B2601 Treadle Pedal hard to use

[Frankb]

I just went out to garage and took a look at the spring. Easy enough to find. I do believe it is hooked up to the switch. No idea why. I will investigate further tomorrow when my wife will be able to press the pedal down for me while I am looking at the spring to see exactly what it does. Very interesting.

 

[RCW]

Skeets needs to see this.....

 

[Frankb]

I've got 30 hours on my machine now. Honestly, I don't know if I would be able to tell if it loosened up or not. Over the course of a year or two, after you've accumulated 100 hours, I wouldn't know whether I simply got used to it or it got looser.

If you really wanted to know, you could take some sort of scale and try to measure the lbs to move the pedal. And then remeasure in the same fashion after 50 hours and see if there is any change.

For me, after owning mine since June of 2020 and putting 30 hours on mine, I've basically gotten used to it. If there was a simple fix I'd think about it, but other than that it is what it is. The B2601 is a fantastic machine in terms of features, size and capability. The big shortcomings are the seat suspension/base (the seat itself is fine) and the pedal stiffness.

I agree. I have 40 hours on miy 2601 and still struggle a bit at times with reverse. Talked to my dealer several times and he has talked to his mechanics, and it all comes down to one thing. Liability. No one wants to advise about fixes or adjustments. Honestly, can't blame them for that. I even went so far as to say I was willing to sign a liability release letter, but still no go. I have jammed the treadle in reverse when not in use just to try to stretch the spring some and it did not seam to help much that I could tell.

 

[Frankb]

Got to go under tractor earlier while the wife was pressing the treadle peddle with her hands. What I saw was the safety switch for the starter disengaging when peddle went in forward and reverse positions. The spring connected to that switch was under strain when peddle was operating. As stated before, I think there is enough pull on the two springs connected to the treadle peddle to return the lever back to the start safety switch. I will give disconnecting a try and ride around a bit on the tractor to see if i can feel any difference. If there is significant relief in operating the reverse, I can at least install a lighter spring in place of the heavy spring I removed. If t some point I have failure to start the tractor, I will know the first place to look.

 

[Frankb]

I have seen both springs and they are not same as one another. Front spring looked smaller then the rear spring. Makes me wonder why they put two different springs on to begin with.

The Treadle peddle is larger on the forward side than on rearward side. There is more leverage on forward side, making a difference in spring size. That's what I see any way.

 

[Orange man hero]

That treadle pedal is one of the things I don’t like about Kubotas. and I find that there isn’t enough room for my shoe to get the right foot position to push it more than just a little bit. it aggravates the hell out of me. Plus I have a bad knee and after a day of working that pedal its all seized up. That and the cheesy cruise control ruins an otherwise good little tractor.

agree!

 

[Orange man hero]

agree!

The only tractor experience I have is on a "poppin" Jonny about 40 some years ago...but I notice with this treadle peddle I often have my foot on it when I am working the loader and hear a noise almost like a soft grinding. I drove another brand before I went Kobota that had the 2 peddles which make you take your foot off the peddles. Thinking that may be a superior design, but maybe I am just a newbie.

 

[Orange man hero]

It would be really cool if there were some way to have a hand control for the go pedal. Maybe even an electronic control of some sort.

GREAT QUOTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Orange man hero]

Hello gentlemen, this is my first post, but I've often read the forum. I joined in hope's that this might help somebody who has been through this same problem. My b2601 had the same horrible reverse pedal issue and after much research I was going to replace the 2 vertical springs when I found a simple solution. Just remove the horizontal spring located near the switch below and behind the 2 vertical springs. It takes less than a minute. Costs nothing. And has dropped the force needed to reverse by about 50%. The pedal still quickly returns to middle stop position. And it now feels like every other kubota I've operated. No pedal mods or other things are necessary. This linkage has 3 springs but works much much better with 2. I hope this helps somebody who is searching the net like I was. Have a good evening.

Like many things maybe it is "safety" overkill. The father of that is Ralph Nader.

 

[Mossy dell]

Got to go under tractor earlier while the wife was pressing the treadle peddle with her hands. What I saw was the safety switch for the starter disengaging when peddle went in forward and reverse positions. The spring connected to that switch was under strain when peddle was operating. As stated before, I think there is enough pull on the two springs connected to the treadle peddle to return the lever back to the start safety switch. I will give disconnecting a try and ride around a bit on the tractor to see if i can feel any difference. If there is significant relief in operating the reverse, I can at least install a lighter spring in place of the heavy spring I removed. If t some point I have failure to start the tractor, I will know the first place to look.

