LA302FL-1 on a B7610?

[Koz]

Your concerns are very familar to me!

The 54" deck is a suspended deck versus ground contact for the 60". So...the performance of the 54" is not necessarily applicable to you.

I had a 7500 demonstration unit with the 60" deck brought to my house. After mowing for 1 hour, I decided its cut quality is equivalent to my JD445. I cut both "lawn" and a field. With the deck at a low position (approx 2.5"), it did a much better job tearing through the thick field grass than my JD. Cut quality was worse than the lawn, though. I felt this was fine as the JD didn't leave the field looking like a lawn either and the JD forced me to go much slower to keep from bogging.

The 60" deck is much more difficult to adjust than my JD. For the JD, you simply raise the deck, adjust a dial and drop the deck to the desired height. For the Kubota 60" deck, you need to adjust the gage wheels to change the cutting height. I figure that it will take a couple minutes once I am used to it. I decided that I would probably leave the deck at around 3" height and use the hydraulics to raise the deck a bit when cutting the field.

I also considered going to the BX (suspended deck) or a JD 2210 (also suspended deck) but the BX is just not a comfortable tractor for me. The JD 2210 is a bit less expensive than the 7510 and 7610, but the **** JD dealers didn't seem interested in giving me a decent price on my trade in. Also, I am convinced that there is a significant drop in overal quality between the 7510/7610 and the JD 2210.

Another thing - check out the thread about tipping. The 7610 is a bit wider and should be safer if you will cut side to side on a slope.

I have not taken delivery of my 7610 yet, so my opinions are based solely on the 7500 demo.

 

[maxtractor]

Thanks Koz
I know I started out asking about the FEL, but now I am also concerned about the MMM. Anyone else have experience with the 60" MMM on the Kubota B7510/7610? How do you like the way it cuts? I would be moving up from a B6100 with a 48" deck. I have some pretty uneven places, would I be better off with a smaller (54") deck?

 

[TresCrows]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( DanR67
Thanks for your comments. I do not have any real heavy FEL work planned. Most of what I want it for will not tax the LA302 FEL but you never know what you might end up doing with it down the road. I see you have a 54" MMM. Why 54" instead of the 60"? What did you mow with before? I am really struggling with this decison. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif It is a lot of money and I will probably keep it for a long time so, I don't want to buy the wrong equipment. I have even started wondering if I should step back to a subcompact because the posts seem to indicate they are better at mowing and although I will do other things with it, when push comes to shove it will get the most hours mowing. I can use all the advise I can get. )</font>

They are better at mowing. If mowing is going to be your major use then a BX is a good choice. If you get the 7610 I think it is a mistake not to get the LA352. Get the 60 inch deck, suspended or not the 54 does not have the height control knob like the BX and a 54 inch deck will be diffucult to trim around trees and beds so nothing is gained with it. Also, if you get the 7610---get turf tires. The R4s are useable on lawns but even they wear my grass around trees and stuff. J

 

[maxtractor]

TresCrows
All good advice. I think what I want is a B7610 that mows and costs like a BX1500. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif I like the comfort and extra lifting capacity of the B7610. My dealer has conviced me to consider turf tires on front and a turf/tread tire on back. It has more tread than a regular turf tire but is wider and looks like it would do less damage than a R4 tire. The dealer says I will appreciate the extra tread when I use the loader. They look like a good compromise. I have to decide soon, I can't think of anything else. I am driving my wife crazy.

 

[crown]

I guess your decision is really based on what is the value of $1000 to you. Both the 7510 and 7610 will do what you need to do, I think many people are quick to say its only 1 grand and you get more horses, etc. etc. Don't sell the 7510 short I don't think for mowing you will notice the 3 HP difference the loader would be stronger on the 7610 (352 version) but neither tractor is a great loader tractor you would need to move up to the Grand L's for that. Being a B-7500 owner I am bias to them but for 3 acres where it sounds like mowing will be your major chore, I think the extra $1000 would buy a nice back blade and some other goodies. Just remember it is very easy for us to spend your money but it is after all your check book that will feel the pinch. I personally would buy the tractor that will do the best for the majority of the work you want to accomplish and not worry about the what ifs. Bottom line have fun shopping and know you will be getting a great machine regardless. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[maxtractor]

I finally did it. B7610, W/LA352 FEL and 60" MMM. Paid $14,250 With 0% financing, which, I hope is a fair price. It should be delivered Tuesday. I probably didn't need the extra horsepower. In the end, I just wanted it. I plan to keep it a long time which, helps justify the extra cost. If for some reason I decided to get rid of it, I think it might sell easier since it seems more people on this board prefer the B7610. I guess now I will never know if I would have been happy with the B7510 but I probably would have been. I know I can't wait for my B7610 to get it here. Thanks to everyone for your advice.