Forage harvesters: Fendt expands its range with the Katana 50 and Katana 85

Building on the technology of the Katana 65 forage harvester introduced in 2012, Fendt is presenting two new models: the Katana 85 with 850 ch and the Katana 50 with 500 ch.
The Fendt Katana 85 forage harvester will go into production from March 2014. A limited series will be available for the 2014 season.

The Fendt Katana 85 is fitted with an MTU-V12 engine with a displacement of 21 litres, which has a larger cooling radiator than that of the Katana 65.

Developed on the basis of the Fendt Katana 65, the new forage harvester features a chopping drum with a diameter of 720 mm, the largest chopping drum currently available on the market.

Fendt is retaining the V-shaped cracker already fitted to the Katana 65. The use of interlocking V-shaped discs on two rollers rotating at the same speed more than doubles the friction surface for the kernels compared with conventional cracker rollers.

In addition, the discs can be replaced individually as required. As the discs are interleaved, the linear speed of the discs varies between the outside and the centre of the disc. This is said to result in particularly efficient cracking of all the kernels.

Also worth noting is the ability to switch very quickly from grass to maize silage and vice versa thanks to an electro-hydraulic system. At the touch of a button, the V-shaped cracker can be fully retracted behind the discharge accelerator.

The grass channel is moved into working position at the same time.

The Vario terminal 10.4? on board the Visio5 cab

Developed specifically for Fendt forage harvesters, the all-new Visio5 cab carries over the spirit of the controls of the Fendt Vario tractors and the Katana 65.

With its new 10.4? Vario terminal, its new joystick and its Variotronic control logic, it aims to meet the highest demands in terms of ergonomics, visibility and comfort.

The Visio 5 cab features large glass surfaces for better visibility of the header, the discharge spout and the loading of the crop.

Ergonomics in the new Visio5 cab are based on the air-suspension seat and the right-hand armrest, which integrates the main controls of the forage harvester. All functions are operated via the multifunction joystick, the touchscreen Vario terminal and the comfort controls.

Thanks to the large 10,4? screen of the Vario terminal, the operator has all the information at a glance.

The most important information, such as direction of travel, fuel consumption and the position of the pick-up or header, is displayed in the upper right area of the screen. The touchpad gives the operator direct access to the various menus.

The joystick also has three free buttons. These can be assigned to functions such as lighting, the horn, beacons, etc.

The Fendt Katana 50, 65 and 85 forage harvesters can optionally be equipped with the Variotronic VarioGuide program, which can also be added later. The machine itself is pre-equipped for this purpose.

Adjustable engine speed

Thanks to the ECO/Power concept, the new Katana 85 helps limit fuel consumption.

When full engine power is not needed, as in grass silage, activating ECO mode reduces the engine speed from 2.000 rpm to the economy speed of 1.600 rpm. The speed of the machine components remains constant.

Larger tyres than those of the Katana 65/50 give the Katana 85 greater ground clearance. The user can choose between two fuel tank variants.

The first variant is a conventional tank reserved exclusively for diesel, with a capacity of 1500 l. The second variant is a combined double-chamber tank, in which one 1250 l chamber is used for fuel and the remaining 250 l for water to be mixed with the silage preservative. The tank of the Katana 85 is made of plastic.

Choice of three types of front attachments

The Katana 85 forage harvester offers a choice of front attachments for pre-wilted grass, maize or whole-crop (GPS) silage.

The three attachments (whole-crop (GPS) attachment, pick-up attachment and a 10-row maize attachment) are programmed as standard in the terminal. It is of course still possible to configure other harvesting attachments.