That thread about cars

[FitzTheRuke]

Not only can I drive a stick, but I've done it both in NA and in the UK, so I can do it with either hand! (I now drive an automatic at home, and I am happy to do it).

 

[Mad_Jack]

I technically know how to drive stick, and have done so occasionally in the past, but I'm mainly an automatic guy.

 

[Sacrosanct]

... motorcycles...

One down and five up? Seriously, who designs a clutch that way?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Some car thoughts ....

1. I drive stick. Why? Because I don't share. Does wonders to keep people from borrowing your ride.

2. Gotta love a hot hatch.

3. One day I'm going to buy an Audi RS6 and get some wood paneling. It's good to have goals.

 

[jdrakeh]

I learned how to drive on a manual. My first vehicle was a 3-speed, 1976 Jeep cj7. My favorite car that I ever owned, though, was a 1979 Dodge Magnum XE (the engine was a 400 from a 1976 Chrysler Cordoba bored out to a 440 with custom cam, heads, and aftermarket pistons). It was an absolute beast.

 

[Cadence]

The TSR by Zenvo has a paddle shift 7-speed.

 

[payn]

Only stick I had was a '76 Camaro with a Muncie 4speed transmission. Super fun car but sold it for college money. No stick since.

 

[billd91]

Not only can I drive a stick, but I've done it both in NA and in the UK, so I can do it with either hand! (I now drive an automatic at home, and I am happy to do it).

Driving stick in Ireland wasn't hard, per se. It was the narrow lanes with tour buses coming the other way that were harrowing!
The poor passenger side mirror. It felt the brush of more than one hedge.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Driving stick in Ireland wasn't hard, per se. It was the narrow lanes with tour buses coming the other way that were harrowing!
The poor passenger side mirror. It felt the brush of more than one hedge.

I feel you. I knocked a passenger side mirror off on a brick wall in Portsmouth trying to pull over to avoid a guy coming at me at full speed on a street that was only wide enough for one car. I felt really stupid about it until I was walking around town on foot and saw several cars missing side-mirrors.

 

[Ryujin]

One down and five up? Seriously, who designs a clutch that way?

Most of my bikes were 1 down, 5 up but my second bike was 1 down, 4 up. So was my '95 GPz1100. When I picked that bike up and rode it home I was wondering why everyone on the highway was going so slowly. Then I looked at the tachometer. It read 5,500 rpm (think redline was 10,000) and the manual said to keep it below 5K for the first 1,000 Kms. Then I looked at the speedo; 160 Kmh. Once loaned it to a friend and he proclaimed that anything over second gear was merely a suggestion.

After 25 years of riding, a friend offered to teach me to drive stick. Took me 10 minutes to nail it and I never did it again. Cars are transportation. Bikes are for fun.

EDIT - For those who don't know, "race pattern" shifting is flipped. So 1 up, 5 down. It's a lot easier to stomp on a gear pedal, when leaned over, than to try and slip your foot under it