malk315
Silver Member
Hi all-
I've been surfing TBN for like 5 years now and finally pulling the trigger on CK20 HST -- I remember when Kioti first announced the new model and have been watching them since.
Also been watching Kubota B7510 / 7610 and a friend just bought one. I've always been a bit partial to the Kioti styling and easier viewing FEL w/ curved arms that are closer to the hood and the wider stance of the front tires. If you want pictures of them on one web page from the Woodstock, CT fair in 2003, I've got a web page I put together:
http://www.malknet.org/tractors/index.html
If I buy the CK20, my buddy and I (we live in same neighborhood) plan on making a web page with the two tractors compared in groddy detail w/ pictures of both machines for all TBN'ers to enjoy. We're both computer geeks, so hopefully we'll come up with something nice.
So -- I got a quote from a dealer yesterday who I feel is best because they are honest and seem to have the best price in Mass / Connecticut / New Hampshire area.
CK20 HST w/ turfs, KL120 loader w/ 54" bucket and, rear tire ballast. 60" MMM with side discharge -- 18% off list price @:
$15,380.00
Same thing w/ rear discharge MMM is $15,565.00
Without the deck, it would be pretty darn close to $13K -- maybe even a bit under which I think is great for the HST CK20 in New England.
All of the above is with the 0% for 30 months financing which I plan to use as a convenience for getting the machine purchased while I arrange the various chunks of $$$ I plan to use to actually pay for it.
They've been selling Kioti for about 3 years now, they also sell a bunch of GEHL excavators, skidsteers, etc. (impressive inventory) so I think they're experience w/ heavy diesel powered equipment should be competent. They're website is http://www.harvardpower.com They've got a slew of CK20, 25's, and 30's on site, some setup as TLB.
I asked them what kinds of problems they've seen w/ the Kiotis to see if they'd be as honest about that as they are w/ disclosure of their pricing and he told me about the FEL cracking issue, and how Kioti has acknowledged it, and how TBN has been talking about it.
They also told me about the HST pedal having a bushing problem where when its bad enough, you have to literally stand on the pedal to get it to move. I think that is very dangerous (I don't want to be running over my kids or putting the tractor through the back of my shed when trying to put it away), so I'm interested in any responses from TBNers on this. I realize the pedal could probably use lube (WD-40 or PB blaster) and Kioti recommends it every so often, but the bushing problem I think is different. The dealer told me (I ** think ** I remember him saying this, so don't quote me) they take some part that normally goes on the CK25 or CK30 and replace the CK20 pedal w/ that to alleviate the problem.
The only negative comment I can think of w/ this dealer is the machine I was looking at had a pretty good divot in the roll bar w/ rust. The shroud for the PTO shaft on the back was missing and the shaft was covered in rust. Also, the 3 point ball swivels were pretty rusty, and the HST pedal was a bit stiff (probably the lube thing). I'm the kind of guy that when I buy new, I'd really like no rust on anything -- I needs to really look totally new. So I'm hoping I can request I get machine that's freshly assembled and has seen little or no rain -- I do plan to store mine inside a shed / garage and prefer to start out w/ no / as little rust as possibly anywhere. Swapping the roll bar, 3 point arms for ones w/ no rust would probably make me happy -- I assume the output shaft for rear PTO is bound to get rusty no matter what unless it were covered w/ a cap or a layer of grease was put on it for which I have no clue what's best when PTO isn't in use as I have no experience w/ a 3 point setup. Comments welcome.
After visiting TBN to look for comments about the problems above, I very much appreciated their honesty as that's all I've gotten from Mike and Tom at Harvardpower with dealing with them. So I plan to purchase from them for their honesty / disclosure of price, issues, inventory, and apparent capability to service the machine.
I plan to enjoy not needing tools, a helper, and way too much time to take the 42" deck off my Toro Wheel horse Classic 315 and man-handle the tractor and Kwikway loader / subframe / weight box to get it on for a quick job of moving dirt, stone, wood, etc. and then changing it all back because I have to mow again in a week!
For the summer, spring, w/ the CK I plan to mow w/ loader off and put it on as needed to do things I used to use the wheel barrow for (or kwikway when annoyed enough that it's worth the effort to horse the loader onto the tractor). For late fall and winter, the deck will come off along w/ arms at the front to re-gain full ground clearance and loader will stay on all the time for cool and cold weather outdoor projects.
I'd like to hear any comments from you guys as I value everyone's opinion. Does the price seem good? remember New England is usually more expensive than places like Steve Carver's and the mid west.
Who's had problems with their HST pedal (really the bushing stand on the pedal problem is what I'm more interested in rather than just periodic lubing to keep it moving nice). Also -- who's has FEL cracking issues? How do you know it's cracked -- did you hear something let go? did you just happen to notice it by chance?
I anticipate w/in a week or two my buddy Jeff and I will post some pictures of the B7510 and CK20 side-by-side for all to enjoy.
