Thinking of getting my self a Harley WLa or a WLc any pointers?? as the only two people that i know thats had them say they are terrible things!!
some feed back would be much appreciated

email (option): garypitt@talktalk.net

You'll be disappointed.

Please ring me on 07770 876479 any evening and I'll give you a few pointers as I've done a lot of work on them and have purchased a few of them for customers, I've also seen the very expensive results of people who buy them blind without any advice.
Dave

email (option): davmax@ntlworld.com

I thought about buying one for a while...

After looking into it I thought the benefits of the larger engine were largely cancelled out by the over weight specification of the rest of the bike.

It also seems there are a lot that are not particularly well put together..This can be very expensive to rectify afterwards...More so than a Brit bike...

The fuel consumption figures I was quoted by some of the owners I spoke to also made me cringe...though maybe that's what you get if the bike isn't set up well...

On the other hand they sound nice and there is plenty of room for the camping gear...

After a period of reflection I decided to stick with my trusty 'oversize' M20 (which I found in Normandy was faster than a WLA, or at least handled better..That French rider was trying!!)....I don't have any regrets to date...Ian

I've never known a bike use so many parts to do very mundane things, I think there are around 25 parts to make the seat post of up and down, I'm sure on my British bikes this can be done with one spring! Seriously though, they were very over engineered and very good quality, but this didn't really make it a suitable WD bike, add to this the "foreign" method of doing certain things such as the main bearings which can't really be done without special tools. On the whole they were very reliable and a lot of them I work on seem to never have been apart before.
I can't help thinking that the whole thing is over complicated, however it is a fine example of Americas military might.

email (option): davmax@ntlworld.com

When I was considering a Harley I went to visit Ian Cotterell near Weymouth who at the time had been a wartime Harley specialist for as long as I could remember...

He was happy to spend a couple of hours running through some of the finer points with me and showed me the current projects in his workshop...
He had used his own WLC for an extensive tour of Europe without major problems...

However, it soon became apparent that to achieve that degree of reliability the whole thing had to be carefully and accurately built up...

Maybe that is true of all bikes if you want something very reliable, but as Dave notes, the 'foreign' construction methods used and the average owners lack of familiarity with that may make them more susceptible to problems resulting from incorrect assembly...

It's true generally though, the engines are known for their longevity...Ian

is there much difference between WLA and WLC

email (option): roger.beck@node6.com

No, not really, the WLC has the fork links fitted on the outside with a front QD wheel to allow the wheels to be interchangeable the WLA wheel was non interchangeable with fork links fitted on the inside of the forks, the front mudguard marker light is different as are the rear lights. The forks on a WLA have a scabbard and toolbox on them whereas the WLC has a smaller toolbox mounted on the mudguard itself. The WLC had a booster clutch on the handlebar right hand side. The rear rack wasn't usually used on WLC's and they had a variety of rear saddles fitted, but not always. On the whole they were identical just certain parts were different.

email (option): davmax@ntlworld.com

Well Dave, you could write a book about the differences, also on the WLA alone, every year is different! but your summary is a start I guess.

Have many friends who love the WLA/WLC, but it does nothing to me as there are too many of them, Í will keep it with a rare Indian I guess.

Cheers,

Lex

email (option): welbike@welbxxx.net

The first question to ask oneself with a Harley 45" is "Has it got a Sy-reen...?"...Without the Sy-reen, you won't be able to liberate anything.

.......oh and the WLA's were equipped with a baseball bat and catchers glove as standard if you look in TM-07685 under the section for mandatory extra equipment!

email (option): davmax@ntlworld.com

Dave, can you give me any assistance as to how I should mount a Short-Handle cricket bat on the 16H ?

I'm sure Terry made a purpose built clip, along with their badmington, tennis racquet and umbrella clips , I think it had optional wicket clips to hold them in the manner of three bicycle pump clips and the bails can go in the ends of your handlebar grips!

email (option): davmax@ntlworld.com

Remember that the WL/WLA has a foot clutch and the gear level is hand operated. Not easy if you are used to ride a more "normal" motorcycle. The hand clutch, which comes with the WLC and WLH, is quite helpful for starters. It is only for taking away the power from the transmission during the first yards of starting to drive and in emergency situations, not for shifting gears.

email (option): TheScrapyard "at" gmx.net