Images that make you laugh

[ZiprHead]

More laundry art.

 

[hyzer]

Speaking of Tests

I wanted to get a motorcycle endorsement on my driver’s license, and in Pennsylvania the method was to take a class from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Each class had three two-hour classroom sessions and three one-hour riding sessions. The classroom sessions concluded with a written test and the riding session concluded with riding test. Pass both and you received your endorsement.

During the first classroom session, in between video safety shorts, one of the instructors asked almost off-handedly, “why do motorcycles have clutch-type transmissions?”. This engendered a lot of responses like, “for fuel efficiency”, and “automatic transmissions are too expensive”, and “it’s more fun”. The instructor nodded, acknowledged each answer in turn, but said, “yeah, those are all good, but there is better reason”. Then he let it drop and he started the next video safety short. This was repeated at the end of the mid-class break during the second week. There were more offerings from us students and the same response, “yeah, but there is better reason”, but no further explanation.

At the end of the final classroom session it was time for the multiple-choice test. I start and I think that I am doing pretty well, I feel prepared. Then I get to this:

10. Why do motorcycles have clutch-type transmissions?

A. For fuel efficiency.

B. Keep engine costs affordable.

C. To rev the engine at traffic lights.

D. So that the engine speed matches the road speed.

Well dang. I’m going with D. I finish and turn in my exam which was graded right as I stood there in front of the instructor. He marks question 10 correct, and winks at me. Perfect score I pass. Turns out that for years no one got a perfect score, most often stumbling over question 10 . . . .

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

 

[TV and credit cards]

View attachment 55052

Maybe in Trump's Gulf of America. Or at least become a registered Republican.

 

[thebeave]

Speaking of Tests

I wanted to get a motorcycle endorsement on my driver’s license, and in Pennsylvania the method was to take a class from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Each class had three two-hour classroom sessions and three one-hour riding sessions. The classroom sessions concluded with a written test and the riding session concluded with riding test. Pass both and you received your endorsement.

During the first classroom session, in between video safety shorts, one of the instructors asked almost off-handedly, “why do motorcycles have clutch-type transmissions?”. This engendered a lot of responses like, “for fuel efficiency”, and “automatic transmissions are too expensive”, and “it’s more fun”. The instructor nodded, acknowledged each answer in turn, but said, “yeah, those are all good, but there is better reason”. Then he let it drop and he started the next video safety short. This was repeated at the end of the mid-class break during the second week. There were more offerings from us students and the same response, “yeah, but there is better reason”, but no further explanation.

At the end of the final classroom session it was time for the multiple-choice test. I start and I think that I am doing pretty well, I feel prepared. Then I get to this:

10. Why do motorcycles have clutch-type transmissions?

A. For fuel efficiency.

B. Keep engine costs affordable.

C. To rev the engine at traffic lights.

D. So that the engine speed matches the road speed.

Well dang. I’m going with D. I finish and turn in my exam which was graded right as I stood there in front of the instructor. He marks question 10 correct, and winks at me. Perfect score I pass. Turns out that for years no one got a perfect score, most often stumbling over question 10 . . . .

Former motorcycle rider here. I never gave the question much thought back in my riding days (over 40 years ago), but answer D begs the question of why then, are we moving away from MT on cars to almost exclusively AT? Wouldn't the same philosophy apply if its a 4 wheel vehicle? I asked AI the question and it gave several answers (mostly related to practical limitations, like size, weight, etc), none of which were answer D.

 

[unapologetic]

I learned to drive on my old man's pick up with MT.
D sounds more like what a transmission is designed to do.
I might have also guessed D because it sounds more adult/responsible.

 

[Wiploc]

D is gibberish to my ears. Say the road speed is sixty miles an hour. What is the engine speed?

 

[ZiprHead]

Speaking of Tests

I wanted to get a motorcycle endorsement on my driver’s license, and in Pennsylvania the method was to take a class from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Each class had three two-hour classroom sessions and three one-hour riding sessions. The classroom sessions concluded with a written test and the riding session concluded with riding test. Pass both and you received your endorsement.

During the first classroom session, in between video safety shorts, one of the instructors asked almost off-handedly, “why do motorcycles have clutch-type transmissions?”. This engendered a lot of responses like, “for fuel efficiency”, and “automatic transmissions are too expensive”, and “it’s more fun”. The instructor nodded, acknowledged each answer in turn, but said, “yeah, those are all good, but there is better reason”. Then he let it drop and he started the next video safety short. This was repeated at the end of the mid-class break during the second week. There were more offerings from us students and the same response, “yeah, but there is better reason”, but no further explanation.

