gone
Member
- Location
- Carlow Ireland
After the first month and 100hrs here is my impressions of the 6160.4 C. Shift V the basic M420 it replaced. Forget the reliability, I have said enough about that before on here, except to say the new has only been back for it's 1st service and the only thing that needed doing was the clutch pedal needed oiling.
First impressions, the cab.
Firstly the doors seem to be braced better and close way better than on the M with the new shaped framing bar the handles are more accessible and the door closes more positively. not a big thing but the doors on the M took a lot of getting use to, these are way better.
The funky new steering wheel, the steering wheel on the M was built to last, brick sh*te house style, there were shards of hard plastic sticking out of it when new that would cut the hand off you, it was just getting smooth when sold with 800 odd hrs and would only stay getting better, good for at least 30,000hrs. The new one is still built to last, but is comfortable and well finished.
Armrest controls, gone is the stupid, awkward, useless, contrary, dangerous, lift switch, along with other functions it has moved to a new multi function control joystick. This joystick controls, the rear lift, 2 spools, F/R shuttle and all gearbox functions, all these functions work well and fall to hand very easily and logically.
Unfortunately also gone are the PTO controls, moved to beside the right hand door and the ASM (automatic 4wd and Diff) button, now under the armrest cover .
Also on the armrest are, a small joystick to control the 3rd and 4th spools (or loader), 4wd, Diff, Engine speed switch, Neutral switch, and Hand throttle. The hand throttle could still do with some protection, because if you try to exit the right hand door or adjust the mirror you will tend to catch the throttle.
Under the armrest cover are all the settings for the automation of the gearbox and electric spools, , but they also moved the ASM and front suspension buttons under there.
The Dash and bulkhead, the new dash is very clear and concise and it seems less cluttered than the M, but still has the stupid clock that zeros every time the deadman is used. The new bulkhead with all the new air vents reduces forward visibility, meaning that were the M was a country mile ahead of all the others the C Shift is only a country kilometre ahead, but if I was buying for a loader I think I would go for the basic spec for the extra visibility.
Lights, very little has changed with the lighting, new funky LED rear and side lights and a better rail headlights for when your using the front hitch. All 6 rear lights are still on 1 switch, so all on or all off and the fuse board is still not up to the power drawn when all lights are on, but Deutz are to retrofit LEDs to solve the problem .
Right hand console, gone is the bloody cross lever for the spools, that use to hit the seat when you tried to work it and you couldn't use it and have the seat swivelled at the same time, (the main reason I went for electric spools). A new manual lift control switch has been added at the back right console about time. Hitching an implement was so dangerous and awkward on the M. All in all the right console has improved.
Small touches, the passenger seat has a tiny thin cushion on it now, but no one is going to sit on it for long in comfort, so that is probably a good thing, people can sit on it in slightly less discomfort, than on the M, for a short time.
The front wiper has too small a sweep and at 6' I have to stoop to look out through it's arc.
The Engine.
What a difference, lively and responsive, it would jump out from in under you, because of the power bulge around 1800/2,000 it doesn't seem to hold on to revs as well above this, also because it is very highly geared (50K at 1,900revs) it can seem a bit dead on the road, but that is basically a 60K gear with revs reduced. It seems heavy on Add-Blue so far and light on diesel, but I have no exact comparison figures (I was finished ploughing when it arrived).
The Shuttle.
Deutz have caught up on the JD 6100/6900 or MF 6100 etc, nearly 30 years on. The shuttle actually works , you don't need to clutch and it's adjustable, miles ahead of the M.
The Gearbox.
I really like the C Shift, easy to use in Manual and 2 Automatic modes . I would have the same complaint with as the Dyna6, the difference between the engine droop and the gear spacings means it can be inclined to pulse between gears. A vast improvement over the M.
Small things.
The toolbox is usable, unlike the M.
The deadman switch has been moved to beneath the left hand door.
All in all very impressed so far.
First impressions, the cab.
Firstly the doors seem to be braced better and close way better than on the M with the new shaped framing bar the handles are more accessible and the door closes more positively. not a big thing but the doors on the M took a lot of getting use to, these are way better.
The funky new steering wheel, the steering wheel on the M was built to last, brick sh*te house style, there were shards of hard plastic sticking out of it when new that would cut the hand off you, it was just getting smooth when sold with 800 odd hrs and would only stay getting better, good for at least 30,000hrs. The new one is still built to last, but is comfortable and well finished.
Armrest controls, gone is the stupid, awkward, useless, contrary, dangerous, lift switch, along with other functions it has moved to a new multi function control joystick. This joystick controls, the rear lift, 2 spools, F/R shuttle and all gearbox functions, all these functions work well and fall to hand very easily and logically.
Unfortunately also gone are the PTO controls, moved to beside the right hand door and the ASM (automatic 4wd and Diff) button, now under the armrest cover .
Also on the armrest are, a small joystick to control the 3rd and 4th spools (or loader), 4wd, Diff, Engine speed switch, Neutral switch, and Hand throttle. The hand throttle could still do with some protection, because if you try to exit the right hand door or adjust the mirror you will tend to catch the throttle.
Under the armrest cover are all the settings for the automation of the gearbox and electric spools, , but they also moved the ASM and front suspension buttons under there.
The Dash and bulkhead, the new dash is very clear and concise and it seems less cluttered than the M, but still has the stupid clock that zeros every time the deadman is used. The new bulkhead with all the new air vents reduces forward visibility, meaning that were the M was a country mile ahead of all the others the C Shift is only a country kilometre ahead, but if I was buying for a loader I think I would go for the basic spec for the extra visibility.
Lights, very little has changed with the lighting, new funky LED rear and side lights and a better rail headlights for when your using the front hitch. All 6 rear lights are still on 1 switch, so all on or all off and the fuse board is still not up to the power drawn when all lights are on, but Deutz are to retrofit LEDs to solve the problem .
Right hand console, gone is the bloody cross lever for the spools, that use to hit the seat when you tried to work it and you couldn't use it and have the seat swivelled at the same time, (the main reason I went for electric spools). A new manual lift control switch has been added at the back right console about time. Hitching an implement was so dangerous and awkward on the M. All in all the right console has improved.
Small touches, the passenger seat has a tiny thin cushion on it now, but no one is going to sit on it for long in comfort, so that is probably a good thing, people can sit on it in slightly less discomfort, than on the M, for a short time.
The front wiper has too small a sweep and at 6' I have to stoop to look out through it's arc.
The Engine.
What a difference, lively and responsive, it would jump out from in under you, because of the power bulge around 1800/2,000 it doesn't seem to hold on to revs as well above this, also because it is very highly geared (50K at 1,900revs) it can seem a bit dead on the road, but that is basically a 60K gear with revs reduced. It seems heavy on Add-Blue so far and light on diesel, but I have no exact comparison figures (I was finished ploughing when it arrived).
The Shuttle.
Deutz have caught up on the JD 6100/6900 or MF 6100 etc, nearly 30 years on. The shuttle actually works , you don't need to clutch and it's adjustable, miles ahead of the M.
The Gearbox.
I really like the C Shift, easy to use in Manual and 2 Automatic modes . I would have the same complaint with as the Dyna6, the difference between the engine droop and the gear spacings means it can be inclined to pulse between gears. A vast improvement over the M.
Small things.
The toolbox is usable, unlike the M.
The deadman switch has been moved to beneath the left hand door.
All in all very impressed so far.