How hard is a BCS walk-behind tractor to operate?

I've been thinking about getting a BCS for several years. They look cool on video, but I've never operated a device like that, nor a real tractor. But a few weeks ago, I was watching a video about market-gardening and the woman mentioned she wasn't strong enough to use the BCS and that only one of the people working the farm was, so it didn't get much use. That gave me pause. And I've been looking at threads here and found a few people who said they were hard to use. So now I'm trying to figure out how hard they are. I'm a dude with a beefy skeleton. I used to be strongish and maybe could be again. But I've been sedentary for 25 years and grown fat. And I'm in my mid-50s and not getting younger. Is this something I should be worried about or is it only a problem for small women?

I have had no BCS experience.  I have had a couple of Troy-Bilts that I had zero problems with.

I bought an old BCS 745 about a year ago. It's one of the heaviest models they've made, so presumably the most difficult to handle. I'm just a few years younger than you and I handle it fine. There is a lot of technique that goes into it. When I first got it, I would get tired quickly from either tilling or mowing. Hell, in the beginning I'd get tired just from changing implements! But over time, I've gotten better at finessing the machine and it's now fairly easy to handle. I wouldn't want to run it all day, but a couple hours at a time is fine. I suspect a lot of people try them without the skill to finesse it, get tired quickly, and decide it's not effective. I'd bet that after a few hours on the machine you'd get the hang of it.

Could you rent one and take it for a test drive?

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Could you rent one and take it for a test drive?

That would be great, but it doesn't seem like I have that option. There is a dealer within reasonable range, but they don't do rental and I've been scouring the places around that do rent machines and they don't seem to have any two-wheel tractors.

Before I got my compact tractor I wanted to get BCS or Grillo. What turned me off initially was the price of implements - frequently higher than their real 3pt equivalents. Availability on the second hand market was very low if any.
Then I rented a Billy Goat brush cutter to mow my land. I can tell that I was never beaten up so much after using it for 7 hours. I probably walked over 10 km with dust and vibration surrounding me.
I agree that using it for two hours a day could be acceptable.
At the end I'm glad I got a normal tractor - it helped me a lot when transporting building materials, water, clearing the trees, chipping, setting the stones and of course working the soil.

Yeah, I'd love a small tractor. There isn't budget for it, nor is there a spare machine shed. So what I'm deciding between is a walk-behind or nothing. Also, I'm not hardcore enough to do physical labor for seven hours a day. The two-hour day is much more realistic.

Christopher Weeks wrote:Yeah, I'd love a small tractor. There isn't budget for it, nor is there a spare machine shed.

I totally understand. I bought my used Yanmar for $5000. 900 hours only. Replaced fluids, filters, tires. Original parts are available at John Deere dealerships. It's good to have a storage shed, which I don't. I cover it with tarp.

my reaction to someone telling me they aren't strong enough to operate a BCS is general befuddlement.  My second reaction is, then you are using it wrong.

but I get it.  Most walk behind tillers are operated by people in a way where you use sheer brute force to handle the machine.  Truth is, you should just be there to guide the machine, and let it do the work.

I used to have a troybuilt.  If I grabbed onto it and pushed down, I could stop the machine in it's tracks and dig a hole.  If I did that with a BCS, it would tear my arms off.

Frankly, I found the BCS much easier to operate physically.  Because as stated, you just guide it.  Put it in gear, use the hand controls, let the machine do the work.