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Jeffersonville, OH | AGCO Dealer here...Sold one of the first 17 hand built 9250's in 2009/2010. Have about 100 out since then on anything from R52's to S98's and a few Massey's, a Case or 2, and one Lexion. Here's what I hear from my customers against the Macdon, simpler to work on due to the Gleaner being mechanical driven VS a bunch of hydraulics, and the Gleaner is much smoother due to our Sickles being timed and counter weighted. If you are seeing cutter bar shake in a Gleaner Draper, your sickle drive shafts are worn out and you have broken parts.
Have we seen those shafts wear out, sure, it's a mechanical part, it can wear. I have had customers weld the rubber dampers up and run like that for years if they get them straight, if they don't, it shakes the end skids apart under the wobble box. AGCO has released a kit now to brace all that up with some beefier arms to help remedy those issues.
Other than that, if you maintain it, slack your belts when you aren't using it, and watch for bad bearings, they are good heads. Have run them against every other Draper built, and I ususally get more compliments than I do complaints. Main reason a lot of folks don't run them on other color machines is that Bish charges a LOT for the adapters.
As far as the coyote holes and bending parts, if you stick any head in the dirt at 5mph plus with a 40K lb machines pushing, it's going to get broken...but being that ours is all mechanical, usually we can straighten things out enough to keep running and the customer isn't down waiting on parts....that helps.
Chris | |
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Gleaner Draper Head