I've been surfing TBN for like 5 years now and finally pulling the trigger on CK20 HST -- I remember when Kioti first announced the new model and have been watching them since.
Also been watching Kubota B7510 / 7610 and a friend just bought one. I've always been a bit partial to the Kioti styling and easier viewing FEL w/ curved arms that are closer to the hood and the wider stance of the front tires. If you want pictures of them on one web page from the Woodstock, CT fair in 2003, I've got a web page I put together:
http://www.malknet.org/tractors/index.html
If I buy the CK20, my buddy and I (we live in same neighborhood) plan on making a web page with the two tractors compared in groddy detail w/ pictures of both machines for all TBN'ers to enjoy. We're both computer geeks, so hopefully we'll come up with something nice.
So -- I got a quote from a dealer yesterday who I feel is best because they are honest and seem to have the best price in Mass / Connecticut / New Hampshire area.
CK20 HST w/ turfs, KL120 loader w/ 54" bucket and, rear tire ballast. 60" MMM with side discharge -- 18% off list price @:
$15,380.00
Same thing w/ rear discharge MMM is $15,565.00
Without the deck, it would be pretty darn close to $13K -- maybe even a bit under which I think is great for the HST CK20 in New England.
All of the above is with the 0% for 30 months financing which I plan to use as a convenience for getting the machine purchased while I arrange the various chunks of $$$ I plan to use to actually pay for it.
They've been selling Kioti for about 3 years now, they also sell a bunch of GEHL excavators, skidsteers, etc. (impressive inventory) so I think they're experience w/ heavy diesel powered equipment should be competent. They're website is http://www.harvardpower.com They've got a slew of CK20, 25's, and 30's on site, some setup as TLB.
I asked them what kinds of problems they've seen w/ the Kiotis to see if they'd be as honest about that as they are w/ disclosure of their pricing and he told me about the FEL cracking issue, and how Kioti has acknowledged it, and how TBN has been talking about it.
They also told me about the HST pedal having a bushing problem where when its bad enough, you have to literally stand on the pedal to get it to move. I think that is very dangerous (I don't want to be running over my kids or putting the tractor through the back of my shed when trying to put it away), so I'm interested in any responses from TBNers on this. I realize the pedal could probably use lube (WD-40 or PB blaster) and Kioti recommends it every so often, but the bushing problem I think is different. The dealer told me (I ** think ** I remember him saying this, so don't quote me) they take some part that normally goes on the CK25 or CK30 and replace the CK20 pedal w/ that to alleviate the problem.
The only negative comment I can think of w/ this dealer is the machine I was looking at had a pretty good divot in the roll bar w/ rust. The shroud for the PTO shaft on the back was missing and the shaft was covered in rust. Also, the 3 point ball swivels were pretty rusty, and the HST pedal was a bit stiff (probably the lube thing). I'm the kind of guy that when I buy new, I'd really like no rust on anything -- I needs to really look totally new. So I'm hoping I can request I get machine that's freshly assembled and has seen little or no rain -- I do plan to store mine inside a shed / garage and prefer to start out w/ no / as little rust as possibly anywhere. Swapping the roll bar, 3 point arms for ones w/ no rust would probably make me happy -- I assume the output shaft for rear PTO is bound to get rusty no matter what unless it were covered w/ a cap or a layer of grease was put on it for which I have no clue what's best when PTO isn't in use as I have no experience w/ a 3 point setup. Comments welcome.
After visiting TBN to look for comments about the problems above, I very much appreciated their honesty as that's all I've gotten from Mike and Tom at Harvardpower with dealing with them. So I plan to purchase from them for their honesty / disclosure of price, issues, inventory, and apparent capability to service the machine.
I plan to enjoy not needing tools, a helper, and way too much time to take the 42" deck off my Toro Wheel horse Classic 315 and man-handle the tractor and Kwikway loader / subframe / weight box to get it on for a quick job of moving dirt, stone, wood, etc. and then changing it all back because I have to mow again in a week!
For the summer, spring, w/ the CK I plan to mow w/ loader off and put it on as needed to do things I used to use the wheel barrow for (or kwikway when annoyed enough that it's worth the effort to horse the loader onto the tractor). For late fall and winter, the deck will come off along w/ arms at the front to re-gain full ground clearance and loader will stay on all the time for cool and cold weather outdoor projects.
I'd like to hear any comments from you guys as I value everyone's opinion. Does the price seem good? remember New England is usually more expensive than places like Steve Carver's and the mid west.
Who's had problems with their HST pedal (really the bushing stand on the pedal problem is what I'm more interested in rather than just periodic lubing to keep it moving nice). Also -- who's has FEL cracking issues? How do you know it's cracked -- did you hear something let go? did you just happen to notice it by chance?
I anticipate w/in a week or two my buddy Jeff and I will post some pictures of the B7510 and CK20 side-by-side for all to enjoy.