The other day i went to look at a Yanmar B17 for sale. When I got there I found the machine was well used! The bucket bushing slid around with the pin and various other things that indicated a worn out machine. I am guessing from some of the stickers on the machine, that it was a rental unit from the UK. One thing though about which I was curious--the 2 speed pedal had a bolt under it that blocked travel more than about 1/2 an inch and there was no 2 speed action only the one/slow speed. Do rental units often have such blocks put in to keep amateur operators from hurting the machine or themsleves? If so what other kinds of "limiter" devises should I look for when i inspect a machine? Mike
Funnily enough I was at the UK yanmar importers headquarters today and we were discussing things like this and he mentioned that some hire companies would usually disengage the 2 speed tracking but from what I gathered they did this by actaully disconnecting something electronically (however this may be on newer machines with more electronic gizmos) What UK hire company was it from?
I did not see a sign that said "so and so equipment" But rather I saw--"the renter is responsible to check the oil levels and water. The renter is liable for any damage caused by low oil levels." And other things like that. There may have been something more than just blocking the pedal movement, but that was all that I saw. Interesting about current practice though. Mike
I think it depends on the company as to whether they disengage certain features - I don't really think many do as otherwise they might as well buy a machine without the said function and save some $$ especially as a feature such as 2 speed tracking or a quick hitch could make a companies machines different from their competitors and become a unique selling point. As far as what other 'limiters' you should look for I would of thought the main one would be the very limited servicing and maintenance that some hire machines have lived with!! Good luck with your search.
One other thing i have seen is hire companies fitting trottle limters, meaning you dont get full revs!
I was curious about that--It did not sound like full RPM but I was not sure. It would be definitely something to check if you bought one from a rental fleet. Thanks for the idea. This one that I looked at could very definitely be put in the limited servicing category!! Mike
Crikey, never heard of that!! On a small mini that must really be depressing to drive