I wish the manual shift would come back. It's all I knew getting started. Now all I want to drive are the 12 speed ZF or Volvo I-Shift transmissions it is as close as we can get to any kind of fun. The 2-stroke screaming jimmies (GM's) engines will all be gone too eventually. Enjoy this bus as long as you can!!
@@ag6371 The school system around here where I lived used to have nothing but Crowns and my memory was getting covered in HUGE clouds of smoke and asking my mom why did the engine sound like it was going to explode.Sadly they are all gone because of CARB and maybe 7 or 8 they still have have some kinda Cummins and an auto and I was told the State actually threatened to withhold funding for new buses if they didn’t get rid of them and they weren’t allowed to sell them in California either. I’ve wanted one since I was 14 years old and I will sadly never ever get one because of that.
When I was in Junior High in the early 60s our International school buses had 5-speed manual transmission, non-synchromesh. The public service buses in town, GMC "Fishbowls" had 4-speed manuals, non synchromesh. I always sat close to the driver to watch him work the bus. It was fascinating. Manual transmissions seem to be a lost art today, especially non-synchronized units. The last coach I rode with a manual transmission was in Chicago some time in the 80s and the driver wasn't shifting too well even then. This bus appears to have power steering making things a bit easier. The buses of my youth were manual everything.
Prevost are great because, like MCI NO OVERHANG. Big bin space and the a/c where it should be: Underfloor with all venting along both sides of the coach 100% air flow.
I drove the Prevost H340 with 6 speed stick for many years and loved those busses. I could shift each gear with two fingers with partial clutching. I rarely double clutched. Now we drive MCI 4505 buses with 12 speed Automated Manuals. They are not as much fun.
Boy I missed the manual sticks! I remember the GMC SDM 5301 series we had back in the day. Love 'em then, love 'em now. I wished MCI still makes them. I remember the Prevost XL's and the great EAGLE 05's 6 speed manual with the cal engines in them! Automatics makes me feel kinda "lazy!" I wished the sticks were back!😊
+etpslick100 " *Manual* sticks"... as opposed to... what: "automatic sticks"? (And don't say "Yeah, autosticks," because those aren't real stickshifts!)
+MaxxFordham MANUAL STICKS! I really don't care for the auto sticks, even tho they're popular. I guess that's the way of the future. But I still craved for that 5-speed manual with that double clutch.😠
etpslick100, my point was that the term "manual stick" is a redundancy. Many autos have a stick-like lever, but since the transmission gears aren't directly shifted by that lever, then autos don't qualify as "stick-based" shifters, or "stick-shifts," or just "sticks" for short. That's why the term is either "manual" *or* "stick-"something, but not "manual stick" or "stick manual," etc.
Good video. These are by far one of the best handling, riding and shifting coaches out there. The 1991's are even better because they have the hydraulic clutch.
I drove motor coaches for two or three years for Anderson Tours in Greenville, PA in the late-1970s. I was 24 when I started, and still remember it as one of the coolest jobs I've ever had. We had GMC "Buffalo Buses," (4905?) with Detroit 8V-71s and 4-speed manuals, unsynchronized, air throttle. Watching this video brings back a lot of memories, with the engine coming off fast-idle when you release the parking brake (I always flipped the fast-idle switch off first, but I know some drivers left the switch on all the time and relied an fast-idle being disabled when the parking brake was released), and all the double-clutch shifts. It's not that hard to do well, but I know some people do struggle a bit at first, especially with the slight delay of the air throttle, and as others have stated, you do have an audience.:)
I never drove the eagle or the Prevost. I did drove a GM deck but Academy made it a automatic. But the GMC SDM's were like that. The 5301-4 series you HAD to listen the engine to know when to shift. It was crazy for me during training. I had drivers telling me that the GM decks (in Philly we called them 'buffalo' coaches) the 5305-7 series were smoother shifting than the earlier series. One coach I would have loved to drive is the Eagle 05. I loved those Caterpillar engines! I wished MCI would've put a 6 speed manual in their new J4500 series.😊
Greg Heller I always 'floated' the gears in everything I operated. After cutting my teeth on a GM deck, the Eagle 05 was a piece of cake! MCI 5-speed didn't need a tach, the engine harmonics were transferred thru the shift lever. I up- and down-shifted by feeling the engine. And the GM deck had an air throttle, you couldn't feel that engine, had to listen. The pax knew nothing, I could operate in this way far more smoothly than ANY 'automatic'!
Mike Koch I never knew that while I was operating the deck, it wasn't until the 05 Eagle that I realized what it meant. Now they're all sissy coaches: automatic & power steering.
Exactly. I am not a fan of the automatics, but apparently the computer interface is the reasoning behind it. When everything is working properly. they save fuel and component wear. Unfortunately, in my opinion, everything rarely works properly.
Awesome, manual transmission bus, double clutching with no synchros. I remember many school buses that were manual, now sadly all I saw are automatic buses.
The 1362 was either the 6spd direct or 6spd overdrive. Another popular option was the 7spd Fuller. McCaffertys used these extensively. 7 fwd ratios but smaller gaps between gears. Compared with the 6's
Gosh, I remember when even school bus fleets finally got switched to automatic -- straight from hi/lo manual (I mean the kind where every other shift is just done with a switch).
I though you meant Roadranger type done like the next level in pac man lol where after top stick gear you pull the peg that’s like a drain stop to go back shift next level
No seat belt? The driver is the most important person to stay in position, accidents often remove the driver into the stairwell or out their forward windshield. The bus can take the accident by volume of weight, all driver's usually end up crushed down in the entry stairwell. DRIVERS: put your seat belt on first, even when pulling out of your station!
