B2601 review and thoughts

[alfb]

I bought my new B2601 with a backhoe in Sept of 2020 and of course had to wait 1 month for the tractor and an extra month for the backhoe. I went round and round on what size to buy between the new Lx 2610SU and the B2601. I only have 2.5 acres, half of that is very manicured and half is with granite rocks and a large pond etc. Therefore I wanted something that wasn't gonna tear up the yard but still be able to handle the back area. The B has more creature comforts such as tilt steering, nicer seat, swift tach loader and of course the mid point pto and a analog tachometer which I prefer. The Su had a beefier frame less creature comforts and a larger stronger backhoe and fel. The main reason I bought the B was there was limited "promotion" pricing on the LX at that time and the weight, not just from the tractor but the implements made it quite a bit heavier.

Though I really like my tractor and plan on keeping it forever, here are some comments.

Treadle peddle is very stiff, not terrible but definitely a negative.
ROPs rattle sucks, I need to get a screw and or pad into the thing to shut the noise up.
Tilt steering, I usually forget that it's there so probably just a good sales point.
Swift tach to take off the whole loader, might be great for some people but I have never used it and probably never will.
I have heard of people tweaking their loaders due to weight, but I have picked up max loads to the point of not being able to lift it but about a 2 feet up and have been fine. I do think if the load is unbalanced such as a large rock or log not evenly balanced on bucket you could definitely tweak and damage the arms.
I love my backhoe, though I was first concerned the BH70 which has a pivot of 140 degrees vs the 180 degrees on the LX BH77 could be a issue, it hasn't been for me.
I have 45 hours on it so far and my only damage so far is when I broke the fuel filter, I will be buying a guard for it.

 

[GSD-Keegan]

Ordered these before I even took delivery of my B2601. Step is from a 2650. Won't work if you have belly mower. Anti rattle screw is from a Bx23s I believe.

 

[alfb]

Ordered these before I even took delivery of my B2601. Step is from a 2650. Won't work if you have belly mower. Anti rattle screw is from a Bx23s I believe. View attachment 61183 View attachment 61184

Those look like 2 worthwhile add ons.

 

[skeets]

Yep theres a few thing about mine as well,,, the tram is like you say as stiff as a wedding ,,,,, you know the rest. The FEL rattles and the take down is well is not as easy as they would lead you to believe, I had to do a bunch of grinding on the hooks with a die grinder so the one side would disconnect. Seat really needs to go back about 3 more inches and better springs inthe seat. It should be 6 inches wider on the rear end and,, And who the hell is the brain truss, that would put skid steer tires on a tractor?
Other than being a lot more thirsty than the BX, I like it, there are just a lot of little things that were not well thought out

 

[PaulL]

Yep theres a few thing about mine as well,,, the tram is like you say as stiff as a wedding ,,,,, you know the rest. The FEL rattles and the take down is well is not as easy as they would lead you to believe, I had to do a bunch of grinding on the hooks with a die grinder so the one side would disconnect. Seat really needs to go back about 3 more inches and better springs inthe seat. It should be 6 inches wider on the rear end and,, And who the hell is the brain truss, that would put skid steer tires on a tractor?
Other than being a lot more thirsty than the BX, I like it, there are just a lot of little things that were not well thought out

I take my loader off every time I mow - so on and off once a week or thereabouts. It's easy once you get the hang of it. And it's much much nicer mowing without the loader on.

 

[JimmyJazz]

I bought my new B2601 with a backhoe in Sept of 2020 and of course had to wait 1 month for the tractor and an extra month for the backhoe. I went round and round on what size to buy between the new Lx 2610SU and the B2601. I only have 2.5 acres, half of that is very manicured and half is with granite rocks and a large pond etc. Therefore I wanted something that wasn't gonna tear up the yard but still be able to handle the back area. The B has more creature comforts such as tilt steering, nicer seat, swift tach loader and of course the mid point pto and a analog tachometer which I prefer. The Su had a beefier frame less creature comforts and a larger stronger backhoe and fel. The main reason I bought the B was there was limited "promotion" pricing on the LX at that time and the weight, not just from the tractor but the implements made it quite a bit heavier.

Though I really like my tractor and plan on keeping it forever, here are some comments.

Treadle peddle is very stiff, not terrible but definitely a negative.
ROPs rattle sucks, I need to get a screw and or pad into the thing to shut the noise up.
Tilt steering, I usually forget that it's there so probably just a good sales point.
Swift tach to take off the whole loader, might be great for some people but I have never used it and probably never will.
I have heard of people tweaking their loaders due to weight, but I have picked up max loads to the point of not being able to lift it but about a 2 feet up and have been fine. I do think if the load is unbalanced such as a large rock or log not evenly balanced on bucket you could definitely tweak and damage the arms.
I love my backhoe, though I was first concerned the BH70 which has a pivot of 140 degrees vs the 180 degrees on the LX BH77 could be a issue, it hasn't been for me.
I have 45 hours on it so far and my only damage so far is when I broke the fuel filter, I will be buying a guard for it.

