BCS 853 Two-Wheel Tractor, Honda GX390 Recoil Start

Description

BCS 853 Two-Wheel Tractor, Honda GX390 Recoil Start

BCS counts the 853 among its most popular models, particularly with rural property owners, and the reason is its fourth gear. Like the 852 it has three working speeds and a 9.2 mph transport speed, but on the 853 that transport gear runs in the rear-mount direction, which lets it tow the BCS utility trailer down a lane at more than nine miles per hour. This is the recoil-start version.

A Property Tractor That Hauls

On acreage, much of the work is moving material: firewood from the woodlot, compost to the beds, tools to a fence line. With the utility trailer on the large curved coupler, the 853 does that at road pace rather than walking pace. Swap to the log splitter on the Power Cradle, or to a tiller or brush mower, and the same tractor does the job at the far end.

Larger Tools on Bigger Wheels

The 853 is a larger, more capable development of the 732, with a Honda GX390, a longer transmission and 22 inch tires that help when crossing rough ground or straddling raised beds. BCS designed it for heavy attachments such as the 32 inch brush mower and 35 inch flail mower, and gave it an individual brake on each wheel to make those easier to turn. Differential drive with a lockout lever provides positive traction when needed.

853 Recoil Data

• Engine: Honda GX390, pull start
• Transmission: four speeds, three working plus transport
• Working speeds: 0.9, 2.0 and 3.0 mph
• Transport: 9.2 mph in rear-mount direction
• Clutch: double cone, spring-loaded
• Wheels: 5x12x22″
• Weight with 30″ tiller: 342 lbs

Trailer Loading and Lane Speed

Nine miles an hour feels fast behind a loaded trailer. Load the heaviest items over the trailer’s axle rather than at the tail, drop to a working gear before any downhill stretch, and use the wheel brakes gently on loose gravel. BCS covers the transmission for life on residential use and five years commercially, with three years residential and one year commercial on the rest of the tractor; Honda covers the GX390.

853 or Its Sisters

The 852 is identical except that its transport gear serves front-mounted tools, suiting owners who ride a mowing sulky to distant fields. The electric 853 adds key starting. BCS also compares the 853 with the 749 PS, which swaps the transport gear for the PowerSafe oil-cooled clutch.