Satoh S650G Bison

[ribertgropius]

I just "acquired" a Satoh S650G Bison tractor as part of moving onto a beautiful piece of land in VA. Had a chance to use it this weekend to mow about 8 acres; it has what looks like about a 60" Woods belly mower (the longest belt I have ever seen!) and it seemed to cut great and handle the slopes well. I believe this has a Mazda engine, 27 hp, four cylinder, about 60 cubic inches?

I have a bunch of questions:

1. Any idea how old this machine might be? The hour meter says 2015 hours; the paint is red and white; and it has a single grill on the front as opposed to some I have seen with a split grill. I don't think it was used for much more than mowing over its life, with the exception of occasional grading using a rear blade on the three-point hitch. How many hours is an engine like this good for? Seems to start and run great.

2. There is a "mystery solenoid" that has been disconnected that appears to have been activated by the hi/lo lever. Any idea what that was for? Some sort of interlock?

3. Anyone know where to find a manual for this tractor? I did find a site on the web, but they wanted about $50 for the service manual, another $50 for a parts manual, and another $40 for an operators manual. I am a CUT tractor newbie so I need all the help I can get.....

Thanks!

Robert

[mark777]

Hi Robert,

The Satoh (Bison S650) was produced from 1973 - ‘83 and the models produced before ‘80 used the Mazda, 4 cylinder gas engine. After the merge with Misubishi in 1980, the core drive train was all Mistubishi (most were diesel).

TractorData.com list the following specifications for your model:

Horse Power
Engine - 25
PTO - 22

Transmission
6 - forward
2 - reverse

Weight - 2105 lbs

You might give Len Sheaffer a call for the manuals, parts and consumables….but I don’t think they’ll be inexpensive as the model approaches rarity. ( Len Sheaffer - Sheaffer town and country tractor www.sheaftractor.net - )

Good luck and congratulations on your new tractor!

Mark