1110 hp for a new season with the JAGUAR 1200.

How has the JAGUAR 1200 performed?

“Our initial expectations were immediately blown out of the water in grass – the 1200 just flew. But it was when we got into some tough, chewy wholecrop rye that we really began to see its potential – it just blitzed through it.

Of course the true test was maize. Despite crops being variable this season, in a good 16-hour day we were sending 2800-tonnes back to the clamp – the 980 would have struggled to hit the 1800-tonne mark in that time. 

Although its monstrous appetite is impressive, what’s more remarkable is the fuel use. The old forager would average 0.9-litres/tonne throughout the season. With the 1200 it’s dropped back to 0.7-litres/tonne – that’s over 20% less diesel for every trailer load, despite having the same 24-litre MAN V12 engine as the 980. It’s quite staggering really.”

What’s the improved efficiency down to?

“Clearly you can’t just put more horsepower into a chopper and hope it’ll cover the ground more quickly. With the whole crop channel so much wider right through from the feed rollers to the chute, the 1200 has no choke-points – it really is a totally different beast.

Aside from the sheer size of the moving parts, having hydraulic rams on both sets of feed rollers means any lumps and bumps in the crop coming in are properly ironed out so you don’t get that surging effect.

That means engine loading isn’t constantly spiking and dropping off. It’s under even load running at 1500-1600rpm all of the time which clearly has an impact on its efficiency.

That’s helped by having a bigger accelerator with greater inertia to blast crop out the spout and, at 310mm diameter, the cracker rollers are just massive. Put simply you’re no longer forcing such a big volume of material through a small gap – CLAAS has done away with the bottlenecks and everything just runs so much more smoothly as a result.”

What is the JAGUAR 1200 like to drive?

“Being bigger and taller the new cab provides better visibility and way more space. It’s also so much quieter thanks to the new hydraulically driven cooling fan which only runs at the speed required.

But by far the single biggest difference from an operator’s point of view is having the option to use joystick steering. Having the ability to pilot the 1200 using the stalk on the lefthand armrest – as well as controlling spout and header functions – makes for a much more relaxed day.

You’re not hunched over the wheel and can sit back in the seat with your boots up on the foot pegs. Although it takes a bit of getting used to, it’s brilliant for headland turns while GPS steering handles the long-work.

Despite being longer than the 980 overall, the new forager turns just as tightly so you don’t feel like you’re driving a big, numb lump.”

Variable speed header drive

"By making both drives to the header variable speed, CLAAS has made every element of crop flow adjustable. On the new chain-free grass pick-up I can alter the speed of the pick-up tines in relation to the auger. That way it’ll better lift sticky, damp grass off the deck and as conditions change throughout the day I can tweak the speed to ensure an even feed into the drum.

On the maize header, I can speed up the Christmas tree top-hats relative to the discs so that in thin crops they grab the crop and actively propel it in the front.”

Knife life

“The new 28-knife V-FLEX cylinder is so much better in achieving consistent chop lengths. It’ll reliably do 4-5mm all day long but is equally happy running at 18mm even with lots of dead maize leaves.

The blades also seem to stay sharper for longer so I’m stopping to give them a buzz-up less often. Now that it includes setting the shear bar, the auto-sharpening sequence saves a huge amount of time – it’s the little things like that that count when you’re under pressure.”

Maintenance

“With the old cone-design of cooling pack gone in place of a flat rotary screen there’s now so much room to get the cracker in and out – a good thing given it’s almost twice the size of the old one!

With its own hydraulic drive and dedicated extractor fan, the new arrangement stays so much cleaner, especially in dry, dusty crops.”

Why CLAAS?

“Having had experience of other makes of chopper I would say that CLAAS is one step ahead of the competition with regard to sophistication.

It feels like CLAAS has got the basics right and each new model offers more and more refinement while other manufacturers are still working on the basics.”

Aside from CLAAS JAGUAR being the best machines on the market in terms of the job they do, they’re just rock-steady reliable. Although we tend to keep our choppers for at least five seasons, we’ll only have one year of warranty cover, such is the faith we have in their reliability.

It’s the same story with all the CLAAS grass equipment. Nothing else is as well built and nothing else can cope with the workload like CLAAS kit can. And, should anything go wrong we’ve got amazing back-up from our dealer Olivers.”