Try snugging up the bolts on the ROPs to stop the rattle.

 

[Mossy dell]

The ROPS on my new B2601 does not rattle! Maybe I am too deaf to hear it? i did just tighten the ROPS bolts, which had loosened, so that it is less likely to fall on my head when I fold it to put it in my garage.

I find using forward on the treadle pedal feels fine and natural. The reverse feels hard, awkward, and unnatural. It is very stiff, and it feels weird to have to stomp straight down. Kubota dealer told me there's no way to adjust it but it will loosen with break-in. A YouTuber posted about adjusting his on his BX, video below. I am not sure if his fix to increase speed pertains to ease of use and if my tractor's setup is the same.

I added the step, which is GREAT, and a wheel spinner. I was going to add a handle too but I think the step solves the problem.

 

[Chuck Woolery]

I was thinking the same thing with the quick tach loader as I'll never take mine off. I would've preferred a loader attachment without quick tach if it meant it was a little beefier as I heard reports too about people tweaking theirs. I've only got 4.5 hours of moving rocks with mine, even three wheeled it once (no weight box yet), and have had no problems with bending anything.

I've complained about the treadle peddle too, reverse is just really stiff, but oh well I figured it was because I was used to a twin peddle setup.

Tilt steering seemed gimmicky to me at first as well, until I realized it works really well with my beer belly to get on and off the tractor. Same thing with the arm rests which I take off all my mowers, but like having them on the Kubota for some reason.

All in all I like mine a lot too and just like you was back and forth between the B2601 and the LX 2610SU, though I didn't get the backhoe and I'll never have a belly mower on it. My decision was driven just on what was available. I had a short window of opportunity and found a dealer that had one last B2601 on the floor. Though I did have them swap out the R4's for R14's and really like them.

 

[Rdrcr]

Though I really like my tractor and plan on keeping it forever, here are some comments.

Treadle peddle is very stiff, not terrible but definitely a negative.

ROPs rattle sucks, I need to get a screw and or pad into the thing to shut the noise up.

Tilt steering, I usually forget that it's there so probably just a good sales point.

Swift tach to take off the whole loader, might be great for some people but I have never used it and probably never will.

I have heard of people tweaking their loaders due to weight, but I have picked up max loads to the point of not being able to lift it but about a 2 feet up and have been fine. I do think if the load is unbalanced such as a large rock or log not evenly balanced on bucket you could definitely tweak and damage the arms.

I love my backhoe, though I was first concerned the BH70 which has a pivot of 140 degrees vs the 180 degrees on the LX BH77 could be a issue, it hasn't been for me.

I have 45 hours on it so far and my only damage so far is when I broke the fuel filter, I will be buying a guard for it.

I agree the Treadle peddle is unnecessarily stiff on the B2601. There are some folks that have modified/removed one of the peddle springs to lighten the force required for movement and make the peddle more comfortable to use. Ironically, the peddle resistance is perfect on my L2501.

My ROPs rattled too but, it didn't really bother me...plus, I wear ear protection so I'm sure that helps.

I rarely used the tilt on the B2601 but, it is a nice feature to have while moving in and out of the operator position. It would be a nice feature on my L2501.

I constantly was using the Swift tach and removing the loader on my B2601. I removed the loader every time I was using the B2601 for mowing duties. The Swift tach was easy to use and saved a ton of time. I really enjoyed the feature.

The loader on both my B2601 and L2501 will pickup the tractor with ballast so I can easily see how someone could bend and damage the loader depending on the weight, object, angle and terrain.

I never experienced an issue with the protection of the fuel filter but, it is exposed and I can see a guard being a good idea.

Mike

 

[PaulL]

I agree the Treadle peddle is unnecessarily stiff on the B2601. There are some folks that have modified/removed one of the peddle springs to lighten the force required for movement and make the peddle more comfortable to use. Ironically, the peddle resistance is perfect on my L2501.

....

I rarely used the tilt on the B2601 but, it is a nice feature to have while moving in and out of the operator position. It would be a nice feature on my L2501.

I find my pedal stiff too. I got a sore knee when mowing for extended periods. So I pulled the seat in closer, gave me a better angle on the pedal and was surprisingly more comfortable. But I did then find I needed to use the tilt steering wheel when getting on and off. You may find that moving around the position makes the pedal easier to use for you too. I'm 50 hours in (60 actually, but in for the 50 hour service this week) and I think the pedal is starting to get looser.

