JUST LIKE A HARLEY


 
 Two weeks into intensive training and having driven 14 different types of bus they all have one thing in common.... they are painted YELLOW !  Other than that they are all different and present an ergonomic challenge every time you get behind the wheel just like riding a Harley.

 As you walk out to the bus you never know what you will find, is it automatic or a 5 speed manual ? Is
it airbrakes or an older pure hydraulic system ? The pre drive inspection will of course reveal all. To
date they have all been diesel and up here they are all put to bed with an engine heater power cord....
see later !



Manual door, manual tx and no air brakes!

 Hoods up, time to see what lurks beneath, A CAT, a Cummings or something from Chevrolet?
Usually I start at the firewall and check all the airlines having had an under the engine scan for leaks,
but normally they are not Harleyish and haven't marked their spot. On the driver's side a look at power steering levels engine oil and transmission fluid. Hoses and belts and outward to the wheel
checking steering, shocks and springs on the way. A quick arm wrestling check on the slack adjuster
and a peek at the inside tire wall and rim. Plenty of tread and check the outside wall for bulges and
cracks and that the lug nuts are tight. Around the front and same game on the other side checking
belts, hoses, alternator wiring and coolant, and is it green or red ? Wheel done, hood back on and
where is the release mechanism on this one ?

 I like to do full checks in the morning so I continue around the whole thing checking all the essentials
as I go. Finally if I'm going to take it time to get on board and have a walk through. Hatches, interlocks,
doors etc and see how many of the seat cushions the little darlings have undone. Quick peek in the
triangle box, extinquisher in the green and first aid kits still sealed and in place.

 The will it won't it question, and the mighty thumper coughs into life and now while things start
warming up time for the lights of all colors and the door switchology. Pressures are generally up by
now so time for the many and various airbrake system checks. With that all done and the engine
running again time to heat up the steel igloo and check all the mirrors one last time. Last checks of
seat and steering wheel, have the rally notes handy, flashlight at the ready and know where your
sunglasses are.

 Usually about 10 mins left before departure so fill in the trip sheet, ensure the door will let you back
in again, either the pressure release or manual steel plate interlock and time for a final slurp of
coffee and top off the nicotine indicator.

 Indicators, trafficators, turn signals and hazard warners can always be fun and again just like the
Harley they can be confusing. Turn signals are now pretty standard on every vehicle you drive and
come readily to hand under your left bunch of bananas, but why oh why can't we standardise the
position of the hazard switch? Some are located under the turn signals and are clearly marked RED
and are easy to operate but have to be reset by turning the turn signals on and off. Others require a systematic search up and down the steering column and could be anywhere ! Some of course have
the red triangle and are easier to find and then just the other day I couldn't find the switch for love nor
money. Eventually found it on the dash exactly where I would have put it myself had I been designing
the cockpit ! Maybe when the school bus gets round to the Formula 1 steering wheel they will put all
the goodies on the wheel as they currently do on top of the line RV's.



 My favorite bus to date, the Bluebird Vision, with 4 stage retarder at 3
o'clock, touch screen autobox and the hazard warners on the dash

  Transmissions are seemingly all different and certainly the manuals, or stick shifts, have taken a
fair bit of abuse in their lifetimes with over eager high speed down shifting or forceful entry into another
gear! The "rape" of the gearbox? ..... have to wonder how many teeth are at the bottom of the box. The automatics seem to be in two types with either the big club foot handle in the center of the dash which
when you operate it cuts off your view of the indicator or the modern touch screen type mounted higher
up by your right hand.

 Retarders, not retards, come in a variety of types, I suppose both do! Normally on the newer ones they
are 4 stage devices which work on the drive shaft and will slow you down without using the brakes
and overheating them. Usually under the right hand on the column with 4 red lights in a row on the
dash, however on the tour buses they are on the left side and one type I've used was a 5 stage which
you can leave in position 2 and only comes on when you release the throttle pressure, then add or
subtract as required. The other one was a sort of "dead man's handle" a bit like being in a train.



Flat front rear engined pusher with 5 stage retarder at 9 o'clock, touch
screen auto box on the dash, air doors and seat. 

 Flat fronts this week with 3 drives in the 78 seater "Panda". The first was fine as an afternoon run
and back to the barn and plug in.  O'dark thirty and it won't start, Cortez say they will send a mechanic
and another bus but I'll be about 15 minutes behind schedule. There is one other bus, also a flat
front, but its old and apparently nobody likes it and its parked in a snow bank with no power cord. The
keys take some finding and amazingly the old girl fires right up. Some quick checks and some help
finding the door switch and off I go into the unknown with yet another ergonomic challenge.

.

The Genisis, but it started and the day was saved. Not sure if HD made it

 The week wraps up with a Friday afternoon run over at Mancos on my favorite bus, No 14 and then a Saturday activity trip taking a few Basketball teams to another school at Ignacio on the Mancos tour
bus all decked out in team colors. This is another flat front with a rear engine as is very pleasant to
drive with fantastic headlights!


 
The Mancos tour bus in their "Blue Jay" team colors

 A few more Dolores routes to learn and then take in some for Cortez . Variety certainly is the
spice of life.... never a dull moment....... and if they go wrong somebody else fixes them.

TONY DOWN