The first self-propelled combine harvester from Claas was the Hercules, introduced in 1953. However, the name was already in use by another manufacturer’s combine, so Claas had to change it to S.F. (= Selbstfahrer = self-propelled). The SF was quite a large combine harvester for its time. Standard features included hydraulic height adjustment for the cutting table and the elevator reel. The following year, the speed variators for both the threshing reel and driving speed were also changed to hydraulic operation. The engine was either a 4-cylinder diesel (60 hp) or a 6-cylinder gasoline engine (56 hp). The threshing reel width was 125 cm, and it had four beaters. The cutting width was standard 240 cm. For export markets, the SF was even sold with a 420 cm header. In Finland, the widest option was 360 cm. The combine could be equipped either with a sack-loading platform or a grain tank.

After minor changes made in 1961, the model designation became SFB. The most interesting fact is that as an alternative to Perkins, Claas offered the only engine they manufactured themselves in their history. The 4.7-liter air-cooled LD 40 engine produced 66 hp. Claas manufactured about 4,300 of these engines in total. For 1963, the SFB was renamed Matador Standard.

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