[Closed] Land Rover Defender 90 - easy to live with for bike duties?

Ive always thought 90's were too short and 110 too long - they should have made a 100 lol

Do you drive circa 100miles regularly? You might also become tired of sitting at 50mph on the slow lane.

A full bike won't fit in a 90, unless you remove the front wheel, or drop it over the bulk head (if it has one). Well, none of mine do anyway!

Ive always thought 90's were too short and 110 too long - they should have made a 100 lol

they did, well an inch longer than that

Thanks goldenwonder, i kind of figured front wheel off would be a necessity which im not too bothered about, its still quicker than arsing about putting the rack on and strapping everything down. I get out regularly and am sick of it now, buying a car after years of vans was a definite lifestyle mistake!

could you not hang the front wheel ver the back door? (with suitable protection between bike and door)

Limited space in the back of a Ninety as has been said.

I can get one bike in fully assembled diagonally. Any more and front wheels at the very least will need to come off. A OneTen is much more practical.

My standard diesel will happily cruise at 70mph + despite Hora's input 🙄

As many will tell you, driving a Land Rover is an acquired taste; don't expect it to be like your average car. It's not!

easy to live with for bike duties?

i hear it works out quite well for dyke beauties though

igmc

I have had several 90s and in the end frustration with the surprising lack of space drove me to a 110. Very much better. Once you get used to life at a different pace, Defenders are fine, don't let it put you off. But don't think that you'll be able to 'chuck the bike in the back and go' with a 90. The least you will have to do is remove the front wheel.

Even then, the 110 is in reality not much bigger than a decent estate car though both internally and externally. They look much bigger and more practical than my experience over the last 5 years living with them would suggest. Still, great cars though despite the obvious comfort/speed/reliability/cost/space issues!

psling - cheers, for that. Yes i dunno what that hora guy is on about? Its a P reg so 300 tdi with all the trimmings, happily sits at 80 odd so ok for the very few motorway miles i do and handy with roof rack for all my trail building kit/timber.

I may well buy it and see how i get on, always trade up to a 110 later if need be.

psling- aye very noisily though. A friend drove one from Edinburgh to Manchester and she was mentally thoroughly exhausted.

OP- are you just asking for positive noises from people?! I'd love a Defender but its also a compromise in a few areas.

Agreed. You don't buy a Defender for refinement, but they aren't unbearable, and absolutely fine as an everyday car. Being so high never fails to put a smile on your face. It just feels so different from anything else out there.

But they aren't a bed of roses as I hinted at in my last post. You will after a time look enviously at the smooth, fast comfortable cars wizzing past you on the motorway as your ears bleed at 70pmh from the engine/wind/transmission/tire noise.

My TD5s would happily cruise at 65/70. My latest 90 (with the new common rail Transit diesel) will happily cruise at 80 (it is speed limited above that anyway).

Oh, and somewhat strangely, it is the only car I have ever owned where the fuel economy is the same urban/extra urban. Around town in stop/start traffic it is surprisingly frugal compared to a normal car. It's just that the economy doesn't improve on a longer run. If anything it gets worse. As several people have said - Defenders - they are 'special'!

People say that every car enthusiast should own an Alfa at some point in their life. I disagree. Everybody should own a Defender. You'll either love it and never drive anything else, or hate it. Either way, at least the experience will have been unlike any other car.

i take it you were in there with her then hora

oh and everyone knows girls can't drive defenders

Landrover made the freelander specifically after some bra burning womens lib types tried to sue them for not having mirrors on the sun visor of the defender

I had a 90 TDi my bike went in complete at an angle, plus lots of gear.
Mine was the van i.e no windows, so good for security and changing in. Plus no carpets back or front. Great it was.
70/80 was no problem, even fully laden it doesn't seem to make any odds in a Landrover.

hora - No, but a friend of a friend once drove one and it was noisy is about as much use as 'i knew someone who saw a (insert bike brand you dont like) crack at the head tube'

I understand there may be drawbacks, but my usual routes, number of long journeys, what i have to carry, the fact i dont have a wife and kids to fit into it as well do not seem to be an issue. Thanks.

Hmmm I probably fall into the cant see the point unless you need it for a farm etc-type then. I drove a mates (SWB) and it felt like I was sat ontop of 6 mattresses- body roll and understeer all at the sametime. Not for me.

If I lived in the sticks and had the use of another car- then yes.

