The Yardstead

I mentioned in an earlier article that this model is a "gray market" tractor.  This means that this model was manufactured for use in Japan, and later legally imported to the United States.  Yanmar manufactures 2 types of many models of tractor.  One for use in Japan and one for use in the US.  In japan these tractors are mainly used in rice production where there is no need for heavy rotary implements (such as a bush-hog).  For this reason grey market tractors do not have a PTO overrun clutch which is designed to prevent energy from the heavy spinning blades from transfering back to the transmission of the tractor.  The YM 1300d is used in Japan primarily with the PTO tiller seen in the picture above.  The YM 1300d and some other gray market models also have a multi speed PTO.  This works fine with the tiller, but could cause problems in the top 2 gears if used with a rotary cutter (bush-hog).  US made implements are made for a standard PTO RPM which is equal to the 1300d 1st PTO gear, and running implements in the higher gears could cause them to vibrate to pieces.  Other than these small differences these tractors are the same as the models made by Yanmar for the US.  I would recommend adding a PTO overrun device if plan to use a rotary cutter.  I occasionally use mine with a 4ft bush hog and have had some near misses when I tried to stop while approaching a fence.  I had to quickly swith the transmission out of gear to prevent the spinning blades from driving the tractor forward.  You can also get a  ROPS (roll-over protection structure) and PTO shield to add to a gray market tractor.  Hoye Tractor Parts stocks these items along with anything else you might need for a Yanmar tractor.  I have purchased parts for my Yanmar from Hoye Tractor and have been very satisfied with their service, and they seem to carry just about every part as well as english language manuals for Yanmars.  
I would recommend a Yanmar grey market tractor to anyone.  These tractors can often be found at much lower prices than other compacts.  Be aware of the differences as well and take care to  follow all the safety precautions.  Here is a good book full of info about compact tractors: