Hi Buzzard,

$150?!? Better show up after dark!

The 725 is a solid axle machine with 5 speeds forward and 2 speeds in reverse in rear-mount mode (with a tiller). 5th gear is transport and should not be used except at idle to get where you're going faster and in conjunction with a trailer or sulky. It has 2 gears forward in front-mount (with a mower) mode. The shifting is done with a main shifter with three speeds and reverse and a secondary shifter with hi/lo. If it's an early one, you might have the straight through shifter with notches. I have this on a 735 and really prefer it to the straight-through shifter without notches that came later.

They came stock with 4 by 8 tires on one piece rims but could have 4 by 10s on two piece rims. The 4 by 10s on two piece rims are more desirable because they allow for a higher ground speed, more clearance under the transmission, and more wheel width options.

The 725 came out with an Acme 8 horse, but it could have a 10 horse as an option. i would do a little digging in the engine before I just wrote it off as a lost cause. Those Acmes were just about indestructible. If it's a simple matter of cleaning up the carb and replacing the oil, doing that would be a far better option than re-powering it. Unfortunately, if it needs parts, you may be SOL as Kohler killed Acme and parts are getting scarce or not available. Joel at Earth Tools is your best bet for Acme advice.

In order to replace the short tapered shaft Acme engine with a 1 inch keyed shaft standard engine, you'll need an adapter kit for $180. If you're fool enough to think you need more than 11 hp on this machine, the adapter kit will cost $320. This, plus the cost of whatever engine you buy.

NEWS even to me - I was just on Earth tools' site and Joel now offers a 9.5 hp Kohler direct replacement engine! No adapter necessary! You'll have a hard time overpowering a 9.5 horse on a 725. $459 will get you a new engine you can directly bolt on this machine.

At some point, you may desire a machine with locking differential. If you buy this one now for $150 and fix it up for less than $500 more, I can assure you you won't lose money on it. it's worth $900 to $1200 in good condition. I ran a 205 for several years, then upgraded to a 715, and now run an 830 I mounted a diesel engine on. I've never lost money on buying a selling a BCS. They're fantastic machines.

Good luck!

Thanks,Bill.I was beginning to think no one would respond.I'm going to buy it,and the owner says it has very little use,though it's been sitting.It was purchased by his mother who only used it for a small garden.He believes removing old gas,cleaning the tank/carb,replacing plug might do the trick.He has I'm really looking forward to picking it up later this month.It comes with a bunch of spare parts,and the manuals from both BCS and Acme.

ibuzzard: Any possibility you have a parts diagram for the carburator on the acme motor? I too have a BCS tiller with the 10hp acme & have rebuilt carb but not sure if all the parts are there for the carb. Any diagrams for the acme would be most appreciated if you could e-mail or fax to me.

Thank-you
TEKVW@msn.com

fax: 724/865-9648

Tim Kennedy

If you need a parts breakdown or shop manual you need both the model number AL290, AL330, ALN290 ALN330
and the serial number stamped into the block. With this information I can email a copy to you. Regards,
614-361-5343

farmerboybill

Do you have the model of the Kohler engine you say it could fit the machine?

I have had no luck with earth tools at all there is one Kathy , answering my emails with no help at all i asked for Joel's contact information and there is no reply from her...

i would appreciate any help

I dont think i have the same harvester as you but they should work the same i believe i have the 622 BCS harvester , but it came with VT/88 Engine and i would really like to buy a new one , that can replace the old one...

Regards.