Saying that - deep down its a childhood thing. I actually have a open-backed SWB landy toy on my desk from when I was 6 😀

plus there is no way bingo could get into a landy without a step

mans car

mans dog

mrmichaelwright - ah yes. So if I bought a Staff that would automatically make me a mans man? 😉

Sun Visor? That's for deflecting the rain that comes though between the windscreen and the roof from you!

After having continuously owned and driven numerous models from 1955 Series I onwards over the last 30 odd years, my current 90 is like a luxury limousine. My good lady struggles to get in without a step ~ not sure if that's a plus point or not... 😕

Slight hijack - has anyone tried an old classic range rover with the back seats stripped out for chucking stuff in?
The Defender is too cramped for me but a Rangie could be ideal.

I was very close to buying one a few weeks ago, having driven them a lot in my early twenties.

Then I went for a test drive in one and all the memories came flooding back - nowhere to put your right arm or left leg, piss poor heater, mild deafness afterwards, rusty door frames clattering shut, crossmembers evaporating into dust...

I then thought about the prospect of a trip from Surrey to Newcastle to visit my parents, and walked away.!

The best there is off road, but at a sacrifice, the ideal second car!

Ended up buying a Shogun instead! - full set of BF Goodrich All Terrains on the way 8)

Just sold my 90 - not really baby friendly. It was great for the bike though. I found it best to take both wheels off and put them in across the back, I got 6 full bikes in once. Best thing was not worrying about the mud - just hose it out. The dog was scared of the noise in the back but he's not the bravest of dogs.

Ive got a TD5 van back (no windows) etc. Its absoloutely brilliant as an 'everyday car'. I can easily fir two bikes in with just front wheels off. All my kit goes in a storage crate thing and sits on the floor between the two wheel arch boxes. Front wheels as per other replies go against the bulk head.
Buy it - like you said you can always change and you will not lose any money on it through depreciation if you sell within a year.
I can't see myself ever being without one now!!

Got a 110 Van 300TDi

They are a real marmite car 'I love it' but lets be realistic it's rubbish! It leaks water in, it's got the turning circle of a small oil tanker and anything over 30mph you have no chance of a conversation.

However bikes go straight in no problems wheels on. You can get it fithy and it just doesn't matter. It's cheap to run, cheap to insures, cheap to fix you can just leave your kit in it and if you really want to you can sleep in it. It will do everthing you ever want it to do. Just don't expect to be comfortable.

As far as living with it goes, I'm a real Land Rover fan (not quite the bearded, swollow'd t'manual real ale type) but still a proper fan.

Would I have it as my everyday only car...... No (that would be silly)

Would I be without it.....No (that too would be silly)

I had a 2004 TD5 110 which was great fun off road, but I only off roaded for fun and ended up filling it with dents and scrathes! for the other 99% of driving it was crap, got blown all over the place on motorway, was noisey, was so uncomfortable, and load space was less than an astra estate.

Then I got a Range Rover, which was way better to drive, it had air suspension which means you can drive it like a car. sadly the engine "went" at 40K miles! I got that fixed for a paltry 5K and then the electrics went haywire, it wouldnt start, the air suspenion computer was eratic. Oddly though I sold it with only 500 depreciation over 12 months, or 5500 if you count the engine!

All in all enough to put me off buying anything related to British Leyland again.

for bike/dog/family the new Scudo Panorama hatch back is a dream. drives like a car and is cavernous..

bikes in car with secdond row left up (5 seats):
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and road bikes (this one is a 58cm Allez) fit in side ways:

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and with the door shut!
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and hardly touches the sides on ones driveway:

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Years ago, my dad had a 90. He was always going down the woods shooting (actually in the woods, not just to the woods), has a farm etc. He sold it within a couple of weeks of buying it. It would go anywhere in the woods, but they are bloody awful as cars.

I've got to say from my experience of being in modern ones, I'd never pick one as an everyday vehicle. There are any number of japanese 4x4s that'll do 80% of the off road stuff but quieter, comfier and more reliably.

That said, having been in and driven a couple of 4x4s, I'd never have one unless I actually needed to go properly off road on a regular basis. They're just horrible - the body roll is terrifying. Vans are far more civilised road vehicles.

Comfort is an acquired thing. When I first got my 110, it felt very cramped and upright, but I soon got used to it, and I actually quite miss it.

We took ours to West Wales an France camping, from Scotland, so they aren't that bad for distance - and it was a 2.5l thirsty gutless wonder.

