Another perspective... I recently bought a new 853. My dealer was surprised I didn't want something with a powersafe clutch, saying it's proving to be a reliable transmission. I wanted the old style clutch and transport speed since I use mine with a trailer, sulky, etc, occasionally.
"Powersafe" clutch on BCS
- Thread starter Bentleg
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Maine Hills
Bronze Member
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2016
- Messages
- 66
- Location
- Midcoast Maine
- Tractor
- Kubota B2650 BCS 749 Kubota RTV X1120
We are in our fourth season with a BCS 749 with the Powersafe clutch and have not had any problems.
Hi 
Since I wrote post #130 in this thread, it has been a very quiet thread indeed, and for 3 years, no-one has postet anything at all
I had hoped that especially some of our members who are also dealers, would share their experience with us, now that the PowerSafe clutch has been on the market in North America for 10 years. I think that could be very helpful for potential new buyers, who are trying to find the tractor that will suit their needs the best. Sadly no dealers have come forward yet, but thank you to Ford850 and Maine Hills for your replies
One of the topics that used to be frequently discussed, was the lack of a transport gear in the BCS PowerSafe models. Especially for members with a trailer or a sulky, this was a step in the wrong direction.
As all my 5 implements are used in the front-PTO mode, I have never missed a transport gear although I have one. This is unusual for a PowerSafe model I think, as it seems that it has been removed in all but the very first produced tractors.
My jobs are usually 5-20 km (3-12 miles) from home, so I load my tractor onto a trailer and tow it to the job behind my car. Recently I had a job, where 2 plots were like 10-15 minutes walking distance apart along a forest road. I drove in 3rd gear with like 3/4 throttle, witch fits the walking speed of my old legs (3.9 km/h or 2.4 mph) well. Then I was thinking of my transport gear, and if there was any chance to use it in such a situation, and perhaps run the engine at low idle in 4th gear instead.
For those of our members who are not familiar with the transport gear on a BCS tractor, it is useful to remember, that sadly does this gear not react to the position of the reverse-lever, but will always drive in one direction only! This direction is usually forward when the tractor is in the rear-PTO mode, which makes sense when the tractor is towing a trailer for instance.
I decided to try it out at home first, and the photo below shows my BCS 740 with the Berta flail mower attached, ready for the test. To get a little more space to walk, the handlebars are in the left-of-center position in the rear-PTO mode.
With the 23’’ wheels and the engine at low idle (1400 rpm), the tractor took off much faster than my old legs could follow (6 km/h or 3.7 mph)! It was an interesting test though - and quite fun to see the tractor run this fast, but I will stick to 3rd gear as my personal „transport gear“ in the future, as I have done for 11 years now.
For some of our younger members with faster legs, this might be an option if you have jobs within walking distance, and you have a tractor with a fast transport gear in the rear-PTO mode, but you use an implement in the front-PTO mode.
Best regards
Jens
Since I wrote post #130 in this thread, it has been a very quiet thread indeed, and for 3 years, no-one has postet anything at all
I had hoped that especially some of our members who are also dealers, would share their experience with us, now that the PowerSafe clutch has been on the market in North America for 10 years. I think that could be very helpful for potential new buyers, who are trying to find the tractor that will suit their needs the best. Sadly no dealers have come forward yet, but thank you to Ford850 and Maine Hills for your replies
One of the topics that used to be frequently discussed, was the lack of a transport gear in the BCS PowerSafe models. Especially for members with a trailer or a sulky, this was a step in the wrong direction.
As all my 5 implements are used in the front-PTO mode, I have never missed a transport gear although I have one. This is unusual for a PowerSafe model I think, as it seems that it has been removed in all but the very first produced tractors.
My jobs are usually 5-20 km (3-12 miles) from home, so I load my tractor onto a trailer and tow it to the job behind my car. Recently I had a job, where 2 plots were like 10-15 minutes walking distance apart along a forest road. I drove in 3rd gear with like 3/4 throttle, witch fits the walking speed of my old legs (3.9 km/h or 2.4 mph) well. Then I was thinking of my transport gear, and if there was any chance to use it in such a situation, and perhaps run the engine at low idle in 4th gear instead.
For those of our members who are not familiar with the transport gear on a BCS tractor, it is useful to remember, that sadly does this gear not react to the position of the reverse-lever, but will always drive in one direction only! This direction is usually forward when the tractor is in the rear-PTO mode, which makes sense when the tractor is towing a trailer for instance.
I decided to try it out at home first, and the photo below shows my BCS 740 with the Berta flail mower attached, ready for the test. To get a little more space to walk, the handlebars are in the left-of-center position in the rear-PTO mode.
With the 23’’ wheels and the engine at low idle (1400 rpm), the tractor took off much faster than my old legs could follow (6 km/h or 3.7 mph)! It was an interesting test though - and quite fun to see the tractor run this fast, but I will stick to 3rd gear as my personal „transport gear“ in the future, as I have done for 11 years now.
For some of our younger members with faster legs, this might be an option if you have jobs within walking distance, and you have a tractor with a fast transport gear in the rear-PTO mode, but you use an implement in the front-PTO mode.
Best regards
Jens
Big wheels are better
New member
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2025
- Messages
- 22
- Tractor
- Craftsman 2 GT6000
Thanks. Wow, that is a lot more parts!
