Test Drive Massey Ferguson GC1723E/GC1725M

[Snobdds]

Is the new GC's not made by Iseki anymore? That would be unfortunate.

 

[cglaser104]

Is the new GC's not made by Iseki anymore? That would be unfortunate.

It's still made by Iseki but the plant that manufacturers it isn't necessarily in Japan. They have manufacturing operations in 4 Japanese Cities, 2 Chinese Cities and 1 in Indonesia. North American machines were supposed to start exporting from Indonesia at an increased rate in 2017.

ISEKI > Company Profile >Main Plant

Iseki to expand Indonesian tractor plant to lift supply to US -
Nikkei Asian Review

 

[Nacademus]

It's still made by Iseki but the plant that manufacturers it isn't necessarily in Japan. They have manufacturing operations in 4 Japanese Cities, 2 Chinese Cities and 1 in Indonesia. North American machines were supposed to start exporting from Indonesia at an increased rate in 2017.

ISEKI > Company Profile >Main Plant

Iseki to expand Indonesian tractor plant to lift supply to US -
Nikkei Asian Review

They planned to start exporting from the Indonesia plants in late 2018. So anyone with a tractor having a later 2018 build-date onward could have one made in Indonesia.

Mine is early 2018 and made in Japan. I'm not really sure there is all that much of a difference. They are reputable company and undoubtedly their processes, standards, and tooling would be used. I doubt any of us could tell much of a difference.
Either way, its good news for Japan that their company is growing. Good news that people in Indonesia have the employment opportunities.

 

[GeneV]

Yea if you look around for these models on the link above they are a large chain dealer and maybe half of them have this quick attach FEL bucket, a $400 option.
As far as the used one it looked fine with some wear but would never consider it compared to the new one at these prices and not knowing what I would have mechanically. He didn't offer many options here including financing.

In regards to financing, I hear ya. As far as what you get when buying new vs used, that depends. You read stuff on this forum all the time, brand new tractors with screws coming out or whatever, back and forth to the dealer for warranty repair on this or that. But no guarantee a used tractor hasn't already been through all that either, I guess.

 

[RedGeminiPA]

My biggest complaints are few.

1) The tilt wheel is cumbersome at best. To lock it securely means a struggle to unlock it. It’s more evident if you use it on hilly terrain, where you may have to stop fairly quickly going downhill, and the wheel moves up from your weight agains it.

2) The FEL hydraulic connections are cumbersome. They’re a tight squeeze, and I have to use a rag to get a decent grip on them to pull them back for connection/disconnection. Considering one of the primary uses for ours is mowing, I remove the FEL and backhoe for every mow.

3) Like everyone else, the placement of the ROPS lights. I snagged one, and broke it, the 2nd time I used it. I was able to glue and strap it back on, so no $125 replacement, yet.

4) This could be a pro or a con, depending how you look at it. The seating position is high, as noted in the video. The plus to it is having a good view over the front end.

 

[Imold]

I had my lights moved and speed knob on mine before I even got it off my trailer the day I bought it, I did put plastic plugs in the light holes the next day so there is no duck tape plugging the holes.

 

[Huntinguy]

They planned to start exporting from the Indonesia plants in late 2018. So anyone with a tractor having a later 2018 build-date onward could have one made in Indonesia.

Mine is early 2018 and made in Japan. I'm not really sure there is all that much of a difference. They are reputable company and undoubtedly their processes, standards, and tooling would be used. I doubt any of us could tell much of a difference.
Either way, its good news for Japan that their company is growing. Good news that people in Indonesia have the employment opportunities.

Interesting, the article dated 2017 said they would "increase" tractor production to the U.S market. I wonder how long they have been shipping to the U.S. from Indonesia. I couldn't find anything on the web about that.

 

[beungood]

No Position control on the three point?!! Fail!

 

[kenmbz]

Most SCUTs don;t have position control.
We use knee, bungee cord etc and while not perfect, works.

 

[tacticalturnip]

No Position control on the three point?!! Fail!

Oh? What subcompact has a proper position control? Where is the win?

Are you referring to the plastic thing the Deere 1 series has? That's a disappointment at best.

You can build something as simple that will hold better with parts from a hardware store.

I'm not even a Massey fanboy, you've just picked a ridiculous thing to bump an old thread over.

 

[kenmbz]

I do have a plastic part another MF GC owner made, but I find just pushing down when needed gets the flail to cut pretty even and I have lots of rolling hill type areas.

 

[beungood]

Oh? What subcompact has a proper position control? Where is the win?

Are you referring to the plastic thing the Deere 1 series has? That's a disappointment at best.

You can build something as simple that will hold better with parts from a hardware store.

I'm not even a Massey fanboy, you've just picked a ridiculous thing to bump an old thread over.

Yanmar has it, John Deere has it I think Kioti 20 series has it., its a win if your box blading or pulling plow or tiller Grading and want to come back to the same height..

 

[kenmbz]

CUT vs, SCUT ?

 

[tacticalturnip]

Yanmar has it, John Deere has it I think Kioti 20 series has it., its a win if your box blading or pulling plow or tiller Grading and want to come back to the same height..

It's a half-assed system that easily bumps out of place; I had to modify it on my 1025 to actually hold. Again, this is something you can build using parts from your local hardware store. It's a mediocre substitute for a true position control. I used to pull mine out of the fender on a regular basis before I beefed it up. Anyhow, the point I think I'm trying to get at is that you can put together your own, no matter what tractor you buy. They're simple, and held in place through pressure.

That said, Kioti, using a twist knob, seems to be fairly secure- though it is hard to use with gloves. I don't remember the details of the Yanmar SCUTS.

It's not something worth dismissing the machine over, especially given it's other positive attributes.

 

[Langanobob]

Its recommended that you engage your PTO at low engine RPM's and then raise the throttle once engaged to reduce/minimize system shock & #/stress vs engaging with the engine throttle up high.

I do that with my front mount snowblower and it works fine, no appreciable drivetrain stress. However, with a high inertia implement like a rear mount chipper shredder the engine will die unless the RPM’s are up. There is a throttle lag so trying to immediately give the engine more fuel when the PTO is engaged at low RPM still results in the engine dying. I have to start the chipper shredder at about 2,000 RPM which results in way more of a shock to the system than I’d like.

 

[EricW]

Oh? What subcompact has a proper position control? Where is the win?

Are you referring to the plastic thing the Deere 1 series has? That's a disappointment at best.

You can build something as simple that will hold better with parts from a hardware store.

I'm not even a Massey fanboy, you've just picked a ridiculous thing to bump an old thread over.

I believe only the 1025r has it. The 1023 does not. That’s the only subcompact I know of that has position control. Position control was one of the reasons I wanted to upgrade from my GC2300.