newbie advice if you have any

[OhioGuy]

I'm with everyone else on the smoke at startup and under load. My Ford 1220 with 800 hours behaves the same way.

Good Luck,
Curt

 

[MMM]

Maybe you aren't setting rpms high enough for dirt work. All HST machines I've operated, although quite larger than yours, will open relief valve before bogging down engine if rpms are set correctly. Use your pedal to control speed and keep rpms up.