Justed picked up New CAT 289
Traded Old Blue (287B) for a new 289 HI Flow. I live in Houston Texas and we will clear a 3.75 arce lot tomorrow. Put about hour on it today and know the following, this track system ride is outstanding and I believe the high repair ASV days are over! We operated my old cat standard flow mover and the moved some big trees with the groppel bucket. The new cab is outstanding on comfort and vis. The machine lifts slighty better than the old 287. I miss the pilot controls on old blue, however was getting use to ele/hyd controls.
Looks good. I wish there was enough work here to do the same move. That 289 looks good. Keep us posted on how it works.
More pics!
Congrats thats a nice looking machine!! I will be demoing one soon. I did sit in the 289c at a trade show this year and then i sat in a t320. I still dont think cat has bobcat beat on visibility thou. The cutting edge was about the same but bobcat has better side and rear visibility. Somone asked the cat rep if the the new machines were coming with back up cameras thats how bad the rear visibiliy was. Comfort wise it was unreal thou
beautiful!!! i wish you to have good jobs!!!
Action Shot I just happen to have a picture of Dr. W's new machine in action with the mower.
here ya go...:drinkup Welcome to HEF Blue 02 TJ!
How is that 289 holding up. We are in the process of purchasing one i was currious how the machine is performing. Any dislikes or anything in that matter, would love the imput.
The 289 is a great machine but you need to make sure they have the right program in it before it leaves the dealer. It seems they have made some changes and without the updated program it’s a real slug in a mowing / mulching application when you put it under load. They also have a retrofit for the tracks that adds a double idler to the back. The newer machines should already have a double in the front. Without the double in front and rear you will always have to worry about the tracks coming off. I may have personally experianced that little issue once or twice. :Banghead We are currently at 50 hours with a mix between running a mulcher and a mower and the machine is still running strong. It also has a good ride making it a comfortable machine to spend long hours working in during the day. :drinkup
Does the new program you speak of alter the delay in the E/H controls any??? I find the drive control to be quite good with only a slight delay when swapping direction quickly, however I struggle to do any sort of Final trim due to the delay and lack of sensitivity in the loader control. altering the speed control made no difference to the control-ability either only changing its speed once it has reacted late.
Sweeet! Really like this type of machines!
yes it does call your dealer and see about having the software updated and set to fine setting if you dont have the amicks board
Finaly after two months of waiting, my 289C is here i picked it up this morning. Love this machine i am glad i got the cat over the T320, one smooth machine cab is great, machine has plenty of power. I will snap some pics of her tomorrow.
Congrats! Nice "New Year's" present.
Congrats! Enjoy and let us know how it goes.
I love my 289, CAT did a great job! You made the right choice!:usa
I finaly made it to snapping some pics of my new machine.
Well I'll jump in here, too. It looks nice! I do see a Bobcat in the background of that third pic, though...
Ya we used to buy nithing but bobcat up untill around 2004 when we bought our 287b now we are nothing but cats big and small.
Yes the control delay update is nice. If you don't have A.M.I.C.S. spend the money and get it. You can control travel speed from 10% to 100%, Loader Arm and Bucket Speeds and the best of all the joystick delay. If you set it on the 3rd bar it will react like a fighter jet. My customers love it. Enjoy your machines and congrats.
The 9,s Dr.W, Stick Pro,Blue 02 TJ..... How are the new machines doing ? What are your opinions on 7c,8c,9c ? Would the 7,s radial be a good choice for mulching? I know it gives up lift but H.P. is same. If I go vertcal with the 8 is it worth the extra $ for the 8-9 H.P. of the 9 ? Are you having track derailing issues? My local dealer has not found anything on the rear idler change. Do you guys suggest the (amicks) how much is it ? Thanks,
I have a 289 high flow and it does a great job running the Loftness G-2 and the Tushogg.. The rear idle change is a must, as well as keeping a close eye on track tension.. I believe the 279 would do a find job if money was a issue. I had a 277B and it was a great machine. My 289 does not AMICS. These setting can be changed by the dealer. I don't know the cost.
Love the 289, ours is still running strong, have not had any problems at all. I have had to tighten the tracks once, but have not had any problem with them derailing my dealer told me if i have any derailing issues they would put a singel idler on the front i do not want that, who is your dealer in california? I do not do mulching so i can not answer your mulching questions. I am a fan of them 89, we demoed the 79 there was something about it that i did not care for. I have herd about heating issues on the 9c i do not know if cat resolved that issue or not. We did not get the amcs on our machine it is not worth the extra 3000, i demoed a machine with it i used it for a minute then i turned it off for the rest of the day. The cat ctls are a beast there is not another machine that i would recomend.
If you are on flat ground you will most likely not have track issues. It becomes an issues when you are working on uneven terrain like in a mulching application where you are going over roots, stumps and fallen trees. It really does not take much to pop the track off and can really ruin the day. The front has a double idler and has not been an issue for me only the rear. Changing to a double in the rear is a must but still doesn't make it bullet proof.
I am looking at several track skid steers. How is the 289 doing after everyone has used theirs a while? Any problems?
The 289 is holding up good, have not had any problems or complaints with it. After a days work u are still clean and not tired from running some of those other machines. All i have had to do to her so far is tighten the tracks, witch was no problem, especially after doing the 287b a million times.
Amics Stick Pro, $3000 for AMICS? List Price is $715 plus about 1 hour to install. Every machine I sell that is being used for cutting weeds, mulching, or cold planing has it.
When we sat down ordering our machine, $3000 is what my sales man said, he even showed the paper work that had the prices fore all the upgrades. I do not do anything that would require me haveing it, and i was not impressed with the amics, so i was not goin to get it anyways. Sounds like i should of bought my machine from u.
Stick Pro, Thats also a nice 43 that you have there. My question is what is the difference with the controls that were mentioned on here? I haven't sat in one yet, I look at it as why torture myself seeing that there is no work. Are there more buttons to push? Do you have a good view of the cutting edge? Just curious.
Thanks on the 43 compliment, we have her in the shop right now getting some work done to her. I believe the control differences u are asking about is the H pattern and the standard padern. I have tred to run the h patern one time for fun, it is hard if u are not used to it, i perfer the standard patern. The visbility is not to bad to the cutting edge on the bucket, but it also verys on whitch bucket u are useing. That is a good idea on the stay out of the machine if u are just goin to tease yourself, i wat at quinn picking up some parts for my 613 i and they had a brand new 613c sitting down there i just had to sit in, what a mistake that was, i was sad the next day operating my old beast.
I had a 279C for about 1 month. On steep and rough terrain had a real hard time keeping the tracks on....even after I had the double idler installed. Was running a 287C along side and was not having the track derailing issues. The final straw is when a cottonwood log on flat ground popped it off. Traded it in on a used 297C. I'm sure in a lot of situations the 9s will be a better choice than the 7's....but Cat had better start doing a better job of informing their customers of the track derailing differences between the 2.
mustang cat in houston has exellent service and vary smart mechanics in the skid steer department always do me good and no problems
