Driving impression:  It will be a familiar experience for most grass/maize foraging gangs: The 40-50km/hr trailer men arrive at a stock farm, only to sit twiddling their collective thumbs while the 25km/hr forager chugs on up the road several miles behind. It’s downtime, and it’s inefficient. Hence the launch of the 40km/hr Claas Speedstar, driven here on an exclusive road test

For most silage contractors, time spent moving between sites is a big cost factor. And much more so than their customers would think.

With livestock numbers falling in a number of regions, many contractors are having to travel more miles on the road in their quest to find more acres in the field. Yet this time spent out pounding the tarmac is clearly dead time – the machine isn’t out earning – so any development that keeps the road hours to a minimum must be extremely welcome. What has exacerbated the situation still further is that most of the carting tractors are now capable of travel speeds of 40-50km/hr, focusing even
more attention on to the sloth-like forage harvester.

So the stage was and is set – for the arrival of a GTI forager. And here it is. For 2003 Claas is offering its Jaguar harvester in Speedstar spec complete with a 40km/hr top speed transmission and £16,000 premium over its conventional sibs.

Interestingly, however, initial profi contractor feedback has been that this premium should pay itself back quicker than, say, any minor engine upgrade, such is the cost impact of on-road downtime.

Does the Jag Speedstar run to more than a mere transmission tweak? Claas says ‘yes’, and goes on to list the other features included as part of the high-speed package:
■ Mudguards for the rear wheels
■ 210cm3 hydro pump to give an 8t lugging power
■ Brake system capable of coping with 40km/hr speeds
■ Active shock absorption system on the header
■ A8-type tyres. Standard spec is Michelin 650/75R32s up front and Goodyear 540/65R24s at the rear. Option: The Michelin 800/75R32 or Goodyear 900/65R55 fronts along with Nokia 700/50-26.5 rears.

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