I have temp access to both R1s and R4s for a B2650

Guys,

I know that there's been a million questions on R1s, R4s, rim sizes, etc and perhaps i can help. Due to a small mixup in shipping, my new B2650 arrived with R4s on it when I ordered R1s. The dealer send me home with the R4s which I have had for about two weeks now. I just got word that the R1s are waiting for me to pick up and that gave me an idea.

Very few people have gotten to experience the B2650 with both R4s and R1s back to back. Are there any comparison tests you guys would like me to perform or perhaps measurements you would like me to gather? Personally, I am interested in the following:

-Rim size measurement difference (since they are reportedly different)
-ROPS height measurement difference (R1s are supposedly taller)
-Ground clearance measurement difference (same as above)
-Track width (R1s are supposedly narrower)

-Grass damage
-Mud traction
-Mud packing and subsequent flinging

I would imagine that I have about 48 hours more with the R4s and then I will have the R1s so let me know if you guys want me to investigate anything. Thanks!

For reference, this is what I have now:
FRONT - 23x8.50-14 R4 Titan Trac Loader
REAR - 12.4-16 R4 Goodyear Sure Grip Lug

This is what I am about to get:
FRONT - 7-12 R1 Bridgestone Farm Service Lug
REAR - 12.4-16 R1 Firestone Traction Field & Road TT



P.S. Here's a pict of one of my rear R1s sitting at the dealer:

Henro said:

Nothing wrong with returning the R4s with a bit of mud on them, right?

Click to expand...

Ha, yeah, lol.

All I have is mud and I wasn’t a fan of the R4s. I would have tried R14s or even bar turf if they had those options available. I drove across lots of muddy areas with the R4s and they packed full of mud real quick.

I got the R1s today and they have 200lbs of bio ballast in each so it will be interesting to see what they do in mud.

Since its been a few weeks now, I figured that I would post up my thoughts.


This is my second Kubota with R4s and I spent a LOT of time stuck in the mud with the last one. I didnt push the R4s too hard on the B2650 but I have taken the R1s to near the max in the mud and I havent been stuck yet! For example, I had to clear a muddy area that often floods out and I was extremely worried about getting stuck. However, my fears were unfounded as the R1s never skipped a beat. I was honestly shocked by how well they worked and convinced that I would have been stuck if I would have had R4s on. At this point I am honestly very impressed with the traction and pleased with my choice. I still have that nagging voice in the back of my head that wishes I could have gotten a set of R14s for the B2650 and maybe I could have but my dealer didnt offer these to me when I purchased the tractor.

While the R1s do offer what I can only describe as an incredible amount of traction, its no surprise that they leave more marks on whatever surface they travel on. The big surprise for me was the amount of track marks that they leave in my crushed limestone driveway. They dont destroy it by any means but I can see all the places I have driven recently and this never happened with the R4. It wont come as any shock to hear the the R4s were far superior on the crushed limestone driveway and much smoother on asphalt.

The thing that most people seem to ask about is how well the R1s do on grass. Before we go any further on the subject of grass, I want to provide some background info my grass situation because thats whats shaping my opinion. First off, I dont mow a lawn with my tractor, its small enough that I use a push-mower. However, I live in a very wet area way back in the woods and I have been digging a ton of ditches and putting yard drains in everywhere. This requires me to drive back and forth again and again on the same piece of usually very damp grass.

Without a doubt, the R1s would never work for anyone who wants to mow their lawn under even the best, very dry conditions. I wouldnt say that they destroy the grass when lightly used but they do leave a very pronounced V imprint in the sod when its damp. On the other hand, the R4s on both my old tractor and the current B2650 did a lot of lawn damage when it was REALLY wet. This mostly happened because the wheels started to slip and they began to tear the sod off as they spun. In contrast, the R1s dont slip so in the worst and wettest conditions, they actually appear to cause less damage. After all, nothing destroys a lawn more than a stuck tractor.

As promised, I did take several measurements of the wheels, tires ground clearance and the height of the ROPs to see what changed. As has been well documented, both the front and rear R1s are skinner than the R4s. From a percentage standpoint, the rears are only slightly skinner by a bit over an inch which isnt really noticeable. The fronts are also skinnier by close to an inch and a half which is very noticeable. The ground clearance and ROPs height only changed by a fraction of an inch so theres really noting to report there.

Here are a few pictures that I took of the machine before and after:

R4s right before the swap:




R1s later that night:




R4 tracks in semi-damp ground (no rain in a few days):




R1 tracks in damp ground (rain 36 hours prior and wet to begin with:




HEAVY R1 traffic on very dry grass (near two dozen passes):