[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by fx45

... and had only 1 door on the left hand side.. and was i saw was tht the door was kinda wide.. almost as double as normal width..
i think BEST is tryin to put doors like the starbus style on regular buses..
i didnt hav ne motorised option but was kinda looking weird..

There are plenty of buses like these in Chennai - doors only in the center. I guess this gives the conductor better check to identify if people get off without paying.

[fx45]

Originally Posted by AkMar

I think the buses will have ABS. BEST will not paint things on its buses just like that.

Regarding Automatic transmission buses, there is an AC automatic bus with Mulund depot (number MH 01 L 8647). It regularly runs on A-461 & has air suspension too.

BEST buses starting from BS-2 buses (original BS-2, not converted ones) have ZF gear boxes with single clutch. The shifting on these buses is very very smooth. I guess it is compulsory to depress the clutch while shifting on these buses.

u are rite.. as i am mostly awar of the mho1L 86** range..i always thot why is 8647 always missing.. some days ago i saw tht bus nr. saki naka.. and thn i found out thts its the a/c bus. but i never knew tht they had a/c buses wid auto and air suspension coz other a/c buses are manual wid non zf gearbox and regular suspension.


regardin single clutch 'boxes.. there were some old buses in the MMK series which is now scrapped which had those single clutch boxes.. but they were later converted to the conventional style.. dunno wat was the reason.

[wizardofid]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Ha Ha Ha.

It is likely an ancient Ashok Leyland. Old AL buses without syncromesh gear boxes shift gears without you having to touch the clutch.

Tell your wife that she saw a very bad driver.

Without a synchromesh wouldn't it be tougher still to shift gears, if not more dangerous? The Synchromesh will at least allow 'synchronizing' of speeds between the driving gear and the driven shaft even if the tranny is not declutched from the engine. Works by friction to equalize speeds.


I expect all heavy duty gearboxes would be tested for synchromesh shifting without the use of a clutch. Not recommended of course.

[AkMar]

Hello,

A close friend of mine, who is also interested in BEST buses as I am, spotted a CNG powered Mini bus being delivered to BEST. The bus was spotted on Thane - Belapur road. It had a body built by Bharat coach builders & chassis was most probably AL (not sure about this).

Another friend saw a similar bus today at Ghatkopar.

[harry15]

hey just an observation. i bet some of you guys have seen the best low floor buses right . so the engine is right at the back so these driver dudes used to have problems changing gears they would always always over rev it in each gear. That is wat i found when travelling in them. u know how we guys have tachos with shift lights and stuff. i have seen a big square light up in front of the driver (towards the right ) when the gear is to be changed . so i have seen the low floor buses with shift lights . And of some of the buses starting from wadala depot have 2 lcd sreens along with 2 cameras and a bunch of speakers installed properly . andd the screens are used to play advertisements and safety messages .

[fx45]

even i have seen the mini cng bus which u are talkin abt and infact i got 2 ride one today on 28th oct 07. MHO1LA6054 body by incoach.

this bus is built on a very high floor type chasis. even higher than the conventional non mutp buses. its a b.s.3 cng version of ashok leyland engine but on closer inspection i found out that it is built on an ecomet chasis as the steering wheel and instrument panel are from the ecomet range. it sounds very high.. no match for the mutp buses. and the unconventional seating style with only one door in the front leads to problems for the passengers getting in and out even though the door is wider than the normal ones. my personal opinion is that i dont like this bus at all.

[salilpawar1]

Here's a pic of the new bus... Note the wide single entry/exit

[fx45]

Originally Posted by salilpawar1

Here's a pic of the new bus... Note the wide single entry/exit

yes this is the one.. which i was talkin abt.. but the front show was a lil bit different on the one which i rode than this one.. but it does look kinda weird and funny to me.


guys jst a request.. does any one have pictures of the older generation buses used by the BEST.. they were on our roads until last 2-3 years. but now most of them are dissappeared.
if any one does have such picutes.. please post em here.

[fx45]

just an update.. here is a pic of a BEST non MUTP bus BS2 with 2 LCD screens showing movie promo's and also a TATA PCO.

[khanak]

^^ Wow! Those LCDs look really cool in the bus. But how come they have Tata PCOs now? I thought all the buses were installed with Hutch PCOs.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by fx45

even i have seen the mini cng bus which u are talkin abt and infact i got 2 ride one today on 28th oct 07. MHO1LA6054 body by incoach.

this bus is built on a very high floor type chasis. even higher than the conventional non mutp buses. its a b.s.3 cng version of ashok leyland engine but on closer inspection i found out that it is built on an ecomet chasis as the steering wheel and instrument panel are from the ecomet range. it sounds very high.. no match for the mutp buses. and the unconventional seating style with only one door in the front leads to problems for the passengers getting in and out even though the door is wider than the normal ones. my personal opinion is that i dont like this bus at all.

The mini-buses are now in several depots, including some of the South Mumbai depots too, have seen them in the Colaba area too. BEST always used to have non-CNG buses in some areas (like Bhandup), but the new generation on CNG minis appear to be all over the place.

[fx45]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

The mini-buses are now in several depots, including some of the South Mumbai depots too, have seen them in the Colaba area too. BEST always used to have non-CNG buses in some areas (like Bhandup), but the new generation on CNG minis appear to be all over the place.

CNG mini buses are with the foll. depots as far as my knowledge.

MUMBAI CENTRAL
ANIK
PRATEEKSHA NAGAR
SANTACRUZ


today afternoon i saw a bunch of 5-6 CNG mini buses going towards sion, all of them were brand new and factory fresh w/o ne depot markings on them.

[Fillmore]

Regarding the funny writings on buses..
In TN there are Pvt buses which have 'DVD Home Theater' Or 'DTS Surround sound' labels written on the buses


But when it comes to city buses, I think the Bangalore BTS Volvo fleet are truly most comfortable.
REf https://ocsglobal.oracle.com/welcome/portal_ext.html

[Ram]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Ha Ha Ha.

It is likely an ancient Ashok Leyland. Old AL buses without syncromesh gear boxes shift gears without you having to touch the clutch.

Tell your wife that she saw a very bad driver.

Actually on the contrary, tell her she saw a very rare, very skilled driver.

Only the extremely skilled amongst us can change gears based on engine sound and experienced feel, without touching the clutch.

With synchromesh it is easier. Without synchromesh it is more difficult.
Inexperienced drivers should not try this! They'll smash the gears teeth with a grinding noise and incur big expenses.

i have seen this many time BEST drivers changing gears with out the clutch the old buses with long handle L shaped gears...

does any one have pics of old Best buses not the ones from the BEST site...u knw the in the 80s when the new buses were added they were called air india buses the Leyland Tiger....