Changing from red to yellow

The yellow ones are right close to the top for small grains. If we weren’t running claas it would be NH.

I am shocked your case would have continued losses. My john deere s series combines are basically the same unit and they do a great job even in hard to thrash crops like flax. In Oats i cant even throw them over if i tried! If the dealerships are both close by, its not too bad but if your case dealership is just a hop and a skip from your farm stick with Case. I used to run New Holland and all the poorly made moving parts and frustration took years from my life. I would love to try case but no dealer close by and i have 5 deere dealerships near the farm.

Thanks kevlar for catching that !

Bit older machine as I run a cr970, but i have been combining beside an 8230 for 5 years now. I dont think my maintenance bill is any higher then his but i would say it takes more time in the off season. Losses on the new holland have been anywhere from even to 1/5 of the case depending on conditions. I get to combine beside machines of all brands as a 1 man show custom harvester and the cr has held it's own very nicely against x230 series case, 500 series lexions, and class 7-8 Deere. When it gets really wet though i cant hide the 100+hp difference though but a 9.90 would fix that. I am at 2300 sep hours now and it has been a reliable machine for me. I average less then 3 hours of downtime a year still

I ran CR9090's for a year after having 9230's and the CR is a better small grains unit. I wouldn't be concerned about maintenance although mine were nearly new. The Belgium built ones are better, I think they are all built there going forward.

If it’s the same as I’ve heard locally......your not gonna like the price of claas compared to a CR.

So i said in the hello section that i would give a report on my decision on buying a new Combine, so here it is.
Season 2021 will be my first harvest in my 36 year farming career that i won't be driving a red harvester!!
2021 will be driving a New holland 9.90.
We decided with the huge amount of money this purchase is it would be wise to look at all colours and have an open mind.
Have always had good harvests with red machines but finding the rotor is maxed out in long straw Barley and wheat and going higher in horsepower is not the answer.
Demoed Claas 8700tt, Ideal 8 this season and CR 10.9 last season.
My thoughts,

Claas 8700tt- the demo was a bit of a disaster, wrong header, no cemos, dealers a bit low on knowledge.
Definetly had better capacity and grain loss than our 7240.
7xl unload auger was awesome, tracks rode well although a bit clunky on hard ground,engine bay and cooling area was great for access and stayed clean, auto greasing is a great feature with so many moving drives and chains, belt feeder was quiet and smooth.
On the downside, still too much cracked grain, drum is noisy and vibrates under your feet, turns like a german tank, lifting the left hand cover up and seeing all those drives is a bit daunting.
About 15% dearer than Case or NH.

Ideal 8- Dealer left us with the machine for a few days after helping us with setup.
About 20% better capacity at the same loss as our Case, grain tank is huge and the unloader is very fast, very simple machine with only a few drives and chains, cab is nice if a bit plain, didn't take long to get used to the controls and driving feel for the machine.
Downside, unloader auger is too low, pre delivery was poor, found loose bolts and out of alignment drives, ran out of Hp and sieve area but is only a class 8, the 9 might be a better fit.
Still think a few more years of development will make this a great machine.
Don't have pricing at this stage.
Not the machine for us yet.

CR 9.90 Smart Trax- demoed a 10.90 last year and was suitably impressed. Local dealer though a 9.90 was a good fit for us.
Drove on a friends 9.90 on Smarttrax and was impressed again, felt familiar to driving a case but with more rotor capacity, better chopper and spread setup than a Case, DFR stone trap is awesome, Intellisence was impressive.
Downsides, More moving parts than a Case, unload speeds only average, intelliview/pro 700 is outdated.
Priced 10k less than a Case 8250 on trax.

Case 8250 on Trax- Simple, reliable does everything well but not outstanding, Case automation works well.
Downside, no increase in capacity to old machine, Pro 700 in need of updating.
Dearer by 10k than class 9 NH.

Didn't look at Mother Deere as i don't think i would gain anything over a Case.

So after many sleepless nights and 36 years of red ownership we will run a 9.90 with a 40ft D140 Macdon next season.

All comments welcome