(F1) Full kickdown! London Central Mercedes Citaro MEC30, BD09ZVV on rail rep

Rocket!
Sound recordings at the start and after 11:51 - these clips feature more ZF Ecomat noise than the rest of the video.
From 1:00 to 2:50ish there's an annoying person with their phone on speaker, luckily they turned it down after this bit!
This bus was serving Southeastern rail rep from Orpington to Lewisham.
Go-Ahead London (London Central)
MEC30, BD09ZVV
Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro
ZF Ecomat 6-speed
Kickdowns:
from pullaway 0:00 (1-6), 0:28 (1-5), 1:00 (1-5), 1:31 (1-6), 2:19 (2u-5), 3:37 (2-5), 4:15 (2u-5), 6:13 (2u-4), 7:28 (2u-3), 8:30 (2u-4), 10:35 (1-3), 11:55 (1-5), 12:31 (1-6) 14:13 (2u-6)
downshifts 1:59 (6-4 and eventually 3), 2:50 (4-3), 3:01 (6-4), 3:31 (2-1), 4:41 (4-3 and hill climb), 5:48 (4-3), 6:34 (5-4), 6:51 (4-3), 8:02 (3-2), 9:13 (5-3) 10:48 (violent 3-2) 11:03 (3-2), 11:30 (4-3)

[@NetworkerExpress]

Sounds gorgeous heading into sixth. Love the little howl you get from a 6HP504C when it does.

[@gloriouswater538]

Most of these have a good sixth - it's the other gears where this one stands out from the rest!

[@PixelatedStudios7]

This bus sounds as lovely as MEC10 😂 Great video :)

[@gloriouswater538]

Thanks! I haven't had MEC10 in a while, and missed it yesterday - should probably get on it then!

[@DanielsUKT]

So much kickdown awesome

[@londonbuses126]

Great video and lucky you caught this! I knew about it but sods law I missed it!!

[@KickdownLondon]

You never know, might get another chance next Sunday!

[@KickdownLondon]

Well jealous! Great vid, helluva gearbox on this one!

[@gloriouswater538]

I dunno, I seem to have luck with this route lol. I agree this one sounds great, it's like the best of the 227 batch are back with us!

[@KickdownLondon]

@BgmBuses2020 Yes but I’m jealous because I’d rather have been a passenger 😂

[@gloriouswater538]

@@KickdownLondon Think of it this way, you get to enjoy it for longer than us passengers do lol!

[@LondonTransportMaster]

This bus is a GAL version of 23104 😂😂. Albeit 23104 was louder, and from what I remember, held its gears more. Nevertheless a beast!

[@gloriouswater538]

I was thinking 23102 - same axles and the same pace under acceleration!

[@LondonTransportMaster]

Good point, although I never really got a good run on 23102 :(

[@gloriouswater538]

Other way round for me, I couldn't get a good run out of 23104!

[@KickdownLondon]

Sadly the gearbox in this one is no longer audible!

[@gloriouswater538]

It'll be back eventually, I'm sure!

[@Liberator23]

Lovely :)