I have had my Helpmate I for about two weeks on my F15D but I haven't had much of a chance to play yet. I have moved some gravel around (it's very wet up here this time of the year)
So far it worked very well, But The arms aren't quick disconnect. I can remove the bucket in seconds and switch to a set of forks, boom pole or anything I want. It even has aux. hydraulic's at the bucket. It really didn't matter to me because I plan to leave it on all of the time. I mow with mine also, but with the bucket off I only loose about 12" in the front and the side clearance is not much of an issue, it only sticks out maybe an inch on each side past the tires. My friend has a Koyker and it is a very very nice loader, the Helpmate is a little more compact and less bulky.
If you can get a decent price on a Koyker, I wouldn't hesitate. Personally, I couldn't find a Koyker locally at a reasonable price.
If you can't find one local I would contact Buck, Len, LMTC or Hoye , Buck mentioned something about drop shipment from Koyker if you had no other alternative except getting overcharged. LMTC or Len would probably be nearest to you, that post here. (I'm not sure who is on your side of town, hopefully it's not the same one that I had price one out.)
The dealer in my area, in my opinion, is less than desirable and I would rather drive 500 miles than purchase from them, but I'm not going to mention any names in public.
My story isn't the only one bad either.
Good luck, and if I can answer any other questions feel free to email me at
ushighway6@alltel.net. You can come down and test drive it if you would like.
Tom