Kubota BX series ridiculous transmission

[LBrown59]

1*I would like to suggest that you limit your comments to your specific model. I have had a BX2200 since the year 2000, and there has never been any transmission problem of any sort.

1*I second the motion.
I have never had any transmission problem of any sort with any of these.

 

[dodge man]

Manonthehill, have you tried using low range? Have you tried using your toe to lift up on the forward pedal for reverse? I would not consider the abrut reverse a positive trait, but on a scale of 1-10, it only bothers me about a 1. To you it sounds like a 10. I have a 14 year old son mowing our yard with mine and I have no fears. I have actually backed up hard with mine on dry pavement, and I can't get mine to do a wheelie. In your video you have a rear bagger on and you are on a slight hill. I would say between the weight on the back and the hill is causing the front wheels to come up. Add a couple of weights to the front. With or without the abrut reverse, I would say your tractor is a little tail heavy. Like someone else has said, I wouldn't consider a problem until I read about it on this website.

Some others have been a little harsh on you, and I don't want to sound that way also. There are alot of Kubota fans on this board, so you won't win alot of freinds by trashing their favorite tractor make. I also have bought things and been upset when they aren't what I thought they would be, so I understand where you are coming from. If it really bothers you that much, I would try to work out a trade for a BX2360 where the problem has been fixed. I agree with you that Kubota knows that it is a problem, but as others have stated, no matter what they do, someone will always find something they don't like.

 

[alchemysa]

I've often read about the sudden stopping problem but I'd never seen it until I viewed that video. Gotta say I'm amazed something like that could be released by Kubota, or anyone for that matter.

 

[David_Kb7uns]

There are times when my BX2230 does not have enough braking when going down a hill. If I use my BX2230 with the bagger loaded up and the loader off it would do the wheelies also and it has no problems. With a loaded bagger you have to have weights or the loader on, there is no way around it. Clearly these people should not own tractors and need to go back to riding lawnmowers as they are dangerous only having this amount of limited knowledge of equipment operation.

David Kb7uns

 

[kevinj]

There are times when my BX2230 does not have enough braking when going down a hill. If I use my BX2230 with the bagger loaded up and the loader off it would do the wheelies also and it has no problems. With a loaded bagger you have to have weights or the loader on, there is no way around it. Clearly these people should not own tractors and need to go back to riding lawnmowers as they are dangerous only having this amount of limited knowledge of equipment operation.

David Kb7uns

Assuming the OP is talking about the 50 series BX there is NO WAY to feather a smooth reverse stop, the wheels just lock up. This is very unsafe on hills. I do not have a bagger and had the wheelie issue with the mower on. Immediate wheel lock up is not proper braking. My first BX was light on braking like yours but at least you can feather the pedal the other way and have control without wheel lockup.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Assuming the OP is talking about the 50 series BX there is NO WAY to feather a smooth reverse stop, the wheels just lock up. This is very unsafe on hills. I do not have a bagger and had the wheelie issue with the mower on. Immediate wheel lock up is not proper braking. My first BX was light on braking like yours but at least you can feather the pedal the other way and have control without wheel lockup.

I have a BX2350 and I can and do feather the pedal when backing up to where there is no abrupt stop. I just have to pay attention and in comparison to my other Kubotas it operates differently. You may have an extreme one or maybe you should let someone with a lighter foot try it and see how much is you and how much is the BX50 series. If it is impossible to operate close to smooth by someone else then you definitely have the worst of the worst. Are those that have the extremely bad ones gradually pushing the pedal in reverse and easing off till dead stop then pushing forward? If you don't let it stop totally and then push forward it is definitly very abrupt. I do agree it's wrong but looks like some extreme statements here or some really lead foots or some that are alot worse than others.

 

[techman]

On a hill, with significant weight hung behind the rear wheel and you think there is a problem ?

Given the conditions, any tractor would do the same. If you put a slow damper on the pedal, then you might complain that the response is too slow and it does not stop immediately when you take your foot off.

I would suggest you do a little research and find that front frame or wheel weights would be a proper fix.

paul

 

[kevinj]

I have a BX2350 and I can and do feather the pedal when backing up to where there is no abrupt stop. I just have to pay attention and in comparison to my other Kubotas it operates differently. You may have an extreme one or maybe you should let someone with a lighter foot try it and see how much is you and how much is the BX50 series. If it is impossible to operate close to smooth by someone else then you definitely have the worst of the worst. Are those that have the extremely bad ones gradually pushing the pedal in reverse and easing off till dead stop then pushing forward? If you don't let it stop totally and then push forward it is definitly very abrupt. I do agree it's wrong but looks like some extreme statements here or some really lead foots or some that are alot worse than others.

John, I do not know your level of experience. My dealer says the people who never run a hydro seem to accept it and those who have run them on other machines will not accept the 50 series design.

Mine was tried by several people at the dealer. My dealer was doing wheelies in the lot and sent pics to Kubota. I now have a 60 series and it works fine.

I had a BX1500 before the 1850 and it worked fine.

When I say locked up the wheels, I mean only a stop, not trying to go forward. It was controllable backing uphill but not at all going down. It could be worked with on the level. Try yours in high range backing down an incline, that is where mine was the worst.

I have hills in the yard and drive so I must back down hills either mowing or snow blowing.

I have been running hydro drive stuff for over 20 years and do have some idea how they work. If you look at my sig line you will see that I currently have 3 of them.

 

[kevinj]

On a hill, with significant weight hung behind the rear wheel and you think there is a problem ?

Given the conditions, any tractor would do the same. If you put a slow damper on the pedal, then you might complain that the response is too slow and it does not stop immediately when you take your foot off.

I would suggest you do a little research and find that front frame or wheel weights would be a proper fix.

paul

I do not have a bagger but I assume that it surely requires front weight. In my argument I am not condoning the OP's operating method. Certain 50 series BX machine have a near uncontrollable reverse stop which is the issue he is pointing out as I read the post.

The reverse stop on these machines has been disscused many times.

 

[jesseb3@att.net]

I'll take KevinJ's "middle road" on this one as well. The abrupt stop is indeed a known issue, and can make the tractor uncomfortable to drive, but there are things that the OP can do to make it better.

When I have the front end loader and box blade on by BX, I appreciate the tractor's ability to stop quickly, and the extra weight dampens the response. When I take the implements off in order to mow, a good jerk or two reminds me that I need to be cognizant of the issue, and I feather the pedal.

I'd be interested in seeing how fast a 60 series stops when backing up while weighted down with a bunch of implements. Now this is absolute conjecture here, but it would appear to me that tuning a tranny for a compact tractor has to be harder than a larger one. A large tractor's weight changes by a much smaller percentage with implements on versus implements off. Does this make the tuning of the small tranny difficult?

BXxx60 owners - Does the tractor drift much when it's heavy, and you take your foot off the pedal in reverse? Any noticable difference with the implements off?

Manonthehill, you should tell the dealer you want to try weights. This will help balance the tractor, making it much safer for your wife and kid, and will help dampen the behavior. If you like them, maybe he'll give them to you for free?

Jesse