USED MACHINERY: If you are after a used drum mower and a Claas WM or Corto becomes available, make a point of taking a look. These are good machines. But you do need to know what to look for on a second-hand model. Here we give you some useful pointers
Tough, long lived, reliable and hardly bothered by the odd knock or mole hill. Typical drum mower qualities that apply aptly to the well established Claas WM and Corto 2.10m mowers. The WM model was introduced by Claas in 1987, a name change to Corto arriving in late 1991. The new name marked the only major modification the mower has received to date, with the Corto’s four V-belts replacing the shaft drive system used on the superseded WM variants.
The V-belt drive was introduced to enable the Corto mower to fold vertically, as opposed to just folding horizontally back, for transport. The aim was to bring the mower’s centre of gravity further forward, helping to improve tractor stability during transport. Hydraulic folding was not included as standard, incidentally, and still adds £295 to the basic price of a new Corto mower.
Unlocking the mower for work is done manually via a cable from the driver’s seat on all models. But on the Corto models with the hydraulic ram fitted, it is important to first lower the mower on the hydraulic ram before unfolding. This is to prevent the mower dropping to the ground as the lock is released. To lock the WM models into work, you also need to shuffle the tractor back until the lock pin automatically engages. On these earlier mowers, make sure the rail to which the locking system is mounted is well-greased and not bent. This enables the mower to move smoothly into position.
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