I'm going to be buying a Kubota within the next few months. I was going to get an L5030 HST, but my local dealer said that they were not available anymore, and that the new L40 series were the follow on. The one that I test drove the other day was the L4740HST+. I liked it, but was curious as to what the major changes were. The dealer was busy that day, and I couldn't ask him for further details. Thanks,
Don't quote me on this but having owned a HST on a L4310 and now HST+ on a 4240 I can tell you the differences I see. HST is your standard three range hydrostatic transmission. HST+ will have a lever by the steering wheel for a high and low speed in each of the three speed ranges. HST+ has a sensitivity controll for the pedal. This comes in handy when you are in a bouncy situation where your foot is moving due to bumps, causing the tractor speed to vary. Set the sensitivity lower, and the speed will not change instantly. Also you can set it to a higher sensitivity for doing work such as loading and you want a very responsive pedal. There is also an auto throttle on the HST+ that when engaged, allyou have to do is set the range selector to low, medium, or high and the ammount of pressure you put on the pedal will automatically set the engine RPM to match the speed you want.
There are still some 30 series at different dealers.........you would just need to call around.
I started looking at the grand L's about 3+ years ago, but just ordered a L5240 and I think all of the improvements are worth the wait for the L40 series, especially the forward placement of the hst pedal. I also added the factory 3rd valve controller for the 4n1 bucket which has not arrived yet. I am really excited about it.
my buddy bought a leftover 5030 and it's nice, but boy I drove the new l4240 hst+ the other day and it is a dream. the sensitivity control is the nicest thing, and the auto throttle.
