B2650 / B3350 Mowing

[RollWave]

Is anyone out there mowing with a B2650 / B3350 mmm that is happy with it? I’ve spent a lot of time searching the forums and it seems like the general consensus here is to buy a zero turn instead.

I’m considering upgrading from my BX2660. I mow 6 acres or a little more weekly and I don’t know if my property is getting bumpier or I’m just getting older, but I could use a more refined ride. My thinking was the bigger tires, longer wheelbase, and more comfortable seat of something like an LX would fit the bill. I figured I could move up to a 72” deck and get done a little faster too.

I tried my neighbor’s zero turn and it was worse over the bumpy stuff than my BX. Plus I just didn’t like operating it.

Oddly enough, it seems like everybody over on the green tractor forum loves to mow with their 2R series tractors. I really like my Kubota dealer and would prefer to stay orange, but I’m beginning to wonder if that’s the right choice for me.

One other question about the B2650 / B3350: I see a lot of references to the tractor being “tippy”; is that just with a load in the FEL or even with just the mmm?

Thanks very much for whatever feedback you can offer.

 

[SDT]

Is anyone out there mowing with a B2650 / B3350 mmm that is happy with it? I’ve spent a lot of time searching the forums and it seems like the general consensus here is to buy a zero turn instead.

I’m considering upgrading from my BX2660. I mow 6 acres or a little more weekly and I don’t know if my property is getting bumpier or I’m just getting older, but I could use a more refined ride. My thinking was the bigger tires, longer wheelbase, and more comfortable seat of something like an LX would fit the bill. I figured I could move up to a 72” deck and get done a little faster too.

I tried my neighbor’s zero turn and it was worse over the bumpy stuff than my BX. Plus I just didn’t like operating it.

Oddly enough, it seems like everybody over on the green tractor forum loves to mow with their 2R series tractors. I really like my Kubota dealer and would prefer to stay orange, but I’m beginning to wonder if that’s the right choice for me.

One other question about the B2650 / B3350: I see a lot of references to the tractor being “tippy”; is that just with a load in the FEL or even with just the mmm?

Thanks very much for whatever feedback you can offer.

I bought my B3350 to replace a very good 12 speed Ford 8N for use with a 5' rough cut rotary cutter.

Plenty of power but the ride is much worse due to the smaller tires and shorter wheelbase.

I have a 72" MMM for the 3350 and have installed, set-up, and adjusted it but not used it as I use my B1750 with 60" MMM to cut my lawn.

Wheelbase and tire sizes of LX are same as B2650/3350 so expect no difference in ride quality.

I find my B3350 no more "tippy, than my B1750 but, of course, both are more so than either of my 8Ns.

SDT

 

[Digger Dager]

Rollwave,

Having grown up using an 18hp Simplicity garden tractor to mower an acre and a half lawn with a 48" deck, I can speak to the benefit of a zero turn mower. A lot of the advantage of a zero turn mower is the ability to dodge obstacles in your yard and to turn quickly to go the other direction. Working for a traditional cemetery, there are thousands of obstacles to go around.

We have 3 Kubota ZD326R units with the 60" rear discharge decks. We could have gotten the 72" decks, but there are areas that we could not squeeze through. On average, a zero turn will save mowing time, sometimes by half.

As for the ride quality, spend the extra and get the air ride seat, either from the dealer or an after-market until. There are several threads on OTT that discuss which units are better than others.

It will take a lot to get me to trade to a different brand of machine. We got our first ZD in June 2011, and it's now pushing 2500 hours with regular maintenance, and only one problem with a wheel seal that a piece of straw got wedged into. The equivalent to our ZD326R is the ZD1200 series. I have looked at them as a possible replacement for ours, but at this time we have no plans to buy one.

Digger Dager

 

[bx tractorjoe]

I loved mowing with my bx23s with the 60 inch mmm.. I had a 72 inch daihatsu diesel powered exmark that I sold whe I got the bx because it was much smoother then the exmark.. even though the weighted about the same.. the exmark was far from new but was top if the line when new.. the bxs mower cut nicer too.. and im a big exmark fan being I was a dealer about 15 years ago..

Maybe you need to adjust your seat spring tensioner a bit?. well if the b2650 has them.. the lx is pretty much the same thing as the b series just has the loader that you can adapted the kubota quick adapter hydraulics to it, well... the 33 hp version has different engine with common rail injection and dpf so no more emissions issues

I just watched messicks comparisons video on the two

 

[sheepfarmer]

I have a B2650 with the mid mount mower, 60 inches, cab, and leave the front end loader off. It is great to mow the back yard with lots of obstacles. Power steering and tight turning radius are great. I also hike the deck up and mow the pasture which is bumpy. No cure for that except to go fairly slow. Cuts well both places.

