Combines truth please

Ran a 480R with 36' hdr in spring wheat against a R72 with 36' hdr and they seemed to be mathed pretty even in 25 to 35 bu_acrewheat but anything better than that and the cat ran out of shoe capacity. Not very impressive for the added complexity and cost. I would look hard at the new challenger built by agco

We ran four lexions this year. But I wouldn't dare to tell you how they compare to an R72 without running them side by side. You will only find the truth by trying it yourself because we found out this year that conditions can change so much that a remote comparison is never true. After that, how good are your local dealersIJ How will it work on the financial sideIJ The lexion R-series is very much improved in many technical details and in capacity, but so is the R75.

The big Challenger combine class 7, the 670, won't be available until next year I think. I agree that it is going to be one tough combine to beat. In small grains, it's just tough to beat a Gleaner. Based on running the both machines in the crops you mentioned, I would put my bets on the Gleaner to be the best performer (capacity, loss, and sample quality) in all the small grains as the lexion has so many moving parts to process the crop that that 400 hp is used up pretty quick in parasitic losses with all of those components. The Gleaner is extremely efficient. When it comes to corn, the lexion probably has a slight advantage because the limiting factor on the Gleaner (at least with a 12 row head) is the clean grain elevator. The lexion has a slightly higher capacity clean grain elevator and will probably be higher capacity than the Gleaner with 12 row heads. 8 row could be different story. Still tough to beat the Gleaner's attributes of simplicity, reliability, durability, and ease of crop changeover, not to mention ease of hauling it compared to the lexion which is 10,000 lbs heavier. I think that's why the Gleaner will remain so popular with custom harvesters - tremendous capacity from a small package.

I have run a R-72 and a 480 R. I ran a R-72 in 1998 and the 480 R last season on harvest. In my opinion, running in small grains over a long day (8-10 am to 10 pm) the 480 R would out perform the R-72 in tough conditions in the morning and in the late evening. During the heat of the day they would probably be equal. In corn, 480 R cannot be touched by any other combine on the market today. With your combines being turned up to 385 HP a 480 R would be the right combine to compare with. Just make sure you compare apples to apples when pricing each. I think they are pretty close in price though. Good luck

Are you sure about the prices being similarIJ We have an R-72 and demoed a 480 and 485 and I agree that there was an increase in capacity with the lexions but we felt it very marginal for the difference in price and complexity. I'm not sure what the new lexions list out at but I think the R-75's are a little over $200,00. That is a lot of money to me but I bet it is quite a bit cheaper than the Cat.

I agree. The big Claas machine would be the one to compare against the R72 and new R75, with the lexion having some advantages in throughput, but the Gleaner does provide superb cleaning at high capacity. And the small marginal capacity offered by the Claas in some crops may not (that's a decision the consumer must make) offset the complexity and extra cost of the Claas. As we know, list prices are not set in stone. Depends on the fire sale the companies may be having to move old inventory at the time.

like I said, if you are going to compare prices, compares apples to apples. Strip down the 480 without CEBIS, auto pilot, 3-D sieves, and other special features and the combine will be comparable in price. Oh and, the cleaning capacity. I think the cleaning capacity of both is the same.