# Question about top speeds of tractors made in the 1980s



## Zet (Feb 18, 2012)

I have a couple of questions for research for a novel I am writing:

-- What would the approximate top speeds of average farm tractors made in the late 1970s or early 1980s be?

-- Would Zetor tractors made in the 80s in general have a higher top speed than John Deere and Massey Ferguson?

-- And any exact figure on Zetor top speeds?


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## Thomas (Nov 1, 2006)

Kinda like apples an oranges.
One brand had more models,attachment on models,etc. etc.


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## Hoodoo Valley (Nov 14, 2006)

If it did, it would be neglegible. My John deere does something like about 6 miles per hour, but I'm just guessing.


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## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

Most tractors of that era topped out at 15-20mph with the later ones reaching 25mph in some cases. In Europe, some tractors did have higher road speeds due to the fact that farmers over there drive their tractors on the road more than here. Some tractors these days have a top speed over 40mph (JCB comes to mind), but those are pretty rare. If you want exact numbers, head on over to www.tractordata.com and look up the models you are interested in.


EDIT: I just looked over at tractordata.com and it seems they don't list tractor speeds. I thought they did. Somewhere I remember seeing a chart with each gear listed and the top speed of that gear. It even had a bar graph. Can't remember where that was though.


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## PSJ (Sep 20, 2011)

You can also put in your novel that, anyone who will drive a farm tractor down the road at 40 MPH belongs in a mental institution! I'm talking everyday normal working farm tractors, not some hoped up piece for tractor pulls. Ask someone who's hit a dip or bump in the road doing just 20/25 MPH, there ain't no springs or shocks on a tractor! They bounce like a rubber ball! Imagine that at 40+. PJ


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## Hoodoo Valley (Nov 14, 2006)

PSJ said:


> You can also put in your novel that, anyone who will drive a farm tractor down the road at 40 MPH belongs in a mental institution! I'm talking everyday normal working farm tractors, not some hoped up piece for tractor pulls. Ask someone who's hit a dip or bump in the road doing just 20/25 MPH, there ain't no springs or shocks on a tractor! They bounce like a rubber ball! Imagine that at 40+. PJ


Not to mention the steering gets a bit hectic too.


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