I would think its a common but misplaced perception that
Gemilangs are cheap and therefore they are not good. I would say it
isn't really that true. Yes, the Scanias are quite honestly
crap IMO, but those were one of the first mass production citybuses
they have supplied, and they were supplied as kits to local
assemblers instead of being built in Malaysia. But years have
passed between the first Scanias and the MANs, and I
think Gemilang has done a pretty good improvement
over the years. Moreover, they give their customers a chance to
customise their buses, instead of shafing a integral design with
very few options.
The creaks on the MAN A22s are not limited to MAN buses and have
been observed in recent O.500LEs in Australia. It is a brake
mechanism and is designed to work and sound that way. This is
in contrast to the worrying creaks from the body flex on
the Enviro 500s, which sound like they have very bad body
design and built quality. I actually feel safer on the Wrights and
on 5888 due to this.
Yes I agree that Gemilang have improved a lot over the years,
the one on SMB5888H is probably the best so far. The bodywork on
the KUBs and the OC500LEs may be less well built as compared to the
one on the A22, but if you take a look at those well maintained
ones, actually they are still quite good. My point is at the end of
the day, it doesn't matter if you have something that is cheap. If
you take good care of it, chances are that it will last just as
well.
Oh, so the creaks are from the brake mechanism. I rest my case
on that then since it is part of the bus. Actually I find the
bodywork of the Enviro 500 being quite fine, but they do need some
serious review on their assembly and bodywork building methods, as
not even the old Alexander Royale bodyworks creak like that.
