My New KX 161-3

[mike69440]

Wow,

That thing is really nicely and clervely laid out. I guess that would account for the +$50K difference in price between a nice new KX-80 and a 10 year old Komastu PC-75.

There is a lot of truth about the well regarded design of the Kubota machines.

The Komatsu's controls are smooth, I wonder how they compare to a Kubota?

 

[Lynkage]

Are they feather touch controls? With mine I can touch the controls with a light touch and 2 fingers.

The layout is very nice. My buddy and I were saying that when it came. It has very good attention to detail as well as stellar welds and castings.

Even the switch on the right hand control for the auxilary is veryable. the more you push it the more the thumb moves.

 

[mike69440]

Are they feather touch controls? With mine I can touch the controls with a light touch and 2 fingers.

The layout is very nice. My buddy and I were saying that when it came. It has very good attention to detail as well as stellar welds and castings.

Even the switch on the right hand control for the auxilary is veryable. the more you push it the more the thumb moves.

The PC75 controls are feather touch compared to my L39 which is not all that bad itself, but I don't know how slick a KX-161 controls are.
I suspect the cotrols are pilot as it does not feel like a typical hydraulic spool.
I need to look at the manual someday soon.

Its proably a good thing I have no idea how smooth a new Kubota excavator is.

I never heard of auxiliary contols being varialble. That's neat.

 

[Lynkage]

Yes. Pilot controls are what they are called I think. I do know that they call the aux. controls "propotional aux flow switch"

 

[mike69440]

Just out of curiousity, I noticed you have a L48

What % would you guess the KX-161 is in terms of digging speed compared to the L48?

What % would you guess the KX-161 is in terms of digging strength compared to the L48?

I have an L39. Withouted weighting down the machine the strong hoe would just toss the light machine around. Even with an extra 1,100 lbs added, the hoe can still lift the machine out of a hole if I get stuck and drag it around quite a bit while digging.

I would estimate the PC75 can dig 300-400% faster and is 175%, maybe 2x as strong at best as the L39. The strength of the PC75 hoe did start to pull me off my drive sideways while digging but the hoe pound for pound is not propotionately as strong as the L39, except the PC75's boom force is rather strong for the weight of the machine.

I was orginally offended by the claims that an excavator is much faster to dig with than a TLB, but it's true. Cycle times are real fast. STAND BACK!

I am reasonably impressed with the 19" tall x 8'-1" Wide dozer blade and track drives considering it is a one speed machine. It will push dirt untill dirt comes over the blade. The L39 is a real poor "Dozer".

 

[Lynkage]

The 161 is easily 3-4 times fatser than the L48, maybe 5 times.
Pound for pound I would say that the 161 is 1.5 times as strong as the L48 but I can not be sure because I have a 24" bucket for the mini and an 18" for the L48. At this point they can do about the same but still the 4 times faster digging speed makes up for a lot of lost time.
Shane

 

[curtisfarmer]

I find my L48 to be about as fast as my KX 121, even though it seems the exc.s faster. I think it is more perception sitting in the cab compared to being at the rear of an L48. I think it seems faster as the controls are electro hydrualic which make it seem sureal that you are operating this machine and digging so fast compared to pulling levers which pull valves. The L48 blows away most other CUT and TLBs in terms of hoe speed and performance. The KX 121 and L48 are the same size arm except for the KX boom shape which is superior. I backed them both up end to end and compared myself. My L48 with Hyd. thumb moves pretty dam fast and i was trying to track down some boom speed data but have not come across any. I sure love my KX 121 for digging hands down, but with similiar capabilities I prefer my L48 for an all around machine where I can bring only 1 machine if the digging is not that much. I find myself bringing both machines now and leaving the hoe of the L48 so i can use the 3 pt. while still having digging capability. Regarding pull strength, the exc.s sure have more power, but with the blade down and all, I think my L48 is more stabile with arms all the way down and buck down as well. The exc.s will pull themselves sideways pretty easy. Sure love how the boom on the KXs articulate so you can change position, soooooo handy. Bought grading bucket for KX121, best thing I have bought since quick attach front forks. The volume of material you can handle is huge, maybe 1/2 of the L48 bucket.

 

[Lynkage]

I am not really talking about the hoe speed itself. I am talking about actual dig and load. An excavator can be much faster first because it swings 180 degrees. second you do not have to turn in your seat to reposition. Also a lot of the time you can get back over the top of your trench to dig and back fill. for example to add rock to a leach line before putting dirt back in. This is why I say it is faster. The actual speed is about the same. But the 161 digs deeper than the L48.

 

[curtisfarmer]

I couldn't agree more regarding productivity of the KXs vs. L48s and 39s. Having 360 ability plus swinging boom is huge. I can drive an excavator with the best of them and I expect to be moving with the machine while grading and digging, always repositioning and moving forward on the fly that would take forever with L48: Pull up arms and loader, reset, put down arms and loader, swing seat. The KXs are the best for digging hands down. I spent about 5 hours in mine today doing a huge drainage swale and then had my L48 on hand for clean up and install the 5" erosion stone. Also, isn't the blade so dam handy on the KX? I like being on hills with blade down hill and using it to adjust my cab level. Try getting a grading bucket, best thing for a KX besides thumb. I load all my trucks now with KX instead of L48 using grading bucket, just love it. I do wish I had KX161, but the 121 is sure impressive and about 12-15K cheaper I think. The 121 is a about 1' shorter on the tread length and I think that makes a HUGE difference. Using an excavator all day sure makes you sore. Love the cab though, hit bees yesterday.........shut the door and kept going. Bottom line, if you dig more than just a little, the excavator is the way to go. Just doesn't mow fields, plow snow, unload pallets, grade driveways, blah blah blah. It digs like a mofo though!

 

[X24]

Anyone know if mini's usually have swing controlers? I have a CAT 302.5 and the swing doesnt seem to have that much power. I'm not sure if that's just the way it is or if the previous owner had it turned down or something.