At the end of the final classroom session it was time for the multiple-choice test. I start and I think that I am doing pretty well, I feel prepared. Then I get to this:

10. Why do motorcycles have clutch-type transmissions?

A. For fuel efficiency.

B. Keep engine costs affordable.

C. To rev the engine at traffic lights.

D. So that the engine speed matches the road speed.

Well dang. I’m going with D. I finish and turn in my exam which was graded right as I stood there in front of the instructor. He marks question 10 correct, and winks at me. Perfect score I pass. Turns out that for years no one got a perfect score, most often stumbling over question 10 . . . .

Former motorcycle rider here. I never gave the question much thought back in my riding days (over 40 years ago), but answer D begs the question of why then, are we moving away from MT on cars to almost exclusively AT? Wouldn't the same philosophy apply if its a 4 wheel vehicle? I asked AI the question and it gave several answers (mostly related to practical limitations, like size, weight, etc), none of which were answer D.

Because people prefer them. Not enough people want them to make it economical to keep producing manual gearboxes.

 

[Politesse]

The real journey is a lot further. But not ten years further; More like three times as far.

On foot plus ferry it's less than a week, if you pay attention to any "Gods and Monsters Alerts" from the weather service before setting out.

View attachment 54790

Really now, 4 days??

5 miles/hour is a pretty energetic walk and you're going to maintain it for that long??

(Well, at least it's better than when I was doing some mapping about the Grand Canyon--it showed a bike time that made no sense. (Um, it's the Grand Canyon. Way too big to bridge, you cross it on foot (if you're on a mule the mule is on it's feet) or you go to one of the bridges at the ends--hundreds of miles away.) Examining it--very short bike distance, then walk your bike along the trail. But it assumed bicycle speed despite walking it. (Which would be flat out suicide. You would fail to handle a turn and go over the edge.)

But you would get to the bottom fairly quickly.

 

[unapologetic]

I learned to drive on my dad's truck. I think MT is more fun.

 

[Elixir]

The real journey is a lot further. But not ten years further; More like three times as far.

On foot plus ferry it's less than a week, if you pay attention to any "Gods and Monsters Alerts" from the weather service before setting out.

View attachment 54790

Really now, 4 days??

5 miles/hour is a pretty energetic walk and you're going to maintain it for that long??

(Well, at least it's better than when I was doing some mapping about the Grand Canyon--it showed a bike time that made no sense. (Um, it's the Grand Canyon. Way too big to bridge, you cross it on foot (if you're on a mule the mule is on it's feet) or you go to one of the bridges at the ends--hundreds of miles away.) Examining it--very short bike distance, then walk your bike along the trail. But it assumed bicycle speed despite walking it. (Which would be flat out suicide. You would fail to handle a turn and go over the edge.)

But you would get to the bottom fairly quickly.

It’s the matter if then having to bicycle UP the other side, with every bone in your body broken.

 

[Spacetime Inhabitant]

D is gibberish to my ears. Say the road speed is sixty miles an hour. What is the engine speed?

I imagine that it is shorthand for saying that there is a fixed ratio between RPM produced by the engine and the road speed (taking into account which gear motor is in).

 

[Wiploc]

D is gibberish to my ears. Say the road speed is sixty miles an hour. What is the engine speed?

I imagine that it is shorthand for saying that there is a fixed ratio between RPM produced by the engine and the road speed (taking into account which gear motor is in).

But, since that is also what automatic transmissions do, I don't see how that can be an answer to the question.

 

[Shadowy Man]

D is gibberish to my ears. Say the road speed is sixty miles an hour. What is the engine speed?

I sure hope the engine is moving at the same speed! That’s gonna hurt if it isn’t.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

 

[thebeave]

Speaking of Tests

I wanted to get a motorcycle endorsement on my driver’s license, and in Pennsylvania the method was to take a class from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Each class had three two-hour classroom sessions and three one-hour riding sessions. The classroom sessions concluded with a written test and the riding session concluded with riding test. Pass both and you received your endorsement.

During the first classroom session, in between video safety shorts, one of the instructors asked almost off-handedly, “why do motorcycles have clutch-type transmissions?”. This engendered a lot of responses like, “for fuel efficiency”, and “automatic transmissions are too expensive”, and “it’s more fun”. The instructor nodded, acknowledged each answer in turn, but said, “yeah, those are all good, but there is better reason”. Then he let it drop and he started the next video safety short. This was repeated at the end of the mid-class break during the second week. There were more offerings from us students and the same response, “yeah, but there is better reason”, but no further explanation.