Still miss it though - bloody kids! 🙁

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Definately varies by person to person. I found the girlfriend's Golf a bit wearing when we drove around France, and that's a relatively quiet and civilised thing.

I did a couple of months doing 1000 miles a week in an old Citroen Van at 85mph, I think that did it for me driving anything with a lot of road noise 😆

used a 90 at work, good fun i found 🙂
limited room for bikes, even a bmx
saying that, it was loaded with tools ..
the towing power is quite immense too, ours would tow a combine harvester header without problems
reliability issues however, and ours leaks in the rain ..
gearbox noticeably knocks too when changing gear
you can pull away in third though (just), which is quite impressive

Only thing I can think to add is that landrover 90's are no good for tall drivers, except the very latest

the bulkhead means my 6 foot 3 frame is realy cramped behind the wheel

Any further news? Did the OP get one?!

I love em. I drive one for work every day and its ace. No where to put your right arm...wind down the window! Heaters are brilliant but the gap in the front vents let all the cold air in!
'They should have made a 100" one' they did its called a Range Rover Classic. They are cheaper than 90 (no off road scene tax), classic insurance, they drive beautiful if they have been looked after, the v8 auto is gorgeous (OK so its a bit thirsty 8O) and the rear seats fold and flip making the space in the back massive. I sold mine to get a camper but if I won the lottery (just to fill the tank up) I'd get a RR classic instead of a 90, its a pretty easy swap for a 200/300tdi engine transfer and gearbox from a Disco as well.
If you get a bike rack for the 90 (as mentioned its a wheel of job to get the bike in) get the one that hangs from the spare wheel. I didnt and its a faff when you forget to put kit in the back first, then you have to take the bike and the holder off again!

I've got a Defender 110, although if you want to be pedantic, it's just a Land Rover 110 as it was made the year before they started calling them Defenders.
I can get two bikes in the back and still have room to sleep in the gap in the middle.
I think if I had a 90 I would cut the centre of the bulkhead away so I could get a bike in with the front wheel poking through between the seats rather than take the wheel off.

discovery commercial?more room and more comfortable.

i've ran a 90tdi and agree there's not a stack of room inside, although it was fantastic with plenty of power (compared to the series 3 petrol i still own).

Mrs has an import 300tdi disco and aside from the odd electrical issue, it's a great vehicle. (also cheaper than comparable defender).

there are plenty of specialists around who know how to look after them and servicing is pretty cheap.

I went to TDi Disco from TDi 90, just a bit nicer as a day to day car.
I have the rear 1/3rd seat down and my bike goes straight in.
Comfy, quickish, and cheap cheap cheap in every way.

I do miss my 90 though 😥

There not great just for driving around, use 110 and its ok, but i don;t like driving really anywhere in it sounds like a tank and inside is a bit bland. If i was looking now double cab pick up would be pretty nice, just chuck it in the pick up bit and go. 110 doors aren;t that big either if you get a full cab model not a half option cab.

all down to how much space your used to, always harder to get used to a smaller vehicle when you're used to wheeling the whole bike in, but a 90 is no worse for space than a hatch like a golf or focus, just no interior to worry about, have seen a 222 go in sideway wheels off, so must be reasonably wide

so far had through work a v8 90, 3000tdi 90 (far too modded for long road drives), 110 Hi-cap TD5, 130 TD5 and now the TDCi 130

was a brief stint with an L200, but it slipped out a field and ended up on its roof, Jap 4x4 have poor traction and cart springs

and if you get the roof rack, don't deck it in ply, that was a long fall from the lifted 90

what you want is [url= http://www.lr-mad.co.uk/6x6.html ]HERE[/url]

personally I'd love a Rubery Owen Powered Trailer and Land Rover Forward Control 101"
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a 200 or 300tdi discovery would be a good bet. More comfort and economy than a 90 or 110 due to higher gearing. oh yeah and its a 100" wheelbase with plenty of room to get bikes in with just the front wheeel off.
Probably the most bike friendly landy.

If you are anywhere near London or likely to be going there its worth bearing in mind that some Defenders will be non compliant with the Low Emission Zone [LEZ] by October. Could cost you £250 per day. The LEZ covers all the London boroughs. If you have a reg no. you can check on the tfl web site. IIRC pre 1973 ones and TD5 onwards should be OK, most TDi Defenders won't, although TDi Discoveries will. Like someone has already said early Discos are better all rounders and have a bit more space but don't have the character. Its also getting hard to get a good one.

