My take:
1.) Have the R14's, LOVE 'em. I got the bigguns on my SU model. Can't put the oversize tires on the CAB models with the mid-mount PTO.
2.)At that price, I have to ask if you wrote the check yet. The only thing I'd do differently is the RCR1260. That cutter might be a little big for the LX2610 with only 19 HP at the PTO.
3.) Unless you're going to be picking up a lot of loose material on a flat surface, the difference in a 60" and 54" bucket isn't going to make much difference, except more digging resistance on the wider bucket. The 54" bucket is the "Heavy Duty" bucket. It will stop the tractor VERY quickly. We're talking teeth embedded in the steering wheel quick. Remember, you're on a compact tractor, and if you try to push a wide blade through hard dirt or roots, you're gonna run out of horsepower and traction real quick. The first accessory I'd add to that bucket is a tooth bar if you plan on digging anything significant with it. If you're scooping up barn waste or moving loose soil around, you'll be OK. But don't even think about pushing that bucket anywhere trees have ever been without a tooth bar. You'll be sorely disappointed, especially with a 6" wider bucket. The next issue is that with a 54" bucket, I often run out of lift capacity with clay soil. That much dirt is HEAVY, especially when it's wet. The extra 6" will add a couple cubic feet to the bucket capacity. If I couldn't pick up less, I'm certainly not going to pick up more. Pick your bucket based on what you're going to use it for.
4. The best advice I can give is to stay away from ponds with rear mounted cutters. But, read my tag line. Advice is free, and worth every penny you pay for it. That's a sure way to try to teach your tractor how to swim. It WILL happen, one day. Every time you get near the edge of a pond with either end of the tractor pointed at the pond, you're tempting fate. They're not good at swimming. It only takes a small error or one spot that's a little softer than you thought it was, and you have a cutter dragging you into the pond. Being in a cab, it ain't like you're just gonna jump off to escape, either. Rule of thumb, if you have roll-over protection (CAB models have it built in) you wear the seat belt to avoid being crushed. The scene at the Porsche dealer in the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" comes to mind. "Who's the U-Boat Commander?" If you want to use the tractor to maintain pond perimeters, then I'd recommend side mounted mowing equipment designed for being able to angle the cutting head (so that the tractor is NEVER pointed at the water) with counterweights on the opposite side. I don't think I've ever seen a pond that didn't have a significant slope around water edge. That's begging for rollover unless you can keep the tractor up on "level" ground and tilt the mowing machine. What comes to mind is flail mowers similar to what road crews use on narrow right of ways with high shoulders. Having put a bush-hog and tractor in the creek a few times (then having to explain why I needed help getting it out to my step-dad) I can say this is NOT an enjoyable learning experience. The next part of the equation is that with PTO driven equipment that has a direct drive shaft connection, you want the angles of the two u-joints equal and complimentary, meaning the angles add up to zero with the PTO shaft and load shaft as parallel as possible. Driveshafts will come apart with much noise and destruction if you run them "around corners". Spicer has some good info on driveshafts. Won't hurt to read up on them. If you've ever seen or installed a drive-shaft for a 400HP electric motor rated for 3600 RPM, you'd understand. The faster it turns and the higher the torque rating, the more critical the alignment and the bigger the u-joints are gonna be.
You'll enjoy the tractor if you learn safe habits first and maintain them. It will kill you if you don't. Tractors are DANGEROUS. That's what makes them useful. By your own admission, you're about to be a first time owner. If you have prior experience with tractors, then I'm preaching to the choir. But a first time owner quickly becomes an obituary in the newspaper with even a modicum of overconfidence. First rule of thumb: If it makes you a little bit nervous, you probably shouldn't be doing it. Second rule. If you've never done it before, you SHOULD be VERY NERVOUS. Otherwise, welcome to a fun world full of experts. I use that term loosely. Go buy that tractor. You've picked a good bunch to learn from. They usually treat noobs purty good.
