From: clarkec@fraser.sfu.ca (David Gordon Clarke)
Subject: Re: Anybody with access to HD's history/files on bikes ?
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 17:22:31 GMT

gerben@cowboy.sara.nl (Gerben Jansen) said

> I have a '42 harley liberator and i would like to learn
a bit
> about its history.  I've been told it was bought in
1942 by
> the canadian army and went to africa at some moment. 
in 1980
> it was imported into the netherlands and rebuild to a
> civil model.
> 

Well, if you want specific history about YOUR bike, I
can't help you, but if you're looking for general
information about the bike itself, maybe I can.

HD had 2 bikes in 1942 that were eligible for use in the
war effort, the XA and the WLA.  The XA didn't make it
too much past the prototype stage at this time, but the
WLA went on to become the bike that the US, and Canada
used.  Below is an excerpt from "The Harley-Davidson
Motor Company : An Official Eighty-Year History"

...anyone who ever rode or serviced a WLA reports
staggering abuse without any sort of non-repairable
breakdown.  Standard procedure for riders included
throwing the bikes down whenever the enemy was nearby. 
The WLA's slid without complaint on their tanks in
several continents, since every armoured division listed
540 cycles in its complement of vehicles.  Nor were U.S.
armoured divisions the only units lucky enough to have
the trusty 45's.  Approximatley 20,000 WLC's the Canadian
version of the 45 and almost one-quarter of wartime
production, were shipped northward.  The Canadian bikes
featured the clutch on the right, brake on the left,
right foot shift and the horn atop headlight rather than
beneath it.  The metal luggage rack, mounted on the rear
fender of the WLA only, was designed to carry a forty-
pound radio the Army never quite managed to affix to the
bike in quantity.  The Canadians did have an "auxiliary
box" atop the front fender, and were less concerned about
being followed: The WLC was shipped without a rearview
mirror.

WLA Specifications
(Training manual no. TM 9-879, no issue date listed)

Type of engine : Two-cylinder, V-Type L-Head, air cooled
Cylinder bore : 2 3/4 in.
Stroke : 3 13/16 in.
Engine (serial) number left side engine base, below front
cylinder.
Wheelbase : 59 1/2 in.
Length, overall : 88 in.
Width, overall (handle bars) : 41 in.
Wheel size : 18 in.
Tire size : 4.00 x 18 in.
Tire type : drop center.
Weight, without rider or armament : 540 lb.
Ground clearance (skid plate) : 4 in.
Fuel : 72 octance or higher gasoline
Hight gear ratio : 4.59:1
Engine sprocket : 31-tooth
Countershaft sprocket : 17-tooth
Rear wheel sprocket : 41-tooth
Maximum allowable speed : 65 mph
Miles per gallon (hard surface) : 35.
Cruising range : 100 miles
Fording depth (carburetor) : 18 in.
Fuel capacity (left tank) : 3 3/8 gals.
Oil capacity (right tank) : 1 1/8 gals
Transmission capacity : 3/4 pint.

> Can anyone tell me more about this bike if i gave the
serial
> number?

My brother in Halifax, Nova Scotia has a '42 WLC.  He
also has the the shop manual for it, which describes the
bike via the serial number, so if you can provide me with
your serial number, I can get the info from my brother.

clarkec@sfu.ca

Newsgroups: alt.motorcycles.harley