I didn't realise until recently that Walthamstow is in the LEZ. I guess it's another excuse to move out of town as i'm really hankering after a 90.

Or get a petrol one - the LEZ only applies to diesels.

Disco floor panels rot badly. If you cant open the rear door properly dont buy it. The engines last for ever though, my boss just sold hers with 250,000.

Use my 110 hardtop as my daily driver, (long) DH bikes can fit in no probs stood upright. Friends 90 will only do bikes with the front wheel off.
110 hardtop/vans are the cheapest Defender to buy-although if you've found a good 90 then go for it, it wont loose any value even if you sell it if you dont like it.

Change the transfer box to one from a Discovery (dead easy&cheap to do) if you do lots of m-way miles.

As above MK1 Disco's are cheap but complete rot boxes.

I didn't realise there were so many fans on here!!
I love mine. Wouldn't be without it.

Mornin all..
Im borrowing the 90 next week to see how i get along with it and as soon as i mentioned it at work a guy with a 300Tdi Disco mentioned he might be selling that and also may take my Volvo off me. The Disco is very good condition, 3 door with no sunroof which appeals to avoid some of the corrosion issues. Borrowing both to see how i get on.

London? Are you mad? Having lived there for a year nothing boils my piss more than that place... although i am going down on Friday for a christening for the first time in 9 years. Has it got any better?? 😉

Ive always thought 90's were too short and 110 too long - they should have made a 100 lol

rechassis a defender and you can get a 100" with an Ibex:

http://www.ibexvehicles.com/

Mmmmmm looking at the Ibex that's the sort of vehicle I dream of but won't afford!

Used to have Series II on the 88 chassis back in the 80's - I had to sell it when work took me abroad. Annoyingly someone a couple of miles away bought it and put it on the Range Rover chassis (if I'd had the money I'd have done that!) and put a V8 in it. I still see it occasionally.

I still hanker for one but can't justify it.

DaRC_L
Thats what I intend to do. The Series 11 is, in my eyes, one of the most beautiful looking cars ever made!!

oh and everyone knows girls can't drive defenders

Only those who haven't met my friend Em.

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🙂

The only advice I ever give to people wanting Defenders - and I speak from experience as a Land Rover nut - is that they go missing. I don't know of another type of car that you can be so sure will get stolen. They're the best car in the world, by far and away. The criminals know that too.

In fact I must go and check on mine, wonder if it's still there.

Oh and I always managed to get the XC susser in the back of my 90 (with bulkhead and dog guard) with both wheels on. There's just a knack you have to learn 🙂

"Im borrowing the 90 next week to see how i get along with it and as soon as i mentioned it at work a guy with a 300Tdi Disco mentioned he might be selling that and also may take my Volvo off me. The Disco is very good condition, 3 door with no sunroof which appeals to avoid some of the corrosion issues. Borrowing both to see how i get on."

Pull the boot carpet up and poke around with a screwdriver-marvel at how a big hole appears, check the inner wings, inside of the lower sills, lower boot lip 'crossmember' unless its a Jap import, or been waxoyled from new-it'll be rusting somewhere.

Cheers for the input from the experts/enthusiasts - keep it coming.

As said, there's much more space available in a 110 - handy for weekends away. The 90 is better for being more manoeuvrable and is better off road.

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Heres mine!

My GF wants a Disco, I'm after a 90. I don't really think I stand much chance TBH.

Maybe a Disco is more 'sensible' anyway.

Lol, that first pic is going to go down well on here Joe.

This is mine:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36945553@N07/4241339645/
I apologise - I can't for the life of me work out how to get in on here. Right clickign it to find the URL for it only gives me the above, which doesnt seem to work when encased with the "IMG" button?

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Success!!

One of the reasons I love my Lanny is because..........

....my wife can fix it?
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er nope, its because it has plenty of room for stuff like this....

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that after 20 minutes at 60mph to the next services.......
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becomes a little tasty snack.......
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(chicken breast wrapped in parma ham cooked with a little garlic butter!)

We've perfected bacon butty's , garlic prawns, we did some potatoe daphinoise (but over cooked it), sausages, braising steak and loads of other things on the way to places, nothing funnier than turning up at a campsite, opening the bonnet with fellow campers tutting at the unreliable broken down Lanny only to remove your cooked food from the engine bay and crack an ice cold beer open from the on board freezer.

Said it before and I will say it again

Mitsubishi Delica L400

Drives like a car, has more toys than most ars and goes offroad as well or better than a defender.....fact as I have towed a defender out of mud.

