[SherM4n]

F30, I didn't mean to strike a nerve; apologies. My first two cars also lacked tachometers, but because they were cheap (first was a red '98 Accent that was sadly totaled in 2001 when a guy behind me on the freeway didn't notice that everyone had stopped due to a construction backup; this was replaced with a similar black model except without air conditioning ). But I'm not talking about the speed range of the gear: whatever gear you shift down into is going to have the engine spin at a higher RPM than it is in the current gear. Without purposely causing the engine to spin at (or at least closer to--as Brian Till told us at the Mid-Ohio School years ago, any blip is better than no blip ) that higher RPM, that difference in engine/wheel speed will have to be made up by the drivetrain. Of course it won't make you lose traction and whatnot in normal driving, but why not try to minimize it?

I'm definitely too chicken to go out on the road on anything 2-wheeled, and am glad you've never had a clutch replaced, but to answer your question to jmg: I'm certainly one. Bottom line, we're largely in agreement, and I definitely agree with your signature!