DRIVING IMPRESSION: It would be easy to dismiss AGCO’s rebranding of the Lely Welger Tornado as nothing more than a change of colour. But the engineers have had the opportunity to revamp several areas as we take a closer look at the Massey version, the RB3130F Protec
Since AGCO’s takeover of the Lely hay and forage kit business in mid-2017, little has changed with the hardware except the switch in livery to either Massey’s triple triangle or Fendt’s distinctive green and red colour scheme. Now, though, updates are creeping in, starting with Welger-derived baler wrappers. We take a closer look at the fixed-chamber Massey Ferguson RB3130F Protec (also sold in green as the Fendt Rotana 130F Combi), which is, in effect, an updated version of the familiar Lely-Welger RPC245 Tornado.
Kicking off at the front end of the machine, the first change comes with the drawbar. A heavier-duty affair than before, it now has a ratchet height adjustment mechanism to make alterations more straightforward when setting up the machine to run level.
The pto heads back to a split-drive gearbox above the pick-up, with a shaft that sends power to one side of the machine to run the that powers the crop feed rotor. Within this there’s a ratchet slip-clutch that provides a one-way drive so that, when re-engaging the pto to clear a blockage, there’s more of a ‘soft start’ introduction of torque. These features result in a more balanced driveline loading.
For more up-to-date farming news click here and subscribe now to profi and save