Seats are all movable, collapsibe, turn to beds, and i have had 4 bikes fit in upright with wheels on.

cheap to buy and same economy as a landy.

Only downside is that most are autos and the looks are not to everyone's taste...

Oh!! The only thing i like about the defender is the looks, it does indeed look like a proper offroader, but if you do very little offroad I think its the wrong car for you

Oh!! The only thing i like about the defender is the looks, it does indeed look like a proper offroader, but if you do very little offroad I think its the wrong car for you

It is THE offroader.

Another point for Landrovers is that they simple mechanical things that last a long time even if you never go offroad in them. Yes they may have oil leaks and the odd reliability problem-thats because at the age those issues appear 'normal' cars are in the scrappers. You buy a Lanny and you have it for life. Mines 20 year old, it'll still be with me in another 20 years. The Sooty Van L400 that once pulled me out of the mud from 20 foot away with a towrope will be long gone.

Why not buy a car, and if you feel the overwhelming desire to go off-road then use your mountain bike. That way you cause about 0.1% of the erosion you would in a Land Rover.

The Sooty Van L400 that once pulled me out of the mud from 20 foot away with a towrope will be long gone.

but landys are a bit like triggers broom...new/rebuilt engine here, new gear box new diffs there etc... 🙂

Imprerssive culinary skills there!! Must try that!

rnp i used to love doing that when in the army 😉

commercial discovery will fit the bikes with the wheels on and is far more comfortable than a 90.

I've had all sorts of Landys from Series One's to 101's to Defenders to Coil sprung trials motors.

Last Defender I had was a TD5 110 CSW (after my previous 90 was stolen), which was good for bike duties. Much better than a 90.

Currently building an 80" Series 1 but with S3 running gear, 90 engine but will look like a '48 from the outside.
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dickydutch I'm v jealous - you'll have a great car by the end 😉

Mitsubishi Delica L400

...goes offroad as well or better than a defender.....fact as I have towed a defender out of mud.

Literal lol. That's that then, fact.

Made me chuckle too 😆

DaRC_L - Was that meant for me?
EDIT - just realised it was in reply to my statement about rebuilding a Series 11. I think anyway.

Yep thats that...fact,

Went to an offroad cenre near my home in Wales, lots of landy's and the person told me that the course is for offroaders and not MPV's que lots of pointing and laughing from the others and then lots of smiling wiped off their faces (even pajerodrivers)when they could see what it can do.

But second what andyha said, maybe a commercail discovery would be better

Ive never seen one off road, although admittedly, I have heard good things! nto convinced they'd out do a defender mind......

fact as I have towed a defender out of mud

Excellent off roader in 'I'm being driven by a nobber who can't drive' shocker

Surely you're joking!?

Ive had two defenders (both 300tdi 90s) in the last 8 years, usual problems like p gaskets, fuel lift pump, injectors, leaks for the top door seals that always land on yer lap, noisy not too comfy etc etc. Parts generally cheap and easy to fit.
Tried a normal car a few years back and got bored within a few months, sold it and went back to the Landy. I use mine everyday and it's great, really came into its own in the last month and a half of bad weather.
Cos mines a CSW with the rear fold up seats it's not great for carrying bikes, get mine in without the front wheel no probs but thats about it.
Landys are either in yer blood or not.

Yep thats that...fact

In a moment of absent mindedness got my 90 cross axled a while back, so my mate jumped out of the passenger seat and shoved me off. So by that reckoning a human man is a better light-duty high-mobility utility vehicle than a Defender 🙂

I like, no, love Delis, by the way. Nearly bought one as a tow barge. If Mitsubishi would import the D:5 into the UK I'd be down the showroom in an instant, check book in hand. I think it would quickly become one of STW's favourite bike wagons too.

But I must say in my years of competitive offroading, I'm happy that I never swapped my Landies for one - They just don't have the angles and articulation for it 🙂

In fact the only thing that ever got close to tempting me away from the Green Oval was a rather lovely Pinzgauer for sale near me. I came > < that close...

For all the people who gave useful words of wisdom, i ended up getting a P reg 1997 Disco 300 TDi Auto ES with FSH in very good condition from the father of a guy i work with. Early signs are good, full leather means wipe clean and dog hair free and the bike wheels in complete with the rear seat split down. Plus the dog attaches to the rear 7th seat seatbelt with a carabiner to keep him put from getting on the dash so no need for dog guard. Happy days

Thanks for all advice and info.