At the end of the final classroom session it was time for the multiple-choice test. I start and I think that I am doing pretty well, I feel prepared. Then I get to this:

10. Why do motorcycles have clutch-type transmissions?

A. For fuel efficiency.

B. Keep engine costs affordable.

C. To rev the engine at traffic lights.

D. So that the engine speed matches the road speed.

Well dang. I’m going with D. I finish and turn in my exam which was graded right as I stood there in front of the instructor. He marks question 10 correct, and winks at me. Perfect score I pass. Turns out that for years no one got a perfect score, most often stumbling over question 10 . . . .

Former motorcycle rider here. I never gave the question much thought back in my riding days (over 40 years ago), but answer D begs the question of why then, are we moving away from MT on cars to almost exclusively AT? Wouldn't the same philosophy apply if its a 4 wheel vehicle? I asked AI the question and it gave several answers (mostly related to practical limitations, like size, weight, etc), none of which were answer D.

Because people prefer them. Not enough people want them to make it economical to keep producing manual gearboxes.

I think that's right. Up until 2014, all my vehicles had MT. I was a little hesistant to go with an AT on my current truck, but I can't see going back to MT at this point. I've gotten lazy. On motorcycles, shifting gears is a lot easier than with a car. Just a squeeze of the left hand and a toe tip with the right foot. It becomes an unconcious effort at some point. No need to move the whole leg and arm to shift, like a MT car.

My uncle has this t shirt (he drives a newer model Jeep with MT):

 

[ZiprHead]

I see Lexus is advertising a car that still has a MT.

Looks like that one Lexus and BMW and Porsche are the only mainstream marques to still sell cars with manual transmissions.

I know if my BMW had a MT it would be worth several thousand dollars more than it is.

 

[bilby]

Not enough people want them to make it economical to keep producing manual gearboxes.

And automatics have been getting better and better.

Early automatics only worked well for lighter vehicles with large engines - so they caught on for cars in the USA where gas was cheap and engine power and torque were high, but not so much in Europe where gas was expensive and engine capacity was much smaller, or for trucks, where the loads are extreme, and even small losses in the transmission would lead to very short lifespan due to heating and wear.

In trucks, even technologies like synchromesh for manual transmissions were impractical due to the high loads passed through the transmission, and the large number of gear ratios needed to match the narrow power range of a big diesel with the wide range of speeds at which trucks are driven.

These days, heavy automatics in trucks are ubiquitous; Some are basically just constant mesh gearboxes and clutches, but computer controlled with little or no input needed from the driver. Even hill descent is now able to be effectively managed in this way, and the old "Road Ranger" 12, 15, and 18 speed constant mesh manual transmissions with their need to manually match engine and road speed ratio to the gear selection just to make the change (either by double-declutching, or by "floating" the gear change without using the clutch at all) are becoming very rare on new vehicles.

The advantages in efficiency, service life, weight, and cost that manual transmissions used to have are steadily disappearing, and the advantage of ease of use in automatics is rapidly coming to dominate people's choices. Manual transmissions are still very popular in the UK though, where the much smaller engines used leave their cars underpowered, and very few drivers are unfamiliar with manual transmissions. The poms still have the attitude that autos are for people who can't really drive.

I raised eyebrows with the car hire people on my recent trip to the UK, by asking for (and paying extra for) an automatic. It's been nearly a decade since I drove a vehicle with a clutch pedal, and I simply couldn't be bothered trying to re-learn that skill, while jet-lagged and driving on unfamiliar roads with subtly different laws, signage, road markings, and customs and courtesies from those I have become used to.

The last time I drove a vehicle with a clutch pedal was on my heavy vehicle test, which I passed in a 15 speed constant mesh manual, so I am qualified to drive any kind of transmission - but it's becoming increasingly unlikely that I will ever use that hard-earned skill for reals.

 

[bilby]

I see Lexus is advertising a car that still has a MT.

Looks like that one Lexus and BMW and Porsche are the only mainstream marques to still sell cars with manual transmissions.

I know if my BMW had a MT it would be worth several thousand dollars more than it is.

That's certainly not the case in the UK.

Google tells me that there are still 72 models that are offered with manual transmissions over there, and it is only the rise of electric (and hybrid) vehicles which has led to the very recent move away from manuals.

 

[Elixir]

Aint no design engineer, but continuously variable trannies would intuitively seem to to be the ticket to efficiency and comfort.

I love driving the Toyota (1999 dual range 5 speed manual, 2/4wd, locking diff) truck. I “unregistered” it and haven’t driven it lately but can’t bear the thought of getting rid of it.