Ursus C-385 / 1201-1604

The large Ursus tractors, designed and manufactured in cooperation with Zetor, were introduced in the summer of 1969. Production began in 1972. The first C-385 models had 76 horsepower, but before the Ursuses arrived in Finland in the summer of 1976, the power had increased to 80 horsepower. In Finland, the power was reported as 82 horsepower, and there were also small differences in other technical specifications compared to the international data. The color changed from red to yellow soon after arriving in Finland. Initially, the tractors were finished in Sweden. The first Ursus models had clearly more faults than Zetors, for example in the electrical equipment. The engines were manufactured by Zetor, but the gearboxes were assembled by Ursus themselves.

The bigger brother of the 385 was the six-cylinder 1201 (rear-wheel drive) and 1204 (four-wheel drive), introduced in 1974. Turbochargers were also installed in both model series, with power ratings of 100 and 146 hp. Before their own six-cylinder models, Ursus had produced the C-3110 model, which had a Perkins six-cylinder engine (100.5 hp). In Central Europe, instead of the 1204 Turbo, the similarly powered 1604 was sold, which featured, among other things, a 4000 kg lifting capacity, a larger fuel tank, and a more robust 12+6 transmission.

Like the Crystal, Ursus had a few advanced features: a flat floor cabin, hydraulic powershift, and draft sensing for the hitch. The cabin noise level reported for the early 1980s six-cylinder models was 78-79 dB, but this figure was not accurate, as later models’ noise levels were significantly higher. Some sources refer to the steering as hydrostatic, but since there is a mechanical connection, a more accurate term is hydraulically assisted.

The Ursus’s road speed remained clearly below thirty kilometers per hour, but from 1980 onward, a Transporter transmission was also available, which allowed a top speed of 38 km/h. This modification was made in Finland by reversing the powershift to be an upshifting gear.

The gear levers were moved from the centerline to both sides of the seat by bending the long levers with bends. The six-cylinder models had a lift auxiliary cylinder, which was introduced in 1979 also to the four-cylinder models. At the same time, the headlights were moved from the sides to the grille. The De Luxe models, in addition to the standard features, also had an air compressor, front weights, a passenger seat, and on the rear-wheel-drive models, front axle suspension and larger front tires.

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