A Ride Around Ryde On Leyland Leopard JKM165V

Here's Hastings and District Leyland Leopard JKM165V being driven around Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Melissa and myself had brought her over from the Wight Heritage and Military Museum where she lives for a bit of exercise.
As usual 165 drove really well and was a head turner as we drove across the island.
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Thanks for watching.

[@timjones7787]

LOVE LOVE LOVE this, I feel like a kid again. Every time I got on a coach I'd be disappointed if it wasn't a leopard. No other engine sounded as good to me!

[@JakeSCOC]

Glad you liked it and it brought back some good memories. It's a sound from my childhood too!

[@robertcamble3543]

​@@JakeSCOC Same here. I remember seeing these buses growing up in Jamaica . Many buses nowadays don't look good like these British Buses

[@matthewc.419]

My father used to drive a " Tiger " it went like stink !!!!!

[@cidertom5140]

@@matthewc.419yes but nothing has the growl of a leopard

[@LadyMoonstar6601]

Can’t remember if I’ve said this before in previous comments but I do love the smell of old diesel engines, something about it is very nostalgic, it takes me back.

[@JakeSCOC]

We said the same thing when we got the Leopard back to base. Smelt of warm oil. Lovely

[@cidertom5140]

@@JakeSCOCtotally agree.its like the smell of steam like the smell of methanol and Castro r in a vintage racer or two stroke.its also like the smell of freshly cut grass and wheat or your mums cooking.

[@JakeSCOC]

@cidertom5140 Smells trigger so many memories.

[@matthewc.419]

West Yorkshire Traction Company used these , wen the white livery one used to turn up on my school bus run it had " posher " door opening than the red livery ones il never forget that , i loved the white livery looked so cool , banging the seats to watch the dust in the warm afternoon sunlight had a smell all of its own , we rolled up our bus tickets, as if to " smoke " them , 3 miles on 10p !!! Very speacil times

[@Neash2]

Thank you for posting. I smiled when I saw the '70' sticker on the dash, we had several Leopards in the United and Northern General fleets which we used to deploy on limited stop and National Express duties. They needed to be watched on a nice gentle motorway descent. We would of course make the most of the acquired momentum to prepare for the up-hill gradients, at the top of which you would be grinding along at 50! Happy memories though, especially if you got to drive one of the Northern Leopards with a splitter. By the way, the noise from the brakes when reversing was common to nearly all Leylands - the same for most Tigers and Olympians.

[@JakeSCOC]

You're welcome and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Lovely memories there. I've not taken this old girl up that fast to see if the speed limiter works and now she's on the Isle of Wight I doubt I ever will.

[@roderickmathison5245]

One of these used to bounce about the single-track roads on Islay (Portnaheven to Bowmore) in the late 1970’s.

[@martinhudson2552]

Great sounding and lovely gear changes. 😄👍

[@JakeSCOC]

Thanks Martin 👍🏼

[@1973ts]

Sounds lovely. We ran Leopards, and the owner would insist we chamfer the trailing lip of the brake shoes to stop the hideous noise when reversing. It worked too!

[@JakeSCOC]

Thanks. I might have to have a go at that when I do the brakes next.

[@robertcamble3543]

​@@JakeSCOCT 0680 engine is among the finest engine built in England .

[@simonfindlow7478]

Nice, they used to use these on our school runs to the swimming baths back in the mid 80s, (bullock coaches ?) remember them well, thanks for the video.

[@JakeSCOC]

Glad you liked it Simon. I think many of us travelled on these on school trips and school contracts.

[@LadyMoonstar6601]

What a lovely sounding engine. Love the way she hums and purs. Can’t beat a good old sounding motor. Was she the poor girl with the heavy breathing Gardner diesel? Thank you for sharing,

[@cidertom5140]

They never put Gardner in leopards it would have been a 680 leyland. Some had the leyland 600. However on the nationals they did fit gardeners. Def not to 11 as in the tiger. Nor the clattery 510 from the national.

[@MichaelSmith-do8sc]

Thanks for this. It would be great to see some gear changes.

[@JakeSCOC]

I will do another video in the next month or so showing how I drive the Leopard.

[@DavidSmith-jm2ux]

Hi Jake I bought an identical 12m leopard from Ebdons coaches LVS424V, brilliant coach i part exchanged it for a band new tiger 260 Doyen, from Arlington vehicles at Potters Bar, Enfield, i did buy 12m leopard from Roy Ebdons son, UUR 651W plaxton 12m, which i used and rebuilt for my fleet , long time ago retired in 2006 happy memories , Dave Smith , formerly Smiths of Brenzett coaches

[@JakeSCOC]

@@DavidSmith-jm2ux Hi Dave. I used to see your coaches around when I was working for Buzzlines. Absolutely loved seeing and hearing the Leopards, such a distinctive sound. Good to hear from you. Jake

[@alistairshaw3206]

I loved driving Leopards, reliable and very economical. I prefer them to modern coaches. I drive a VDL nowadays though.

[@JakeSCOC]

Totally agree. Leopard's are brilliant. Do anything and everything you ask of them. No over complicated electrics either!

[@MisterHampshire]

The fact that it's a Duple Dominant 2 does it for me. I don't know if the similar, but less attractive, Plaxton Supreme was ever run on Leopard chassis, but the Dominant 2, for me, was always the far more handsome of the two, and the most attractive coach built to that point - even now in fact. Whilst not here (these are the 'clapping' type), even the windscreen wipers had a synchronised side-to-side grace.

[@JakeSCOC]

Yes the Supreme was also on Leyland Leopard.

[@garethjones8047]

Seeing coaches like this reminds me of school trips back in the 80s, though i used to prefer going on the volvos. You should bring it up to Llandudno transport festival.

[@JakeSCOC]

Yes me too. Although it was Leopard's for me mostly. It's a bit too far for us I'm afraid.

[@pak8606]

Is the music at the start the TVS Coast to Coast theme?

[@JakeSCOC]

Yes

[@michaelkeen5010]

The O.680 sounds sweet.

[@JakeSCOC]

Thanks Michael. Next time we'll have to film it going uphill to capture a little more noise!

[@michaelkeen5010]

@@JakeSCOC yes, get the proper Leyland O.680 Leopard sounds. Travelled on a former Black and White Motorways Leopard a few weeks ago, sounded like what a Leopard should be. 👍

[@JakeSCOC]

@@michaelkeen5010 yes you can't beat them for sound effects. I remember when I was a child in Cliffsend and one would stop opposite our house on a mining contract. You could hear it circumnavigate the block. So distinctive.

[@chrisp230]

Please post a 4 hour long video and Ill happily watch @@JakeSCOC 😄

[@ColinLaw-iz5ws]

This ex maidstone and district im certain.am i correct?.

[@JakeSCOC]

Yes. Then with Hastings and District.

[@ColinLaw-iz5ws]

Ta jake.think m&d owned h&d

[@JakeSCOC]

@@ColinLaw-iz5ws H&D was spin off from M&D in the great 1980's NBC carve up.

[@chrisp230]

I love this bus, I believe she's only one of 3 surviving Duple bodied leopards left in the UK.

[@JakeSCOC]

Thanks Chris. Wow I didn't realise there were that few. The fact she's a 12 meter one must make her even rarer.