Manual shift?

[Ducatista]

I learned about the importance of feathering the clutch for the first time on the riding lawnmower.  It's better not to get wheelied off going uphill when you need to downshift to make it.   

I learned in a car at 19 in a 1999 Subaru Impreza L. 

I learned on the M900s at 25.

[DCXCV]

Quad first (about 7-8 yrs old), then truck when I was 15.  I don't like automatic vehicles.  I've had a manual all but the first year I drove and whenever I drive an auto now I feel kinda bored - like I should be more involved in the driving experience. 

[Rameses]

Learned in a Mack R Model when I was 7.

I had to stand up to run the clutch.   

Have a couple of antique Jeeps.

The first Jeep didn't have brakes when I got it.

That didn't stop me from driving it around off-road though.  It just makes you better at downshifting and more aware of your surroundings.

The other one, I had the clutch linkage break once and had to drive home with no clutch.  That really helps make you aware of rev-matching.

[bryant8]

I learned on a car first - early 90's Ford Ranger when I was 15

Then the motorcycles second - Buell Blast at 24... I bought my M620 for my 25th bday 3 months later

[Triple J]

Car first at 15. It was a '76 Dodge 1/2 ton 2 wheel drive POS pick-up. If you could drive that stick, you could drive ANY stick! 

The only thing that transferred IMO was the understanding of how a clutch works, and the need to slip it.

There was a lady in my MSF class that had never driven a clutch of any kind. Actually, I'm not even sure she had ever heard of or seen one. After taking off from a start (using the clutch) she kept stalling the bike when she stopped. The instructors had to explain to her she needed to pull in the clutch when she stopped.  She failed the class.

[NeufUnSix]

I learned to drive at 16 with a stick Subaru in the middle of winter. To date, I can still hustle a stick shift like nobody's business and have never lost control of a vehicle in bad weather/winter. Good foundations are very important to being a good driver, and I think it should be mandatory to learn how to drive manual to fully understand car control.

[Drjones]

80cc honda dirtbike when I was 8yo then learned the wheel version at 15yo.

[He Man]

I learned how to drive an auto....then i stopped driving after about 5,000 miles of weekend trips. Then I learend how to ride a motorcycle and soon after, I spent less than 2 hours of my life driving a stick car for fun. Wasnt hard, but i wasnt smooth at all and stalled plenty at first. Could never get reverse though. and i havent driven a car  or even sat in the driver seat since i moved back to NYC 2 years ago.

THe whole idea of the clutch on the bike was new to me, but i didnt have any problems, but i think it varies with person to person. Some people cant multi task all their body parts at the same time and the operation of a car is opposite handed. Left foot and right hand are connected. vice in a bike its left foot left hand.

I think its safe to say i could only operate a stick if you stuck me in an open area and said drive. or you put a gun to my head and said go.

[Mother]

Bike first

Yamaha 360

[corey]

I learned on a '66 Corvair 4-speed a few years ago...
What a hunk-o-junk.

Manual cars today practically shift themselves, with all this synchro-meshes and shit...
My ladies minicooper has an Aisin agitronic tranny... best of both worlds, super fun.

[superjohn]

I learned to drive on a manual transmission and to this day, I am uncomfortable in an automatic transmission car. I just can't get used to them and hate driving them.

I learned on a 1980 Mercury Bobcat and a 1979 Mercury Capri. The Bobcat had such a heavy clutch with a touchy feel that is demanded concentration to pull away from a light without stalling it. It also had zero power, so it became an exercise of bringing the revs up, letting the clutch out to the friction point, holding it there for a fraction of a second as I depressed the gas pedal and gently releasing the clutch.

When it came time to ride the bike, it was simple, no fuss, and easy. It all seemed very natural at that point.

[Autostrada Pilot]

Can't remember if I had ridden manual 4 wheelers and dirtbikes before I drove a stick car (Toyota pickup at age 14).  First 3 cars were manual-4th is now an auto (my attempt to be responsible).  Next car will probably be manual.

BTW, the CVT transmission Yamaha 4 wheelers are great (but I certainly don't mind a clutch).

[pndwind]

80 something toyota tercel 5 speed first still own manual truck.  Drive wifes auto and constantly reach for stick , she thinks its funny.

[Duck-Stew]

82 Chevy S-10 at age 14 with a 5-speed
80 Suzuki GS250 at age 18

I drive an auto now....but it's a company truck and I don't pay for it so I can't pregnant dog.        much.

[LMT]

Learned to drive a stick, an old farm truck, at 11. (1975)  Drove and an auto in HS and then the first car I bought was a stick.  Have never owned otherwise.  Learned to ride in 82.