AS 990 Tahr RC is the machine you bring out when the ground stops being polite and starts behaving like a cliff with grass on it. This isn’t a ride-on, and it isn’t pretending to be. It’s a remote-controlled crawler with enough grip, weight distribution and cutting power to take on slopes up to 50° while you stand somewhere sensible, dry, and not dangling off the side of a bank wondering about life choices.
Its open rotary deck cuts in both directions, which means you don’t waste time turning at the end of every run. You simply go up, go down, repeat, and watch entire banks disappear far faster than a flail or brushcutter crew could manage. It’s built like a compact tracked machine, services like a toolbox, and behaves like it’s got something to prove on rough, overgrown terrain. For contractors, councils and land managers facing serious slopes, the Tahr RC is the closest thing to sending a robot in to do the dangerous work for you.
What the AS 990 Tahr RC Is Built For
The Tahr RC is designed for one job above all others: taking on the steep, awkward, miserable slopes that every other mower pretends not to see. Reservoir banks, dykes, water edges, dam walls, motorway verges, slippery embankments – the sort of terrain where walking feels questionable and putting a ride-on anywhere near it is basically asking for a YouTube moment. With crawler tracks, a low centre of gravity and a 50° slope rating, the Tahr grips surfaces most machines slide straight off.
It’s built for tall, dense vegetation too. Grass over 1.5 metres? Fine. Thick, overgrown embankments? No problem. The bi-directional deck means you’re not messing about with turns – up cuts, down cuts, you just keep moving. That alone makes a huge difference to output on banks where turning space simply doesn’t exist.
Handling Extreme Slopes Without the Drama
The Delta crawler chassis gives the tracks more wrap on the sprockets, meaning they don’t pop off when the hillside tries to shake the machine loose. Low ground pressure spreads the weight so it doesn’t chew up embankments or sink into soft ground. The whole frame sits low and wide, with the engine tucked down for balance. It’s the sort of layout you normally only see on small utility crawlers or specialist slope robots.
Who the Tahr RC Actually Suits
- Contractors running reservoirs, ditches, dykes, verges and steep green assets
- Municipal teams who no longer want operators on dangerous banks
- Solar and utility companies with big areas of inaccessible rough ground
- Forestry, estates and environmental contractors dealing with tall, tangled growth
- Anyone wanting huge output on slopes without needing multiple staff on-site
If the ground is dangerous, inconsistent, or simply too steep for wheels, this is the machine. If someone wants lawn-grade finish, they’re shopping in the wrong aisle.
Real Strengths and Day-to-Day Advantages
Bi-Directional Cutting: No Turning, No Wasted Time
The open rotary deck is the Tahr’s defining feature. Two pendulum blades and a heavy blade bar tackle rough vegetation, and because it cuts in both directions, productivity on slopes jumps massively. You’re not battling gravity trying to pivot a machine that doesn’t want to pivot. You just reverse the direction and keep working.
Service Access That Makes Sense
Despite looking like a tracked robot, it’s surprisingly straightforward to service. The hood folds right up for access, the oil and filter checks are tool-free, the deck layout is open, and the track tension indicator tells you exactly what’s going on. It’s clearly been designed by people who’ve spent time on banks swearing at machines with too many panels.
Crawler Traction That Borders on Excessive
The Tahr digs in and stays planted. Whether the ground is wet, crumbly or uneven, the tracks just keep pulling. This isn’t slope performance based on hope – it’s mechanical advantage backed by proper hydrostatic drives and a chassis designed specifically for aggressive angles.
Built Around Operator Safety
With a 300 m remote range, triple ejection protection and a cutting system that keeps debris inside the deck area, the operator stays well clear of danger. No exhaust heat, no noise, no flying vegetation, no worrying about your footing. Just clear sightlines and full control.
Where It Sits in the AS Range
The Tahr RC is the specialist: maximum slope capability, maximum output, minimal faff. It isn’t pretending to mulch like a Sherpa and it isn’t trying to flail like an Ovis. It’s a bi-directional crawler made specifically for big slopes and big grass, built to outperform flails, ride-ons and brushcutters when the ground angle turns hostile.
Optional Accessories
LED Headlights
Useful for dawn, dusk and shaded banks where visibility drops. Mounted under the bonnet to stay protected.
Operational Realities
Day-to-day, the Tahr is a simple machine to run. Long maintenance intervals keep downtime low, the open deck reduces clogging, and the crawler drive shrugs off the sort of terrain that ruins wheeled mowers. It transports easily on a standard trailer and doesn’t demand a crew to babysit it. One operator, one remote, one machine that behaves like a slope specialist from the first pass.
Why the AS 990 Tahr RC Looks Cool as Hell
The Tahr RC isn’t trying to look like a mower. It looks like a miniature tracked assault vehicle that someone’s taught to eat grass. Low stance, wide tracks, aggressive geometry — everything about it says “don’t worry, I’ve got this” before it even starts the engine.
The best part is that the styling isn’t just for show. The flat body panels, the folding hood and the exposed mechanical layout all exist to make the machine easier to service on-site. It’s the rare bit of kit that manages to look mean and purposeful while also being one of the simplest crawlers to work on. Like a robot from a sci-fi film that someone designed with a socket set instead of a marketing brief.
How Suffolk Mowers Supports Your Machine
Suffolk Mowers supplies every AS 990 Tahr RC fully prepped and ready for the sort of terrain that normally ruins equipment. We check the tracks, deck, drive system and controls before it leaves us, so you’re not discovering issues halfway up a bank that feels like the side of a dam. If you’re new to bi-directional rotary systems or remote crawler mowing, we’ll give you a proper walkthrough — not the usual five-minute handover and a wave.
We keep essential parts such as blades, belts, filters and track components in stock, and anything unusual can be sourced quickly through AS-Motor’s dealer network. Our workshop handles servicing, repairs and warranty work with straight communication and no disappearing acts. Whether you’re running a single Tahr or operating it as part of a slope-maintenance fleet, we keep your machine earning, climbing and clearing — not sitting broken while vegetation gets higher.
Technical Specifications
| Cutting width | Not officially specified (bi-directional open rotary deck) |
| Cutting height | 50–140 mm (5-step remote adjustment) |
| Engine | Petrol engine (AS-Motor spec; hood-accessible for maintenance) |
| Vegetation capacity | Grass and overgrowth up to approx. 1.5 m tall |
| Drive system | Hydrostatic crawler drive |
| Slope capability | Up to 50° (119%) |
| Chassis | Delta crawler chassis with improved sprocket wrap |
| Ground pressure | 0.13 kg/cm² |
| Ejection protection | Triple system: movable flaps + double curtain |
| Blade system | 2 pendulum blades + solid blade bar (bi-directional) |
| Remote range | Up to 300 m |
| Maintenance intervals | Engine oil 80 hrs / Hydrostatic oil up to 800 hrs |
| Service access | Folding hood, open layout, tool-free filter & oil checks |
| Track tensioning | Integrated tension indicator + ratchet adjustment |
| Dimensions (L × W) | 152 × 131 cm footprint |
| Weight | 482 kg |

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