Frank, how did your modification end up working out?

 

[Frankb]

Frank, how did your modification end up working out?

Never got to do any switching. It was too hard for me to get the springs disconnected so I left them alone until I got to use the tractor more. I now have 64.5 hours on the clock, and the pedal seems to have loosened a little. I will continue to keep it in use to see how this works out. I am jamming a piece of wood I cut to fit onto the pedal to keep the spring stretched while the tractor is parked. That seems to help it a lot when I put the tractor back in service. It has taken some of the stiffness out.

 

[Mossy dell]

Never got to do any switching. It was too hard for me to get the springs disconnected so I left them alone until I got to use the tractor more. I now have 64.5 hours on the clock, and the pedal seems to have loosened a little. I will continue to keep it in use to see how this works out. I am jamming a piece of wood I cut to fit onto the pedal to keep the spring stretched while the tractor is parked. That seems to help it a lot when I put the tractor back in service. It has taken some of the stiffness out.

So you decided against disconnecting the one spring that appeared connected to the safety switch for the starter?

And is the piece of wood you are using under the front pedal foot area? So it raises it as if using reverse?

 

[Frankb]

So you decided against disconnecting the one spring that appeared connected to the safety switch for the starter?

Not against it. Just could not do it at all for now. Decided to see if stretching the springs would help and so far so good

 

[Orange man hero]

Not against it. Just could not do it at all for now. Decided to see if stretching the springs would help and so far so good

I know for sure that often it is the heel of your boot or shoe that hangs up that treadle in reverse Have checked it out many times and that was it....

 

[Orange man hero]

I know for sure that often it is the heel of your boot or shoe that hangs up that treadle in reverse Have checked it out many times and that was it....

Your heel rubs the body of the seat and will not let the pedal drop down correctly. Many times I have had to move my heel to get full drop and full power. Not a well thought out design.

 

[Frankb]

Your heel rubs the body of the seat and will not let the pedal drop down correctly. Many times I have had to move my heel to get full drop and full power. Not a well thought out design.

I noticed that this morning when I was driving the tractor to my front field for pick up from dealer. I was wearing my casual shoes and the pedal felt very easy to use. More so than normal. LOL. I figured it had to be my shoes!

 

[Mossy dell]

I ordered (they did not stock at store) from Ace Hardware, spring number SP9668, when I ordered the website had it listed under Prime Line SP9668 when I picked it up it was packaged under the name of Handy Man SP-9668 not sure why but the spring specs were the same. This spring needs one end cut and twisted to match the original (the other end will work as is) there are two springs on the linkage this is the larger of the two.

Does VaGlock or anyone have more information on this spring source or others. I can't find this spring on their website. New part number or link?

Also, has anyone just removed the third spring like Terry Lee did:

"... I was going to replace the 2 vertical springs when I found a simple solution. Just remove the horizontal spring located near the [treadle safety?] switch below and behind the 2 vertical springs. It takes less than a minute. Costs nothing. And has dropped the force needed to reverse by about 50%. The pedal still quickly returns to middle stop position. And it now feels like every other kubota I've operated. No pedal mods or other things are necessary. This linkage has 3 springs but works much much better with 2. I hope this helps somebody who is searching the net like I was. Have a good evening."​

For me, pictures would sure be nice!

 

[Frankb]

Does VaGlock or anyone have more information on this spring source or others. I can't find this spring on their website. New part number or link?

Also, has anyone just removed the third spring like Terry Lee did:

"... I was going to replace the 2 vertical springs when I found a simple solution. Just remove the horizontal spring located near the [treadle safety?] switch below and behind the 2 vertical springs. It takes less than a minute. Costs nothing. And has dropped the force needed to reverse by about 50%. The pedal still quickly returns to middle stop position. And it now feels like every other kubota I've operated. No pedal mods or other things are necessary. This linkage has 3 springs but works much much better with 2. I hope this helps somebody who is searching the net like I was. Have a good evening."​

For me, pictures would sure be nice!

Where exactly is this spring you removed, and on what side of the tractor is it located?
On the right side where treadle is located it has two springs under the floor board. On the left side of tractor where brake peddle is located there is one spring under the floor board that controls a safety switch. The spring is tucked way up close to the underside of floorboard! I do have the B2601 newer model. Thanks.

 

[Mossy dell]

It sounds like that's the one he removed, the safety switch spring on the left, Frank.

 

[Frankb]

It sounds like that's the one he removed, the safety switch spring on the left, Frank.

That's the one I wanted to remove but couldn't get up into that space. Will need to try again.
Thanks
Frank B