77syk7
Forum Member
Posts: 638
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Post by 77syk7 on Jan 6, 2016 17:19:22 GMT 1
I still have an air of excitement when riding on a new design of bus. On Monday I caught a X78 First South Yorkshire Streetdeck from Sheffield to Meadowhall. Admittedly, this was only a short section, but enough for me to gain an initial impression. The interior was bright and airy with a modern feel - the shallower windows on the upper deck are noticeable, but not in an unpleasant way. The seats were leather and finished in a light blue / silver colour in line with the distinctive livery of buses on this key route. The engine was very quiet and it hardly seemed to rev at all - obviously this will be a much more of a challenge on a hillier route! The overall weight of the bus was 10440kg - therefore over a tonne lighter than a recent B9TL and over 2 tonnes lighter than the first B7TLs of 2004/5 vintage therefore aiding fuel consumption. I think I can safely predict that we will be seeing many more of these new double-deckers and for all those members who have yet to come to terms with their appearance, just let it grow on you. It is a modern bus and I like it!
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Post by pub146g on Jan 6, 2016 18:29:33 GMT 1
I totally agree, although I haven't actually been on one of the Streetdecks yet I do like their modern apperance, even Joe public will be able to tell it's a new bus! I am looking forward to the Harrogate B5TLs entering service soon on the 36, my local route, these have similar bodywork.
Regarding the appearance, I was looking back at old copies of Buses etc from the time of the original Gemini launch in 2003 and you wouldn't believe all the negative comments about it's (then) radical apperance. Now it's looked on by some as a classic!
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Post by clifton on Jan 6, 2016 22:26:35 GMT 1
I rode a number of them on the X78 a few weeks ago. The longest run I did was Doncaster to sheffield. The interior was bright & comfy. I thought the vehicles seemed noisy with more vibration than I expected when travelling at slower speeds in low gears, once they accelerated & went up the gears they were smoother & quieter.
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Steve Macz403
Forum Member
Waits at the bus stop for his bus, 2 days later bus turns up :D
Posts: 1,673
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Post by Steve Macz403 on Jan 6, 2016 22:40:59 GMT 1
Out of interest does anyone know what type of gearbox these X78 First streetdecks have. Voith or ZF, they can be bought with either both on the spec, would like to know what first went with overall. Usually gearbox type, seems to affect handling and engine quality (soundwise)
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Post by dwarfer1979 on Jan 7, 2016 9:02:51 GMT 1
I totally agree, although I haven't actually been on one of the Streetdecks yet I do like their modern apperance, even Joe public will be able to tell it's a new bus! I am looking forward to the Harrogate B5TLs entering service soon on the 36, my local route, these have similar bodywork. Regarding the appearance, I was looking back at old copies of Buses etc from the time of the original Gemini launch in 2003 and you wouldn't believe all the negative comments about it's (then) radical apperance. Now it's looked on by some as a classic! I can never quite decide about the outside looks, sometimes I see it I think it looks quite good and other times less so, I think it is quite dependent on a sympathetic livery application. Internally the small windows & large front pillars will always be a bit of a bugbear and I have been on ones where I have overheard 'normal' customers commenting on the width of the front pillars blocking the view so it clearly is a bit of an issue for some (even if a largely cosmetic one that is unlikely to impact on whether you will use or not, unlike ride comfort which actually can). Some of the early ones also seemed to have build quality issues, the first new shape one for Arriva in Derby sounded like it was about to come apart it rattled so much but now they are in main production Wright seem largely back to their normal well put together best though all latest generation vehicles seem to creak a bit, something I assume is down to the amount of weight taken out of the bodies to adjust for the extra weight of the Euro 6 drivelines.
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Post by rotherham231 on Feb 5, 2016 22:30:17 GMT 1
Out of interest does anyone know what type of gearbox these X78 First streetdecks have. Voith or ZF, they can be bought with either both on the spec, would like to know what first went with overall. Usually gearbox type, seems to affect handling and engine quality (soundwise) It's a Voith 4 speed on the First ones. The engine is driven by the gearbox directly to the diff which makes the Streetdeck unique. They don't run as hot as Streetlites but when the fans kick in they aren't half noisy
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