for the steering, but the two pumps come as a tandem unit with a crossflow capability, which made me wonder why they bothered. The guy said that they can prioritize steering needs over implement needs if push comes to shove. The tires were 6 ply rated R1s
He said a cash price would be $17,400 with a loader and 54" bucket but if I could write a check this month it would be $16,725. That's in the same neighborhood as the L3400 I was looking at Saturday. Certainly close enough that the dealership would make the difference for me.
The dealership was basically a farmyard where they sold balers, spreaders, and Kiotis. They said they've been selling them for about 10 years -- I didn't think they'd been in the country that long.
I looked at the CK20 and CK30. I was impressed by the fact that even the little 20 had a good suspension seat, but not impressed by the fact that it wouldn't tilt forward to keep it dry in the rain when out in the field.
I should mention that the temperature was 2F here last night. I think the dealers place was about the same, definitely less than 10 when I got there -- 35 or so miles away. Both tractors started up readily, although the guys expressed some concern about that because they had summer fuel in them and they were sitting outside.
The 30 has several features I didn't expect. Tilt wheel, folding ROPS, very nice suspension seat, rubber mats on the platform, backing light, shuttle shift, synchro gearbox, telescoping lift arm ends, crank to level 3 pt from seat, stabilizers with pins instead of turnbuckle, swinging drawbar, reclining seatback, etc. There were no soft or obviously vulnerable parts hanging low to get caught up in branches or stuff.
I found the seat to lack enough rearward travel for my legs -- I have a 32" inseam length -- and the pedals seem to be high above the platform, requiring some awkwardness of motion on my part to operate. Similarly, the size of the seat itself seemed a bit small for my frame. The bottom and back both seemed short. The neutral lockout on the shuttle is a nice feature, but you need to know to lift the lever before you can move it. The gear selector was nicely placed on the left fender, similar to the loader joystick on the right. The range selector on the left and 3 pt. control on the right are pretty much standard stuff.
I found no glaring lack of quality in paint or finish, but things were pretty icy, too. The steering brakes work well. The PTO is independent with a 2 stage clutch. The steering is hydrostatic as opposed to power assisted mechanical. There is a separate pump for the steering, but the two pumps come as a tandem unit with a crossflow capability, which made me wonder why they bothered. The guy said that they can prioritize steering needs over implement needs if push comes to shove. The tires were 6 ply rated R1s
He said a cash price would be $17,400 with a loader and 54" bucket but if I could write a check this month it would be $16,725. That's in the same neighborhood as the L3400 I was looking at Saturday. Certainly close enough that the dealership would make the difference for me.
