Zen-Noh ZB7001

I was using my Zen noh ZB7001 otherwise known as a Kubota B7100 today and thinking about the term grey (or gray) market tractor. How the heck did they come up with that term anyway? I have had this tractor for 12 years now and always marvel at how tough and simple it is. When I bought it, we lived on a 1 acre lot on the edge of town and I had to commit to a huge landscaping project in order to convince my wife that we really needed this. At the time, it was all I could afford, and I did enough research to be reasonably sure that I would be able to get parts for it before I bought it. It's been a good investment and a great tractor. Everything I have needed I either order on line or get at the local Kubota dealer. Everything I order is for a Kubota B7100 and they are the same as near as I can tell. I have had to replace bearings in the PTO, seals in the lift cylinder for the three point, and a new seat and it's all been right out of the Kubota catalog.

Now we have a small farm and it gets used more regularly than any of the three tractors on the place. When we got our place I about traded it off thinking it was too small to be useful - thankfully somehow that didn't happen. It spends most of it's time with the spray tank and a roller pump attached to the PTO. It's small enough I can drive it across the yard without leaving ruts. The three point will lift the 50 gallon tank when it's full though I would not recommend doing that on a regular basis. It's small enough I can fit it between the crop and the fence lines to keep the weeds under control. We also use it for tilling gardens, snow removal, and grading the driveway.

Just curious if anyone else has one of these little tractors? I have read all about the lawsuit that stopped the importation of used Kubota tractors from Japan into the US. It's really interesting reading - this one must have come in before all of that went down. Someone put the Kubota stickers over the Zen-noh stickers. So does anyone know where the term grey/gray came from? I guess I would probably be in violation of some law if I sold it, so I guess I'll just keep it.

I have an old rattletrap JD 420 around. Stupid thing isn't much of a tractor, is crude as a stone ax, but it gets used more than any other tractor on the farm.

"grey market" in general refers to trade (either the goods, the methods, or both) that aren't out-and-out-illegal (the black market) but aren't quite legal either, and as they're neither black nor "white" (perfectly legal to sell on the open market), they're called grey. Tractors not meant for export but exported anyway are just one area where this happens. I've seen a few of the Zen-noh's at various times and they seemed like tough little tractors, so if it works for you and you can get the parts you need then by all means use it.

One it was before the law suit and two the suit only prevents the dealer importation. You own it and have ever right to sell it. Nothing illegal about that transaction. It is based pretty much on the OLDER b 7100 tractor. I probably sold well over 1a 100 of the B 7100s in their run and the one shot coming is NO water pump . What ever you do clean and clean more on the lower corners of the radiator. Letting one get hot cracks the head and cost a bit to repair.

Same with so called Grey market Yanmars guess the 'official' dealers over here had to put a name on them to sound like some thing shady.Ironic thing now is Hoye Tractor a parts supplier for Grey Market Yanmars is now the only source of parts for some American Imported Yanmars by dealers and some of the Yanmars built for Deere.