Kubota L5740

By: Jaiden Drought

Date: 27.01.2010

The easy to use and versatile Kubota L 5740

Kubota L5740

Intelligent and easy to use tractor
List of features offer flexibility to a wide range of industries
Easy service access
Cruise control
Small turning circle and high loader reach

The Kubota L5740 test tractor proved to be practical, nimble and extremely easy to operate.

The body

For a tractor of this size I was impressed with the build quality, especially in the front end, which has a solid sturdy front axle and fixed rims.

The tractor has a 55-degree steering angle and impressive power steering-assisted 2.8m turning radius whether in 2 or 4WD.

The L5740 weighs in at just over 2000kg (including front end loader).

The Kubota offers a higher lift capacity on the extendable linkage arms and accommodated CATII linage points, allowing implements to be swapped between the two tractors easily without changing pins.

Visibility from the driver’s seat is excellent to the linkage, drawbar and two rear SCVs.

Under the hood

Under the one-piece bonnet is the 2.4L four-cylinder turbo-charged powerplant. It pokes out 57hp at 2700rpm and 180Nm of torque in the 1300-1800rpm band. The tractor holds its power very well.

Access to the engine compartment is easy and the one-piece bonnet opens wide to expose all areas for daily checks. I was also impressed with the ease in which the engine and transmission filters could be reached.

The diesel cap is mounted just in front of the dash, which allows easy filling to the 54L tank.

In the driver’s seat

Equipped with a three-stage hydrostatic transmission, the Kubota really comes into its own.

Unlike others in its class, the foot pedal is bidirectional and with one rock of the foot you are changing direction. Accompanied with the variable speed dial on the dash, this allows you to adjust the reaction speed for a large range of tasks.

Other features include cruise control, two-speed splitter, Stall Guard and "Auto Throttle Advance". This feature allows you use the foot pedal to control both speed and engine revs like a larger CVT tractor, but keep the agility and manoeuvrability of a compact tractor.

The transmission is smooth and ideal for loader work, however, I found the revs unnecessarily high when compared to the speed, although as speed increases this sorts itself out.

Generally the layout of the controls is good, with cruise control on the left of the comfortable high-back seat and to the right the draft, hydraulic and loader controls. Hand throttle is located on the right side of the tilting steering column along with the various transmission modes located either side of the dash.

The 4WD and diff lock levers are located down below the seat on the left-hand side. The park brake is located in a tricky position under the dashboard by the HST foot pedal, however, pushing hard on the brake pedal releases the brake.

Getting attached

Our test tractor was equipped with a Kubota LA854 front end loader, but the quick hitch design let it down.

The hitch slots into the V-shaped mounts on the bucket, two large levers (which were greased) then have to be jumped on to get the bucket to lock in and pried out with a block of wood to unhitch. This would be much better with a Euro Hitch-type design that incorporated mounting hooks and a self-latching rod for uncomplicated mounting and unmounting of implements. Having said this, it does possess great lift height for this size tractor.

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Specifications

Engine type E-TVCS, indirect injection, vertical, liquid-cooled 4-cycle diesel
Engine gross power hp (kW) 59.0 (44.0)
Engine net power hp (kW) 57.0 (42.5)
PTO power hp (kW) 50.0 (37.3)
No. of cylinders / Aspiration 4 / Turbo charged
Bore x stroke (mm) 87 x 102.4
Total displacement (cc) 2434
Rated speed (rpm) 2700
Battery 12v, RC: 133 min, 582A
Alternater 12v, 45A 12v, 55A
Fuel tank capacity (L) 54
PTO 1 speed: 540 rpm
Type Independent*1
Mid PTO Option
Draft Option
Implement pump (L/min) 37
Power steering pump (L/min) 18.6
Total hydraulic flow (L/min) 55.6
3-point hitch Category I & II
Lift capacity at 24 in. behind lift point (kg) 1350