"Grey" tractors are indeed not intended for the US market, but that is not the whole story. Many of them have properties which will make them unusable or even dangerous on US implements. Things such as backwards turning PTO, PTO turns too fast or slow (not 540 or 1000), no ROPS, no PTO shield, unusable gear ratios, etc.
The dealer really can not get the parts at any price either. Believe me, he would sell them if he could and retire early.Most of these machines can be spotted at a distance by the presence of the "Rice Tread" tires, as they were primarily designed to farm rice. The good news is that a lot of greys can be cross-referenced to US models for parts. This is not something a dealer will be able to do, but by checking other spots here on the web, you can usually find a close cross, if one exists. As an example, the Kubota L175 crosses to the grey L1701, the L225 crosses to the L2001, etc. Not all have crosses, however. I believe it is the L2201 which has a 4 speed PTO that turns backward, and does not have a cross. This is from memory and subject to error, but the principle is correct. Check out www.kubotasource.com for more info. Not just Kubotas either. Hope this helps,
Tommy Duvall
Dalton, Ga.
|
