A friend is considering buying an ex. Wd. Harley Davidson motorbike. (Apparently the British army use them now).
Many years ago I was told that W.D. Landrovers etc. were built to a different spec. than the civilian equivelent, and that the overall quality would be lower as longevity wasn't important. The vehicles had to be reliable for a short time, and so 'sub standard' parts were acceptable. Is this true, and would it apply to an H.D. motorbike.
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Don't know about the motorbikes, but WD Landrovers certainly are built to a different spec to civilian vehicles, but not to a lower standard. If anything it's higher in some areas - peoples lives depend upon them!
Regards
John
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I agree that military vehicles are designed and built without compromise.
But as I understand things, a Land Rover crankshaft for example, might be machined just outside the acceptable limits for a new component. In effect, part worn. This wouldn't be acceptable in a new civilian vehicle, which would be expected to cover 100,000 miles plus without major attention. It would be acceptable and more than adequate for an engine not expected to do more than a few thousand miles. Reliability wouldn't be compromised. If the same standards are applied to transmission components, wheel bearings and so on, a low mileage ex WD Land Rover, in the long term, could turn out to be a poor buy.
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Land Rovers biult for the army are as JS says are much stronger than the normal models, if you compare a Wolf army Defender to a normal Defender, it is a lot differant. The army will do things to vehicles that you and I would never even dream of, and when the bullets are flying, you would want a vehicle that is strong, not one that is going to last only five minutes.
Stephen
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Many thanks to yourself and JS. My information came from an ex REME mechanic who was foreman at the garage at which I was an apprentice during the 1960's So it's probably a bit out of date now. Incidentally, this man was an absolute genius, he taught me many 'tricks of the trade', including jump starting a car with one jump lead and making an inspection lamp using only a 12v battery and a single cell 1.5 battery. I saw him 'right ' an overturned artic. using two small breakdown trucks. I believed him then, I think I still do.
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Unfortunately, there were a lot of bad practises in the 70s and that included supplying poor quality parts to the MOD! However, the last ten years have been a lot better and most of the previous replies reflect this. The Wolf is a very good vehicle, but IMHO with far too much power for its role. Remember that these vehicles will have been driven at high speed over very rough terrain by not very experienced drivers - the average soldier is 21-22! To counter that, most Wolfs are now maintained by Land Rover.
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Steve, presumably the one jump lead starting is with bodies touching, but can you explain the inspection light as I can't even guess this one.
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Richard,
Actually, you need a bit of wire as well, and a pair of pliers.
Take the single cell battery, break it open, remove the carbon rod. Attach one end of wire to battery terminal, use pliers to hold other end onto carbon rod.
(bet you've got it now) Touch cabon rod onto other battery terminal, or a handy bit of chassis. Carbon arc lamp ! Very bright, very hot.
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