PRACTICAL TEST: When combined with a 3.0m front mower, the Kuhn FC9330 RA delivers a mowing width of 9.30m. This rear-mount model is an impressive machine but as it weighs in at 4.0t and carries a sticker price not far shy of £95,000 it is weighty in more ways than one. Here we take a closer look to see what it has to offer.

Following an initial driving impression of the Kuhn FC9330 RA in profi 4/2022, our findings here are based upon a much longer stint with the mower, working extensively from first to the last cut in summer 2022. From the outset, there are two points to consider. First the mowing combinations weight proved a challenge for tractors weighing south of 10 tonnes. More on this later. Second, a fully specced up FC9330 RA will retail for a shade under £100,000. The mower is a quality piece of kit but that is a big sum.

Solidity starts at the headstock
Coupling to Cat III and IVN linkages, the meaty headstock houses the Kuhn Non-Stop safety system. This is designed to provide breakaway protection for the cutterbar, with a gauge showing the pressure on each section, which we typically ran at around 100bar. In a breakaway, the system will actively raise the relevant side by 30cm and swivel it back through around 17°+ before automatically returning to its work position.
Another feature is the long-standing Lift-Control, a hydro-pneumatic suspension that allows simple ground pressure adjustment depending on conditions to optimise ground contour following.

Although we found the routing of the hydraulics okay, coupling up to the tractor would be easier if the hoses were longer. Accessing the couplers is easy, the front deck curtains/skirts automatically sliding back and out of the way when the machine is folded. The curtains can also be hooked back onto the frame to make checking and changing the blades easier but with the caveat that the hooks that hold them back struggle to secure them if the skirts are dirty and wet.

A weighty consideration
Since our initial drive, Kuhn has revised the chassis to move the mower’s centre of gravity forward to improve weight transfer. The mower is solidly mounted to the tractor so there is limited sway during rapid headland manoeuvres but there is no disguising its weight which increases as the mower attracts the usual coating of grime in work.

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