 

[lmpres]

Is anyone out there mowing with a B2650 / B3350 mmm that is happy with it? I’ve spent a lot of time searching the forums and it seems like the general consensus here is to buy a zero turn instead.

I’m considering upgrading from my BX2660. I mow 6 acres or a little more weekly and I don’t know if my property is getting bumpier or I’m just getting older, but I could use a more refined ride. My thinking was the bigger tires, longer wheelbase, and more comfortable seat of something like an LX would fit the bill. I figured I could move up to a 72” deck and get done a little faster too.

I tried my neighbor’s zero turn and it was worse over the bumpy stuff than my BX. Plus I just didn’t like operating it.

Oddly enough, it seems like everybody over on the green tractor forum loves to mow with their 2R series tractors. I really like my Kubota dealer and would prefer to stay orange, but I’m beginning to wonder if that’s the right choice for me.

One other question about the B2650 / B3350: I see a lot of references to the tractor being “tippy”; is that just with a load in the FEL or even with just the mmm?

Thanks very much for whatever feedback you can offer.

Remember, they are doing away with the b2650 and b3350, the replacement is the lx2610 and lx3310. Seems mostly because of all the problems they have with the 3350 engine, so they changed it to one that does a regen.......

 

[PaulL]

I think there are quite a few people who mow with a B50 machine, but they're not as vocal as the zero-turn advocates. A zero turn is absolutely a better mowing machine, but most people also say they beat you up if you mow fast and your land isn't smooth.

A B will ride smoother than a BX, much larger tire circumference. Also room to underinflate the tires quite a bit on a B, whereas the BX you can squash your front tires flat if you use the loader without putting air back in (and who really puts more air in their tires when they put the loader on to do a quick job).

If you want to have one machine that covers all your tractor-like needs, no reason not to mow with a B. If you can find a zero turn (or an F class machine) that you're happy with the comfort of, that'd be a better mower, but of course it's not a tractor, so you still need the BX or B.

I'd be very surprised if a Green machine mowed much differently than an Orange. So I'd say it's just a factor of the particular user base of the forum.

Do note that the B50/LX mowers are not suspended like the BX or B01. I believe that means that they ride on the mower wheels when mowing, rather than hanging from the tractor with the antiscalp wheels skimming the ground. Different views on whether that's good or bad. If your land is uneven (hence concerns about comfort), will a 72 inch deck scalp?

One further point to contribute. My view is that part of the point of having a tractor is so that you can modify your property to suit your needs. Have you thought about levelling out your bumps so that the lawn's more flat, making your BX suitable?

 

[greg86z28]

I mow with my B2601. I love it. I like the feeling of operating a tractor. I probably could save 30 minutes each time mowing with a zero turn, but that means another machine I need to store and maintain. I also found a 60” MMM used for $1600 which is far less than you could buy a quality zero turn for.

maybe some day.

 

[S-G-R]

I have the 60" MMM deck on my LX2610 and am very pleased with it but do have a relatively level 3 acre yard to mow. My friend has a B2650 with 72" MMM that he finds scalps his 5 acre yard but it is quite uneven. Had a 42" MMM JD and it wasn't a great mower. Tried a 0 turn and it did a nice job but I didn't care for the levers and the LX was more suitable for what I need done around the yard with one less machine in the garage taking up space.

 

[rkidd]

I have been mowing with my B2650 and 60" mmm and turf tires for 5 years now. It works really well and is very easy to maneuver. Tractor is not tippy at all. I have over 1400 hrs on my tractor now and has been trouble free. I have run both, and turf tires definitely have a better ride than the R4s.

 

[ThomasH]

When I ordered my LX2610 cab, I decided to pass on the MMM due to price. The MMM deck is ridiculously expensive. I can buy a decent zero turn for a little more, and only a small portion of my 10 acres calls for a finish mower. The MMM on the LX is a nice setup, but not worth it for my needs.

 

[michigander]

I'm mowing with the smaller B2601 60"mmm turf tires. I bought this to mow with when mowing loader is off and hauling nothing on 3 pt. I will say I'm still using my old cub cadet for mowing side hills because the B sets so high. If I didn't still have the old mower side hills could be done going up and down. My deck moves with tractor different than the bigger one you are looking at per internet mine should cut better on ruff ground.

 

[cthomas]

Yes I mow with a 60 MMM on the LX2610 and do like it over the BX2370 with a 60 MMM.