I just did some comparisons of

1. the for loop
2. 8 lines with BIT
3. 8 lines with &

on the d6800 driver.

1 & 3 gave 800%, while 2 gave 805%. So, I don't see any real drop in speed.

However, as I say, if you think its a problem on other processors or systems, then certainly i can change it. Would you like me to do that?