PRACTICAL TEST: No, not a rabble uprising in consequence of this spring’s UK general election. The Rebell is Köckerling’s first shot at a disc-based cultivation train, introduced at Agritechnica 2013. It’s wide, long, solidly built and will be offered on this side of the Channel from the autumn
As makers put more soil-engaging sections into their big cultivation trains, the longer the machines end up. Köckerling’s Rebell comes in mounted and semi-mounted versions, with either 520mm ‘Classic’ discs or bigger ‘Profiline’ 620mm items. For this test we used a 5.0m, semi-mounted Profiline 500 on some 150ha of mixed soils, incorporating cereal stubble and carrying out late cultivation; a 6.0m version will also be offered in the UK. We didn’t try the 500 on maize residue or seedbed preparation, though the makers reckon it will handle both of these as well.
Rebell and tractor meet at a Cat III or Cat IV linkage drawbar and pivot. Blessing the union is straightforward — just connect up the three hose pairs that deal with folding, depth control and the transport wheels, and then lines for the electrics and brakes. Air or hydraulic braking will be listed for this 6.9t machine. Stand(s) park on the drawbar and all lines run tidily inside spiral wrap after the tractor-headstock gap.
The drawbar is length-adjustable and allows for very tight turns, even when the Rebell is towed behind a tractor with dual wheels. The test unit came with the optional traction booster kit; this adds an A-frame and a double-acting ram, the latter replacing the tractor’s top link. The ram is weighty even for a strong operator, and that begs the question as to why it isn’t on the machine itself. Apparently another maker holds a patent on that arrangement.
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