Het zat ergens achter in mijn geheugen en ik heb het even opgezocht.
Kwasaki bouwt een Off-road diesel voor het amerikaanse leger
Ik lees overigens op het net dat deze motor nu in Afganistan ingezet wordt.
Type: M1030M1
En nog een lap tekst
The photo at right shows the current issue M1030 M1 Diesel Kawasaki motorcycle approved by the US Military. It's expected to be adopted by Great Britain and the Pentagon's peace keeping forces as well. This machine (with a kaki paint job) is being deployed with forces near Afghanistan now. It's basically a Kawasaki KLS 650 that has been modified to run on diesel fuel instead of gasoline. Motorcycle are the last remaining vehicles in common use on the modern battle field with a need for gasoline. The 584cc water cooled engine puts out 24hp. and can get up to 120 MPG. The diesel powerplant is much more durable than it's petroleum burning counterpart and has even better cross country ability. It produces the desired bottom end power for low speed maneuvers and ascending steep grades with it's re-geared Kawasaki transmission. Maximum speed is about 80 MPH. It should also fair much better in submerged conditions like other military diesels (no spark plugs or wires to short out).
The most important reason for the diesel changeover is the supply of fuel to forces in the field. Now the bikes can drink from the same jug as the rest of the motorpool. Just pull her right up between those Main Battle Tanks and fill 'er up! With the induction of this bike into the ranks, gasoline is virtually eliminated from the supply chain as strategist and planners have worked towards for years. Not to mention the fact that you really don't want a gallon or two of hi-test between yer legs in a fire fight. You have better odds on shrapnel passing through your diesel tank without igniting the liquid.
The United Kingdom Defense Procurement Agency is considering the Kawasaki fighting bikes for their forces and tested the Marine Corp model at Chertsey some months back.
The Crown reports of the new Kawasaki:
"The driving force for this revolutionary motorbike engine design is the need for a single source of fuel on the battlefield. Other tangible benefits to the design include significantly better fuel consumption; lower emissions; better cross-country usability and greater low down torque. The prototype design is the only contender at the moment for the new general purpose, cross-country dispatch bike for all three services. An air-portable version for the Joint Rapid Reaction Force is also planned, together with further variants for the Royal Military police."
"The pre-production bike is being developed and evaluated in conjunction with the United States Marine Corps. The requirement is for a good all-round bike, simple to ride cross-country, powerful, reliable and easy to train soldiers on. Other NATO forces are interested in the design and there could be a large export market in the developing world where diesel is easier to source than petrol. Further civil applications include lightweight, high-powered industrial diesel generators, All Terrain Vehicles and quadbikes."