Yeah kind of embarrassing especially since he obviously can drive. I probably would have reshot the video. If that parking brake is released, you must be buckled in.
Just the comment I was looking for. Step 1) Butt hits seat. Step 2) Seatbelt goes on. I even do it for my pre-trip inspection. It's a habit, every time!
I have driven motor coaches, school buses, and ' B ' straight trucks for many years, but two I have not had the pleasure of driving is a stick motor coach, and anything with a two-stick transmission....loved the MCIs with 8V-71 Detroit engines...did any of those come with manual transmissions ?
Austral & Denning In Australia Used The Spicer 1362 Transmission That Had The Same Shift Pattern Which Was Not A Full H Pattern Like The 5spd Fuller Or Spicer Dana 8844a 4spd. This Prevost May Be A Spicer 1362 As 4th & 5th Were Next To Each Other, Then Drip Down To 6th Top (Direct Or Overdrive). Being A 8V92 It Must Have Had Here Enough Torque To Take Off In 2nd, Rather Than In 1st.
+pioneermci: Either that, or someone had the transmission regeared for a 2nd gear take-off. I know that was done on a lot of older school buses which had a 4-speed transmission and a two-speed drive axle.
+Steve Carras: The older Trailways buses had a Spicer 4-speed. I remember there were ONLY the four speeds in the standard H pattern. To shift into reverse, you had to put the shifter into neutral, then push the reverse button on the window dash then shift into first. That put the transmission into reverse. The later Model 10 had a couple of options. The 8V-71 option came with a 5-speed Spicer. The turbocharged 6V-92 came with either a 6-speed Spicer or a 7- or 8-speed automatic.
I've heard of manual buses as recently as a few years ago but a great deal of trouble in some companies finding drivers that wanted to use them. I've always wondered what it'd be like to shift a bus. Bet it feels different from a semi.
I only drive manual shift cars. In my 2014 Chev Cruz with 6 speed I double clutch all down shifts and sometimes 1 to 2 upshifts when cold. My transmissions last the life of the car. Clutch lasts 15 years most of the time.
We retired our lat stick 10 years ago. Reasons for replacing ghem with automatic transmission and the likes are 1 ) it's easier to train drivers on autos saving money, 2) drivers are less fatigued at ghe end of yhe day making them safer through out ghe day,. 3) smoothness of gear changes for passengers , 3) Less maintenance.
Many buses that had automatics were aftermarket conversions from manuals as well. They did the same with other heavy duty vehicles and fire trucks, too.
@@mackowen9337 it was the first thing I noticed too. I won't even pre-trip my bus without my seatbelt. As soon as my butt hits the seat, the belt goes on. Every. Single. Time! Zero excuses, zero exceptions.
It would presumably be a highway coach, used for intercity or charter service - or possibly an RV. A city bus would most likely have an automatic transmission.
we have some buses that are fully hydraulic or non assisted for certain areas. mostly rural, so bus drivers, mostly schools can drive them without the need for the higher qualification cdl's and that saves money. quite a bit. 120k bus with air brakes compared to 65k for manual assisted aka hydraulic, it's rare but it's an option one can still order when buying new school buses.
Manual door closures were popular on MCI and Prevost motor coaches will into the 80's. MCI started to change over when they introduced the 96A3 in 1984. The MC9 still had the handle closure until it was dropped from production in the late 80's. Prevost's H series had the air door for a number of years while the LeMirage had the handle door will into the late 90's.
Note that the closed position for the handle is toward the driver, unlike many Greyhounds that had the closed position away from the driver. I believe a completely manual door is safer to use in case of an emergency evacuation when the engine is off & power is lost.
+GFTBusGirl#1 Transit Um... well... because the world advanced in technology and lower costs, maybe? Actually, we *do* still have them. Why... by golly, here's one right *here*!
+kelvin zaiontz, +Terri S: You can float manual gears on any manually clutched manual transmission if you know what you're doing (read: maybe not a sequential, which is set up in some kind of way as to naturally normally not even have an advantage to using the clutch during shifting, if I understood right).
I dont think Prevost offered the 6v92 on the Lemirage. I believe only MCI offered the 6v92 on charter coaches with MC9s, MC12s, 96A3s and 102A3s. I dont know if the B or C series was available with 6v92.
that dd engine sounds so good. i would not prefer a Manuel stick cause if that ever need fixing, expect to pay a lot of money. Ill just take a automatic.
The manual will almost never need replacing, and the automatic will almost certainly need a (much more expensive) overhaul during the life of the bus. Clutch will need replaced now and then.
the shift pattern is different in Prevosts than in MCIs. In a six speed transmission, first is in lower left like a five speed. and fifth is in the upper right of the pattern.
Omg this is so boring it’s just a bus!😴 no skill needed it’s a gearbox like you get in a car and why he feels the need to put gloves on I don’t know!!!!😂
cosgrove notts and I drive a manual. When my friends first went out with me in my car, they didn’t even know I was doing the shifting, they thought it was an automatic.
You can float, but he's doing things properly and since it's on video and looks like he was on company time, he was just riding the company line and doing it right.
It's hard to float gears in a bus... In most road coaches, there are no tachometers and with the engine sitting 40 feet behind you, it's hard to hear. Add to that the fact that the shifting is handled by 40 feet of linkage, the gear positions aren't what you would call real "precise". It can be done, but it actually helps you to keep from grinding gears to use the clutch... you have to remember with a bus... you have an audience, so smooth and quiet are better. :-)