I constantly was using the Swift tach and removing the loader on my B2601. I removed the loader every time I was using the B2601 for mowing duties. The Swift tach was easy to use and saved a ton of time. I really enjoyed the feature.

I have the older style without the single lever manifold, and with the through pins on the loader posts. I feel like that might be more durable. But ultimately I think you'd have to be working the machine pretty hard to damage the quick tach. I take my loader off when not using it, it puts less load on the front wheels, which in turn means they don't tear the lawn so much when I'm turning. For mowing it makes the machine feel much lighter and more agile - it doesn't rock so much over bumps and generally is nicer to use.

The main annoyance for me with removing the loader is the pioneer couplers. They're behind a cover, which stops them getting damaged, but means you can skin your knuckles getting them on and off. One of them is particularly stiff and annoying to put on - you get a bit of fluid on your hands, then it's hard to get purchase on the hose to push it on. I know the single lever can leak, and the clip on style may be less durable. But it's way easier to use the single lever coupler, I wish we could get that in NZ.

 

[michigander]

Those 4 single connectors I hook them up when parked back a few inches from the loader tower. After hydraulics are hooked up then drive up to and attach.

Peddle it seems to work best for me when not wearing flip flops

 

[Tire Biter]

I put a block on my forward pedal and it changes the angle of my knee, which hurts after three and a half hours of mowing, but less with the block.
I use the tilt every time I get on and off and I ain’t even fat. Just makes it so much easier.

 

[jimh406]

I find the stiff pedal interesting. I don’t find mine on my L2501 stiff at all. I wonder if there is a linkage adjustment or spring of some type to change on the Bs.

 

[JimmyJazz]

I have 9 hours on my B2601 and I like it. Its used primarily for mowing my 2 acre yard. The most surprising thing for me is the stiff ride. Its like sitting on a brick or roller skating in a gravel pit. The rear tires are loaded. Maybe I can reduce the air pressure. Any thoughts?

 

[Rdrcr]

I find the stiff pedal interesting. I don’t find mine on my L2501 stiff at all. I wonder if there is a linkage adjustment or spring of some type to change on the Bs.

The pedal on the L2501 is nothing like the pedal on the B2601.
The B2601 is way stiffer and more difficult to modulate. It seems to lighten up a bit after 50 hours but it is still stiff when comparing it with other Kubota models.

Mike

 

[PaulL]

I have 9 hours on my B2601 and I like it. Its used primarily for mowing my 2 acre yard. The most surprising thing for me is the stiff ride. Its like sitting on a brick or roller skating in a gravel pit. The rear tires are loaded. Maybe I can reduce the air pressure. Any thoughts?

Tractors have no suspension. So you're reliant on the tires and the seat springs. An unfilled tire has a pretty big air cushion (but still rides pretty rough). A filled tire has a hell of a lot less compliance. Sometimes they get overfilled, which further reduces the compliance.

Options are:
1. Do you really need your tires filled? Can you just ballast the rear when you need that weight, or can you use spacers instead if you need side to side stability?

2. Get a flash air seat

3. Play with the pressure of your remaining air cushion to try to get a better ride

I haven't filled my tires, and am thinking of reducing pressures given I don't often drive on tarmac. Reducing the rear would be easy enough, with the fronts you have to be careful about squashing your tires when lifting heavy loads on the FEL.

 

[JimmyJazz]

Tractors have no suspension. So you're reliant on the tires and the seat springs. An unfilled tire has a pretty big air cushion (but still rides pretty rough). A filled tire has a hell of a lot less compliance. Sometimes they get overfilled, which further reduces the compliance.

Options are:
1. Do you really need your tires filled? Can you just ballast the rear when you need that weight, or can you use spacers instead if you need side to side stability?

2. Get a flash air seat

3. Play with the pressure of your remaining air cushion to try to get a better ride

I haven't filled my tires, and am thinking of reducing pressures given I don't often drive on tarmac. Reducing the rear would be easy enough, with the fronts you have to be careful about squashing your tires when lifting heavy loads on the FEL.

I think the manual state 20psi for the rear tires. How much could I reduce the pressure before a problem developed?

 

[Mossy dell]

This may be related or help the reverse too. Not sure but I posted a comment asking him.

 

[Mossy dell]

This guy's fix involves replacing the stiff spring.

 

[Mossy dell]

As near as I can make out from the latter video, these are the springs' dimensions, first in inches and then mm, as well as the maker and possible part numbers:

REAR/Reverse:
Century Spring Corp
C135 Utility Ext Spring
7/16 x 2 x .06
11.25 x 50.80 x 1.575 mm

FRONT SPRING/Forward
C-179 Utility Ext Spring
9/16 x 2 7/8 x .072
14.300 [?] x 13.025 [?] x 1.829 [?]