Which Gray is Your Fav.

[JCooper]

I'm just curious to see the public's opinion on their tractors. For those of you who have either bought or are considering buying, let's hear why you picked that tractor. It looks as if there are WAY more Yanmar owners out there. Could be the color of them? /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif In my opinion, they are in no way, shape, or form better than the mighty Iseki or the Shibaura for that matter. It's kind of a Ford-Chevrolet issue. But I'd like to hear about your experience with your brand of tractor.

Have a great day,
James Cooper

 

[EFC]

Shibaura and Iseki are at the top of my list! Mitsubishi is an exelent tractor also

 

[njrqs]

Only ever had one and it is a BOTA.

 

[trentay]

Hey Buck,

Tell us more about the Shibaura. How hard are parts to find and what are your experiences with repairs on them. I think they are a neat tractor, but am a little shy of them, mainly because of the hype for Yanmar, you just don't see to many of them around or talked about. I know you have said that Yanmars are your least favorite or something like that, so lets compare the Shib to Yannies for arguments sake. You certainly have a vast/most amount of experience working on all the greys!! I really like the looks and simplicity of the Shibaura SD1500AO and on your site you say it is your personal favorite, so lets hear about how that little 2 cyl runs (better than the YM1500D?)

Trent.

 

[Thomas]

Not sure if you could call it a gray tractor,but the Kubota B5100E I think is a sweetheart of a tractor...for puttering.

 

[JCooper]

I actually talked with an HONEST salesman the other day. I went to a New Holland dealership inquiring about their tractors. After raising the hood on one of the compacts, I asked the salesperson who made that engine. Without hesitation he stated "Shibaura". He said "Shibaura has made the diesel engines for the compact New Holland tractors for a long time now and they still do to this day." All that aside, I still am sold on the Iseki. That little engine just seems to have a great little "purr".

J. Cooper

 

[Soundguy]

Well, lets see.. I've owned valmet... I think that is grey. Had to get rid of it due to nil parts availability. But was a great tractor. Also had a grey kubota.... the dealers look at you like you were a criminal... absolutely won't lift a finger to help you... course the john deer dealers are the same way concerning the yanmars sometimes.... I needed a 3pt lift part ( connecting arm ) no big deal... Found one from an 850 that would match up nice.... the dealer wouldn't sell it to me.. can ya believe that? said " Well.. it's not designed to fit that tractor.. so it won't work... you need to go find the right part... ) So I drove a mile down the road to the massey ferguson dealer.. matched up one of their arms.. and they sold it to me fine. ( always considered a mf... or even the mahindra.... came close to buying one.. but was unsure of the repair support.. as only one dealer in the state serviced them.. )
Considered a jinma as well... I was literally 10 minutes away from buying northern hydraulics version "nortrac 254' and having it shipped... was getting the freight quote and all, when I decided to get a different tractor.

I have a yanmar 1700... real nice as well.. no major issues.. just maintenance stuff. I also have a new holland ( non- grey ). Funny thing is... is that these yanmars are up to 25 years old now... mine was 1979... and are having very little problems..... bearings on front drive shafts.... voltage regulators.... dirty fuel tanks are the bulk of the repairs.

I can back into a dirt pile on that little tractor, spin tires.. clutch won't slip, and motor isn't ready to stall... some even have 3 spd pto as well... not sure what you would use the 760 speed for though.
I've been reading in the NH section here at TBI for the past few weeks.. and these people are buying very expensive new 45 horse power tractors.. only to have them break down in the middle of the forrest.. due to small parts not welded good... and some are hasseled by the dealers about warranties...
The yanmars are solid... I've move countless yards of dirt in a rear scoop... had to add lots of weight to the front.
No problems. The only thing that I have replaced on my tractor is a voltage regulator, and the adjustable link arm for the 3pt lift... and that was my fault it broke anyway...
Being a 2 cyl they have a distinct sound, but mine never fails to start.... has no glow plugs or yanmars thermostart either.
Operator controlls are designed for .. shall we say... smaller people.. But I've had no real issues.
Most of the filters, and maintenance parts have napa and other cross numbers as well. No to mention, hundreds of owners as "technical support' to ask questions too.

 

[JCooper]

Yeah Soundguy, the two cyl. does have its distinct sound, but they can sure crank up the HORSEPOWER./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Soundguy]

We call it the 'yammerhammer'... and yes.. surprisingle.. the 2cyl engin in mine is approx 17 ptohp, and approx 20-23 engine hp.... And I have yet to have stalled the engine... have dug some impressing ruts in the lawn with the ag/rice tires though. The funny thing is... I paid the same amount for that ym1700 as a new say cub cadet, or ruffie riding lawn mower that were 20 hp. My neighbor used to brag that his rider had 24hp.. and mine tractor was less.... He never realized how drivetrain, and weight made so much difference.

I had a hitch/ball on my drawbar and used to routinely move my horse trailer with the tractor... no problems.

Soundguy

"Yeah Soundguy, the two cyl. does have its distinct sound, but they can sure crank up the HORSEPOWER. "

 

[pannell]

I recently purchased an Iseki TS1910 from Buck at EFC.

About 2 years ago we identified the need for a piece (or pieces) of equipment that could help us with outdoor maintenance chores such as:

Snowplowing/snowblowing (we live in southcentral Alaska)
Tilling 2 acres (spring and fall)
Cultivating/Weeding
Light loader work for compost, manure, etc.
Mowing (someday, when the old riding mower falls apart)

I immediately thought of a small tractor. We had a JD 2555 when I was younger and it could do all of the above and then some. Of course, I don't know if you could consider a 2555 to be very compact, and I knew I wouldn't be able to find one in my price range, so I started looking for alternative makes/models.

The only grey I had access to up here was a Yanmar 1510D at our only dealers place. I went out and played with it a little bit and decided this would be ideal for our needs, but I didn't necessarily need shuttle-shift, 4-wheel drive or a 3-cyl. engine. And his price was out of my range, $11,000 (with loader and snow-blower). That was twice the money I wanted to spend.

I initially found gobs of information on Yanmar's. It certainly seems there is much more information out there on Yanmar's than any other grey model. I looked for dealers in the Pacific Northwest that were selling Yanmar's, and that lead to several dealers who had other models as well. I learned more about other grey models as I talked to the dealers on the phone and researched on the net. Buck at EFC in Wash. state was very helpful in pointing out some of the differences in the various models.

In the end, it came down to Price, availability of service material in English (the Iseki TS1910 is a cross-over with the Bolens G192) and, above all, the willingness of the dealer to stand behind his product. Buck was a straight-shooter and great to work with through the purchase process, and then after the tractor arrived when we had to work through a couple of tweaks.

If I could have afforded 4WD and more HP I would have gone that way. But for the price, I honestly don't think you can beat the Iseki 2WD.

Rick