The New Holland FR Forage Harvester was put through its paces and given the intial driving impressions test over at PROFI Magazine
Powered by a new FPT engine, the New Holland FR 780 put in an excellent performance in our driving impression.
Driving impression
These Eco modes really start making sense when used with Power Cruise, which matches engine speed and ground speed automatically to the current crop flow. In manual mode the engine curve is displayed to show whether the engine is operating within its fuel efficient speed range. To save on juice the engine speed is reduced to 1,700rpm on the headland irrespective of the current driving mode. A quick look at the cab. This provides loads of space and superb visibility, which is important on a forager than on a comb and New Holland seems to have done job on noise damping. The spout up/do function is now controlled from the main joystick. Other points worth mentioning:
¦ The Kemper header may cause cob losses in sensitive varieties,
The cab ticks the operator comfort boxes. The display clearly shows the engine’s current speed range.
Fuel and AdBlue filling necks sit side by side and allow easy top-ups when the side panel is raised. which is what we experienced using the 12row 900SFI. The manufacturer says that special cob trays will sort this problem for the 2016 season. Another option is to go with a large rotary header below 10 rows ¦ Telematics will be available on the FR for this season
¦ The machine is auto steer ready as standard and can be used with a GPS antenna and controller transferred from a New Holland combine
Data sheet
Engine FPT six-cylinder Cursor 16, 16.0-litre capacity, max 570kW/775hp at 2,000rpm (ECE R120), Stage IV (Tier 4F) emissions, with SCR and DOC. Fuel tank 1,200 litres, AdBlue 200 litres
Transmission Hydrostatic transmission, four-speed gearbox, diff lock, four-wheel drive, 40km/hr max. Tyres 900/60 R38 fronts and 600/65 R28 rears
Chopping Four hydraulic pre-compression rollers; 710mm diameter drum, 860mm wide, 1,300rpm at rated speed; two sets of 20 blades cutting 2-13mm chop; two 250mm diameter corn cracker rollers, 750mm wide, 30% speed difference and 126 teeth; 210° pivoting spout Dimensions, weights and tyres 6.97m long, 3.18m wide, 3.98m high, 12,500kg kerb weight, 11.53m turning circle List price £362,622 Manufacturer information for base specific ation machine without header but with 710/70 R42 and 540/65 R30 tyres in maize spec (grass spec is part of the New Holland standard package). ¦ The removable cooling box has migrated to under the passenger seat where it is well integrated
¦ All hydraulic hoses susceptible to damage are now better protected
¦ UK list price for the FR 780 on 710/70 R42 fronts and 540/65 R30 rears but without header and options is £362,622.
Summary: As has now become the norm, the main instigator for farm machinery updates is the relentless requirement to meet stricter engine emissions limits. A case in point is the FR 780, which now utilises the FPT Cursor 16 motor that also appears in the 653hp FR 650, the latter model delivering low fuel consumption rates in a DLG Focus test. The FR 780 puts out 775hp and delivered an excellent performance for our driving impression. We particularly liked the FR’s new engine management system along with its three driving modes.
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